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Pay-Gap: South-Asians Lose up to £3.2bn in Wages G ame-changing legislation put into place last year has forced companies to reveal the pay gaps between their workers in 2018. Since then, more than 10,000 big firms have provided data which shows a gender pay gap, with approximately 75% of them paying their male workers more than their female workers.... ...continued on page 6

January 2019

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BRITISH MUSLIM WOMEN CLIMB MOUNT EVEREST BASECAMP TO RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY 18 British Muslim women from all walks of life will be returning to the UK after taking part in one of the toughest challenges of their lives. The group are currently climbing towards Mount Everest’s basecamp in an attempt to raise over £250,000 for international humanitarian charity, Penny Appeal. The full team consists of 34 brave volunteers, who are taking part in the 12 day trek, climbing 18,000ft to raise money to help the Rohingya refugees who continue with their struggle for survival within the cramped Bangladeshi refugee camps. Taking part in the trek is Marzana Rahman, an abuse survivor and Domestic Violence and Women’s Rights activist. Marzana says, “I decided to climb Mount Everest to help Rohingya women who have suffered so much, to help provide them with the basic necessities, as well as to create women friendly spaces, where they will be supported emotionally. Every time I come across a women’s rights organisation, I see the world changing for the better. But as powerful as these movements are, my heart breaks a little because I am faced with the harsh realities that my sisters are facing.”

Following months of preparation, hikes, gym workouts, and studying, efforts have now turning towards fundraising. Over £230,000 has already been reached, and the team remain hopeful that they will raise even more in their commitment to helping the Rohingya refugees. Team leader and Penny Appeal’s Head of Challenges says, “Everest is the highest mountain in the world, and to trek to the base camp is a massive challenge. We’re all itching to see whether we can do it, and whether we can reach our goal to

raise a quarter of a million pounds to help the Rohingya people who have been through so much. We want to help them to thrive, not just survive.”

AW Facts Did you know? The chains and anchors for the Titanic were made at Netherton in the Black Country

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Editor’s Note Hello to our readers and welcome to another edition of Asian World Newspaper! A very happy new year to each and every one of you, and we wish you the very best of health, wealth and success in 2019! In this edition of the newspaper, we cannot wait to give you the latest up and coming news and revelations this year is set to bring. We will be providing you with the newest stories, facts and gossip to keep you in the know, so make sure you read thoroughly across all of our sections and don’t miss out! In this issue, we will be reflecting on the incredible work of the non-profit organisation Capital Business Hub, and their important working with the homeless people of Birmingham taking place throughout this winter. To read more on this story, please turn to our special feature on this event across pages 4 and 5. We will also be talking about the heart-breaking news about an innocent shop owner named Yasir Hussain, who was attacked and killed on the streets of Burnley sometime last month. For more about this story, please take a look at page 8. In this issue, we also have exclusive news about the hottest Brit Asian artists and Bollywood Stars. This month, we’re featuring an exclusive up-close and personal interview with hit UK/Desi

Rapper Raxstar, about his latest album Glass Ceiling. We’ve also got Asian heart-throb Ali Zafar’s thoughts and reaction on being crowned the ‘Sexiest Pakistani on the Planet’ once again! For more on our Entertainment news, please read through the Glam section on pages 27-33. We will also be informing our readers about the latest technology news. For the Cyber Security Predictions of 2019 – all of the hacks and scams you need to avoid, turn to page 38! And for our fitness lovers; take a look at how Pakistani Sports Woman Nazia Khatun is tackling self-love and inspiring thousands to do the same on page 47! Whatever you choose to do, there is a story for everyone! So make yourself some rich coffee, take a biccy or two out of the tin, and relax. Read through the rest of this paper with ease! 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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January 2019

CBH Supports Homeless

On Tuesday the 18th of December, CBH became a pivotal part of the sponsorship programme funding the Homelessness Conference 2018 in Birmingham. Hosted by South and City College on High Street Deritend, the event welcomed guests from a range of different schools and businesses across the area, as well as an array of local community workers, teaching staff and volunteers. Principle of SSC Digbeth campus Mike Hopkins opened the conference and named the different ways in which the college is contributing to help fight for the homelessness cause. The educational institute is currently working towards providing clothes and food for those sleeping rough on the streets of Birmingham, as well as giving them free haircuts and make-up in order to look presentable for job interviews when they go to seek employment. The principle also highlighted how the college is getting more of its students to acknowledge homelessness by participating in activities such as the soup kitchen, which had been organised on the same day following the conference. SSC also

expects its students to educate the older generation about the homelessness in a bid to get more of the local community to volunteer and contribute to the cause. A keynote speaker of the event was council woman of Birmingham City Sharon Thompson, who is a cabinet member for homes

and neighbourhoods. Sharon had her own experiences of homelessness when she found herself kicked out of her parents’ house at the age of sixteen. She spoke openly about having slept on the street, carrying all her washing on foot across the city just so she could get her clothes cleaned, and

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eating malnourished meals on a daily basis. Sharon has also witnessed drug addiction and violence on the streets. After spending a large amount of time with rough sleepers, she is currently working with the city council to solve this ongoing issue and remove common stereotypes about the homeless community. Interview with local council member CBH interviewed Sharon Thompson to gain a greater insight into why the event was organised, and what the city council hopes to achieve by running similar public meetings in the Birmingham area. 1) Whose idea was it to host the Homelessness Conference in Birmingham? My colleague Hannah from the college decided to organise the conference today. It was following on from a visit to parliament we partook in to discuss homelessness and a number of other issues with young people with Erdington Youth Parliament – So this idea sprung from there. 2) What are you hoping to achieve from hosting the conference in the SSC? I’d like the young people to have a greater awareness of homelessness and the practical things they can actually do to support the cause. But also for the college as an educational institute to think about what they can do, not just in terms of helping those who are street homeless, but those who might be studying or working here who may be facing homelessness – and signpost them in order to give them a better educational experience.

3)What kind of a turn-out were you expecting at the conference and what future aid do you think will come about from hosting an event such as this? The turn-out today has been great! I think it was the numbers they were expecting, especially on a rainy day such as this. It’s good to have so many different colleges and organisations involved in the meeting, but the important thing to consider is the next stages and what those in attendance plan to do in the future. It would be great if there was 10% of those involved in today’s conference that go on to do more activities surrounding the homelessness agenda. 4) Would you run this conference again in the upcoming months, what are your future plans in terms of helping the homelessness cause? I would like to think that the college hold another event soon where they can talk about the activities they have done between now and then to support the cause. I would also like to imagine that we have more people who have experienced homelessness come and speak, and we can update the college about some of the things happening across the city. Hopefully at that point the homeless numbers in Birmingham would

have improved. It’s important that the college has a voice, as students here have been a part of the Erdington Youth Parliament, who have gone on to create a manifesto. Certain pledges in that manifesto have actually influenced some of the things we’re doing in the council. So it’s all about making sure people’s voices are used in a very meaningful way rather than just having a debate. Since 2010 and up until 2017 last year, there has been an 169% increase recorded in the number of rough sleepers in the city, a figure which is currently still on the rise. In the last 12 months, the number of people using food banks has gone up by 51% as well. There are now over 20,000 adults and children without a permanent home in the UK. At present, there are over 450 cases of homelessness that Birmingham City Council deals with per month. It is important for the public to understand the different types of homelessness. As not all homeless people are rough sleepers out on the streets. There are those who have been placed in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs, others may be ‘sofa-surfing’ and stopping at homes of friends and certain relatives. There are also people who work or study full-time, but still face

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on the City’s Streets homelessness and are having to sleep overnight in their cars. It is vital for us to understand the structural inequalities an individual may face from an early age that can lead to future homelessness. These factors can include things such as; poverty, social inequality, drug-abuse, domestic violence, and so on. What is being done to help the homeless on the streets of Birmingham? Luckily there are a number of different local organisations across the city that work to tackle homelessness, and reach out to help those staying on the streets. Some of these include St Basil’s, a homeless charity who work with young people aged 16-25 in the areas of Birmingham, Sandwell and Dudley, Solihull and Coventry. There is also the Department for Work and Pensions whom work in partnership with homelessness organisations. The DWP and Job Centre Plus (JCP), work effectively to help support people with their homeless situations and benefits claims to reduce the likeliness of sanctions. The national charity for homeless people, Crisis, also works one-

to-one with the homeless and offer unconditional support and courses across 12 areas in England. They aid people in getting the skills and healthy well-being they need in order to get their lives back on track for good. At present, there is a street intervention out-reach team within the Birmingham city centre who patrol regularly to give whatever aid they can to the homeless. This includes a fully qualified medical nurse to take care of any physical or mental health issues rough sleepers may be currently facing. There are also enforcement officers to help prevent people from going into and exploiting the homeless community, who are already considered a very vulnerable group of people. This includes preventing street crime in Birmingham such as violence and drug trafficking. During this winter, the abandoned Bowie Jackson Tower in Birmingham is being converted as a shelter to house the homeless in the cold months of January and February 2019. The flats will be used as floor-space for new beds and sleeping bags that rough sleepers may use.

A Severe Weather Emergency Prevention Plan (SWEPP) has also been launched in the city. This aims to install 130 extra sheltered beds to keep people off the streets in sub-zero temperature conditions. How Capital Business Hub has been involved CBH acted as one of the main sponsors funding the Homelessness Conference at the Digbeth campus. Business strategy manager Aksar Khan of CBH attended the conference at the SSC in order to gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding homelessness in Birmingham, and what the public can do to help. Aksar and CBH manager Juleka Bazlul were actively involved in the College’s Soup Kitchen, where students and members of the local community were also volunteering to give away free food and hot drinks to rough sleepers in the city. CBH donated goodie bags to the homeless containing energy bars, sweets and snacks as a kind gesture during the festive season. Also attending the event were community youth worker Zaf Mohammed Bem and motivational speaker

January 2019

Kul Mahay. Media coverage was carried out by AsianWorld Newspaper and A1 TV. What you can do to help the homeless in your city • If you see a rough sleeper in your area or as you’re passing through the city centre, you can report them through the organisation ‘Street Links.’ As a result, aid will immediately be deployed to help the person/s get into shelter and in giving them food, water, medicine and clothing. • If you have any spare change you can go online and visit www.changeintoaction.org.uk , where you can donate to the homeless directly. So far over £12,000 has been donated in aid of the homelessness cause in England alone. CBH will be running homeless community projects on foot throughout the Birmingham area each month in 2019. If you have food or clothing you wish to donate, or you want to volunteer to help rough sleepers in your city, you can reach out to Juleka Bazlul on the CBH number at: 0121 773 2020. By Manisha Bhanot

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January 2019

Pay-gap: South-Asians Lose up to £3.2bn in wages dation, Kathleen Henehan, stated: “Black, Asian and minority ethnic workers have made important gains in the labour market in recent years. A record number of young BAME workers have degrees, and a record number are in work.” “However, despite this welcome progress, many of Britain’s 1.6 million black, Asian and ethnic minority workers face significant disadvantages in the workplace.” “After the successful steps taken to expose and tackle the gender pay gap in 2018, we now need greater accountability on the ethnic pay gap in 2019.”

Front Page Story Cont’d... However, now the UK Government has begun to consider forcing big firms into annually reporting their ethnicity pay gaps as well. The push for change comes after a study into wage disparity underlining lower levels of pay for blacks, Asians, Hispanics and other minorities. The research was undertaken in comparison to their white co-workers, and showed that BAMEs were losing out on £3.2bn in pay per year. This type of impartial behaviour from employers is illegal on account of The Equality Act 2010, which made it unlawful to discriminate against employees due to their race. According to the GOV.UK website, in 2017, the median pay per hour for people from a white ethnic background was £11.34, ultimately 10p higher than the average hourly rate for those from all other ethnic groups in total. Overall, Indians had the highest gross hourly pay, earning roughly £13.14, whilst Pakistanis/Bangladeshis earned the least, on average £9.52.

People from all BAMEs except for Indians had a lower average hourly pay level than whites. Recent research has been undertaken regarding the BAME pay gap, in consideration of the differences in job positions and educational backgrounds different ethnicities face. Led by the by the Resolution Foundation, the analysis discovered the gap was as apparent as 17%, or £3.90 per hour, for black male graduates in comparison to white male graduates. The term ‘intersectionality’ was coined by American Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw 20 years ago to put a name to the oppressive treatment being received to individuals on account of factors such as their gender, race and educational background. It is a key factor in the public understanding how this research analysis plays out in the working world, as BAMEs may have to pay additional penalties for their working background and average qualifications in the workplace. Policy analyst at the Resolution Foun-

In October of 2018, UK Prime Minister Theresa May launched a welcomed consultation on how compulsory reporting will aid in solving race disparities concerning hourly wage. She said she wanted to focus on ending “burning injustices” within the country’s economy. Only about 3% of large corporate companies thus far have voluntarily provided statistics of their ethnic pay gaps. One of them, ITN, discovered that its BAME workers were paid around 21% less each hour in comparison to its white workers. By Manisha Bhanot

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January 2019

Innocent Shop Owner Killed in Birmingham

By Khairul Azam

An incident took place in December within Birmingham where an innocent man has been killed. The victim’s name is Yasir Hussain, aged 34 who co-owned a shop on Melville Street, Burnley. He was visiting his relatives within his home city when the incident occurred; he and his cousin were on their way to a standard visit to the supermarket. The two were chased by a group of people carrying weapons. His cousin escaped but unluckily Mr Yasir could not escape and was stabbed three times in the back and left fatally injured. He was pronounced dead on Central Drive, in Lower Gornal, Dudley, shortly thereafter. Yasir Hussain was described as a kind and loving man by his family and his friends. He was a father to 13-year-old Adil, 8-year-old Azaan, 11-year-old

Malaika and 4-year-old Hazan. His sister Siyqa Khamum, aged 39, along with her parents and other relatives visited the hospital where Yasir’s body was laid. Ms Khamum said “People have killed an innocent man and taken him for no reason. They have taken him from my mother’s life.” She also added, “Yasir was a fun loving guy who was amazing with kids and he loved socialising with family and friends.” After the incident, an investigation was started by the West Midland Police. They arrested the suspect Nabeel Choudhary aged 20 from Hope Street, West Bromwich. Nabeel Choudhary was also charged with possession of an imitation firearm with criminal intent. Three other people have been arrested on suspicion of murder, as well as a 21-year-old woman held on suspicion of assisting an offender. But they have since been released pending further investigation. Det. Insp Jim Colclough, from the Forces Homicide Unit, said: “These arrests are another positive step, but we are still working hard to piece together what took place.” He also added, “We would encourage anyone who has any information which they believe would assist our investigation to get in touch.” “We have stepped up patrols in the area to reassure members of the community.” “Violent crime has no place in our borough and we will continue to work tirelessly with partners and local people to tackle the harm and misery it causes to families, friends and the wider community.” He urged any people with information to come forward to help with the investigation and get the criminal to justice.

Ajay is a Hero Helping others like him to Fight Sickle Cell Disorder

By Samuel Manuel Silva

Ajay Dattani is one of a kind, and he isn’t ready to give up, at least not yet. He is not just staying positive but helping people in his condition to do so as well. Ajay suffers from a sensitive Sickle cell disorder, this condition is inherited and affects not only the blood but a number of organs in one’s body as well. Oscar Birmingham is a charity that helps people with Sickle cell disorder. Signs or any symptoms of sickle cell usually start at an early age. Ajay is the chairman of OSCAR Birmingham, the charity that has helped many families locally. Sickle cell anaemia is considered a much bigger problem or rather an advanced level of this condition. Severe pain, seasoned episodes, and strokes are some of the challenges people with this

disease face. As you can imagine, Ajay goes through a lot but somehow he overcomes that and helps others in need as well. He has had multiple surgeries, that mostly took place during his teenage years and kept Ajay in and out of hospital continuously, he is now 38 years old. The disease is known for affecting people of Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Eastern Mediterranean and African origin. The OSCAR charity has been around for quite some time, approximately 46 years. Their pivotal message: “Keeping well with Sickle cell” is one with a simple feel good tone and memorable wording. Keeping well with Sickle cell is not only a slogan but a programme where people with this disorder get together on a weekly basis, not just for

coffee but for friendly conversations as well. People who receive the charity assistance know that there is more to life than problems or diseases, and keep their loved ones and fellow sufferers close-at hand in a continuous support network for one another. Promoting awareness, wellness through nutrition, health and bringing sufferers of the disease together to share their life experiences is are already making a difference. Ajay and his team provide mentoring, educational and social workshops and free trips during the holiday season. This may not just be a different way to live, but a better way to live, with so much to do and probably not a lot of time to think about the problems that they face.

#WhatWouldJesusDo

Last month, in Canary Wharf station, in the heart of the financial district, international humanitarian charity, Penny Appeal unveiled 5 life-size ice statues symbolising homeless families to promote their winter campaign. The frozen family depict the plight of the 140 families who become homeless every day, and the 900 children who become homeless every month, right here in the UK. The Rt Revd Paul Hendricks and Baroness Warsi and Imam Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra unveiled the ice sculptures, following a brief speech highlighting the ways in which Britain’s diverse range of communities can show compassion and become more aware of homelessness during the festive period. Asking “What Would Jesus Do?” the campaign will align people from all backgrounds together in the spirit of giving during the winter period. Aamer Naeem, CEO of Penny Appeal says, ‘To some, it may seem strange that a Muslim charity is asking people what Jesus would do, that is, until they find out that Muslims also believe in Jesus.

To Muslims, Jesus, like Muhammad, was a prophet, and showed compassion and warmth to those in need. Our campaign reaching out to help the vulnerable homeless in the UK runs all year round, but this is the season where we feel more for those in need due to the harshness of the weather’. Many homeless people remain hidden from view during winter, choosing to bus-surf or find other means of keeping warm. Both Muslims and Christians are inspired by their faiths to help them. Penny Appeal have placed the sculptures outside of the warm, cheerful interiors of some of London’s biggest offices to inspire people to give to an otherwise invisible community, just as Jesus would do. Volunteers from Penny Appeal’s Team Orange will be distributing emergency relief to the homeless throughout the season, as well as hosting afternoon tea for elderly people who might be cold or lonely during winter and delivering gifts to children in hospital to offer some cheer during the colder months.

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January 2019

28 Day ‘Fajr’ Bike Challenge by Mohammed Zafran

AL Ansar (The Helpers) also known as The Al Ansar Community Group, are responsible for starting the initiative ‘The 28 Day Fajr Challenge’ in light of recent crime within their area of Small Heath and surrounding areas Bordesley Green, Hay Mills and Yardley. They came up with the idea to engage the youth within the community, to educate them and advise them about the effects of gangs, violence and also try and get them fit and active and prevent anti social behaviour. Thus, The 28 Day Fajr challenge was born. The challenge was aimed at youths under the age of 16, since the majority of the community within the local area of Small Heath are Muslim and receive bad press. Therefore, the idea was conjured as a positive reflection of the Muslim community in Brum, (copied from Turkey in 2017), to start a 28 day challenge in order to complete the dawn prayer in congregation at a local masjid. The idea was to attract the under 16s and give them an incentive: complete the challenge and receive a brand new mountain bike, free of charge. The helpers planned to have 5 minute discussions with the kids/youths and daily discussions about current problems and issues and what the kids could do to become better individuals and be an asset within their own communities. The bikes were a reward and would also help the kids to remain fit, active and healthy. The challenge ran in the month of August, whilst the kids were on school holidays and was completed by 12 kids. The bikes were purchased from a local shop and funds for the bikes were raised from within the local community’s members and local businesses. It was a successful programme and Al Ansar hope to do something similar in the future.

A few words from local Imam, Hafiz Usman, who inspired the kids and came to lead the prayers and gave advice to the kids are given below. “The Fajr challenge was an initiative started by a local Group of voluntary community members (Al Ansar Community Group) In the Qamar al Islam Mosque in Small Heath. The young participants were required to attend the dawn prayer for a period of four weeks during the summer holidays. A short reminder was delivered every day after the prayer. Upon completion of this task the young attendees were gifted a brand new bike.

Asian World News Inspiration

My name is Lady Mya Amarise, my parents are from Azad Kashmir and I am a born and bred Londoner. I was the first Muslim Kashmiri woman to be crowned in Ms British Beauty Curve 2013/14. I have been sponsored by the USA to represent the UK as an Ambassador for women. I have competed with other models from around the world and have also been crowned Ms United Nations 2013/14. I was crowned in London as the 1st runner up for Ms Pakistan Commonwealth. Tied between myself and Nigeria, I agreed to give the crowning over to Nigeria as I had already been awarded a winner in the past. After that I was crowned in New York, USA as Ms Asia International Woman 2015/16. I have been lucky enough to become a role model for so many ladies around the world and empower them with positivity. Our Pakistani ladies are more in need of motivation to help guide them through the right channels. Therefore, I help motivate them on all walks of life, even on how to keep their relationships water tight. I’m also an actress as well as one of the leading curvy models internationally. I have modelled in Ibiza and Madeira during fashion show, however, the last pageant I was most recently was crowned as Ms Pakistan in was International Curve 2018/19. This pageant is one of the world’s largest plus sized platforms. So of course, I was very nervous to bring Pakistan on the map of pageantry because it’s the usual stereotype for a woman of my ethnicity to be a slim and small in size. However, I have proved that you can be beautiful, in any form and any size. I have managed to successfully embrace my inner beauty, and I want to encourage everyone reading this to do the same thing, by only believing in themselves first. Within my most recent pageant, I have managed to embrace my traditional Pakistani roots and bring my heritage to the stage. I had kept all three of my outfit changes traditional, keeping a dupatta on my head at all times and incorporating a designer sharara into my look. My swimwear I designed myself through the help my personal tailor. I did an Arabic look, exposing the minimum, where I was able to take to the stage with confidence like a storm and be successfully awarded. My evening gown costume change was also from the same designer and fully sleeved. I wanted to keep my Islamic customs and tradition close, competing without

activist who works alongside many charities, and gives free dispensary for the poor, especially widows and orphaned children in underprivileged villages. As well as being a humanitarian, I also consider myself a keen business woman and entrepreneur. I hold an honorary Bachelor’s degree in Business and Management, but my journey to achieve all of my goals thus far has not been an easy one. As I was married at a young age, I did so did not get a chance to complete my formal education up until recently, despite being involved in the business industry for nearly a decade. I want both men and women to look at me and see that if I can turn my life around, so can they! I’m always positive and stand firm in every decision I make. I would consider myself to be a am a self-made woman who’s a very strong minded. I believe encountering failure in your life is only a chance to better yourself and gather your strength, to remain focussed. I am blessed with a beautiful family and loved ones who push me and hold faith in me, surround yourself with positive and like-minded people, and eventually you can achieve your dreams and aspirations too!

exposing, and for that I was given a standing ovation by the judges and crowd when I was crowned. From this experience, I was definitely taken by a surprise as I did not think I would have been able to return to the same platform after a five year gap. But the feedback I have received has been phenomenal. I have had full support from my family, friends, and my growing followers. I am very proud to have really showed Pakistani tradition in the most modest possible, by holding respect for myself in my own personal way. I’ve never had negative feedback from anyone, as I’ve even acted in Bollywood movies, songs and short films throughout my career. I am the first ever Pakistani woman who has competed with women from around the world, and won a title each time. However, the journey has not come without its challenges. It’s not easy to compete in swimwear categories for, as I want to uphold respect for the conservative values my parents have instilled in me from a young age. However, one of my biggest honorary achievements is being given a Beffta Award for all of my recognised hard-work. I have also been awarded in Morocco for humanity, as an Ambassador for Loani. I am now a human rights

The purpose of this challenge was to provide young people with a safe environment, where they can pray, learn, become leaders and socialise with their friends. The Masjid not only being a place of worship for Muslims, it is also a social hub for local residents, where they can meet and attend to the needs of the most vulnerable people in our society. The masjid is a place where there is a feeling of community cohesion. A peaceful environment providing opportunities for both the young and the old. “In total, 12 young people partook in this challenge. First of all, we are thankful to Qamar ul Islam Mosque for providing us with the platform to deliver this initiative, secondly we are grateful to the young people and their parents, and finally we are indebted to all the individuals and organisations who donated towards the bikes.” Al Ansar Community Group would like to thank Qamar Ul Islam Masjid, The volunteers who helped and made this cause a success (Sidi Hasnain, Sidi Zubair, Majid and Hafiz Usman). Al Ansar would also like to thank Hawk Cycles for providing a huge discount towards the bikes and an excellent service. Also a special mention to all the sponsors, without them we would not have been able to purchase the bikes. Al Hijaz Tours, Mirza & Sons, I Move Property, SSC Energy, Ziryab Executive Buffet & Floor Fit.

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January 2019

Melody Masters International Celebrates its 2nd Anniversary

Melody Masters International is a music and entertainment group that focuses on supporting vulnerable and isolated people in the community through song and dance. In December of last month, the organisation celebrated its second grand anniversary party in Birmingham, hosting a range of local and other wellknown singers and dancers. The artists in attendance included: Jas Bhakar of Jas Entertainment, Shahikala, and Dhol Legend Gurcharan Mall. The prestigious evening was held at the Diamond Suite at Alderley Park Road and hosted by Muhammad Basharat. The multi-cultural night welcomed guests from a range of different cultures, faiths, and class backgrounds. The featured motivational and community speakers included Councillor Mohammed Aikhlaq Mbe, ex-councillor Najma Hafeez, Rose Duggal, Shagufta Hamid Khan, and Barry Colder from MTF Sports Academy. At the event, awareness was raised for those who were suffering from depression, dementia, autism and other physical and mental illnesses. Members working for the organisation are also working for the

Lying Wife Cheated Family out of 32K amid Claims she was Terminally Ill with Cancer

By Soundarya Guru

benefit of victims of domestic violence, and those of us who suffer from isolation and daily stress. Overall, the event was a celebration of all that Melody Masters International (MMI) have accomplished in the last two years since their opening. Guest Zakki Ahmed from London said that the event was: “absolutely brilliant. That’s why I travelled two hours on a Saturday

evening.” She said that MMI are: “a proper family, full of entertainment and love and genuine people. I’d recommend it to anybody.” Melody Masters runs every Friday, you can reach the group on their community facebook page www.facebook.com/ MelodyMastersInternational to see how you can get involved with helping your local area.

She claimed the family was at risk of kidnapping In a recent situation, even a disease has been utilised as a source for robbery! A wife has lied to her husband and claimed she had cancer in order to pull-off a shocking and heartless scam. We know cancer can be treated up to a certain stage, but cancer recurrence is also a heavy possibility for sufferers of the disease. Thus, people try hard to survive by undergoing Kimo Therapy and other medical treatments. Jasmin Mistry, who is 36 years old deceived her husband Mr. Vijay Katechia of 40 years by claiming that she was suffering from cancer, and had posted several pictures on social media trying to prove her case. Jasmine did not stop with that, she also chiselled 30 more people in the same manner. It is a well-known fact that cancer treatment options are more prevalent in the U.S than other places. So she said that she is very ill and had to undergo proton treatment. The cost of the treatment is the equivalent to millions of pounds. Got caught! When her husband showed her “scan” report to his doctor friend the truth was unveiled as she had downloaded the picture from Google, from that moment on the truth began to gradually be revealed. The lie had been sustained for the past four years on the basis of fake facts and medical reports. Also, Mistry continued saying that she was getting severe headaches

and claimed that she had a cancerous tumour located in her spine. She then sought money for her terminal brain cancer at Snaresbrook Crown court in North-East London. She also tried to demonstrate fake symptoms like multiple trips to the toilet for her vomiting, accompanied with blood in her stools, and pretended she required help with walking up and down stairs. Money luring Mistry’s Mother-in-Law when she entered the house as a Daughter-inLaw gave her a sum of £32,000 for the treatment. Mistry’s husband Vijay has said it has haunted his life from that point of time. His sister pawned an Omega watch and gave her £4,700. Another person gave her £66,000. At last, she ended up faking a statement claiming that she had died. Husband’s state Mr. Vijay Katechia enumerated all the events sequentially to the court also that there was a rumour from her saying that there were death threats for her and his family members. It was found that she spent a lot of money she robbed from her family and friends on handbags. Judgment The judgment declared from the court was that: “This is a terrible crime. To tell everybody you have cancer and take money from them... It’s an awful situation.”

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January 2019

Asian World News Motivation!

Bobby Singh Diraag: Happy 50th Birthday!

By Jag Singh

The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain A few years ago, Nadiya Hussain captured the hearts of the nation by winning 2015’s Great British Bake-off, an emotional venture of highs and lows that left us glued to our screens. Now, Nadiya has channelled her creative talents and the same emotional energy in a completely different way… by writing her next new novel! Nadiya is already the successful author of a series of cook-books, including Nadiya’s Kitchen (Michael Joseph) and Bake Me a Story (Hodder). However, her new novel is an entirely new stream of literature created by the talented writer. The second instalment in her fiction-series of the Amir Sisters is just as engaging as The Secret Lies of the Amir Sisters. In fact, The Fall and Rise has been likened to a merge of Little Women meeting Marian Keyes’ Walsh Family. A heart-rending tale of four close-knit sisters, following their stories of motherhood, womanhood, pregnancy and family struggles. Will their sisterly bond

prevail as each undertakes her own personal journey, or will they only drift further apart? “Becoming a mother has always been Farah’s dream so when older sister Fatima struggles with a tough pregnancy whilst Farah has trouble conceiving she can’t help but be jealous. Until a plan to break a huge cultural taboo in her family, and use a surrogate gives her a renewed hope. But nothing is ever that easy in this warm, witty look at a modern British family.” “A Lovely story about family, faith and self-acceptance” – Red Magazine “Packed with humour and warmth” – Heat, 5* “Breezy, funny and winning” – Daily Mail The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain will be available to buy from January 24th as a paperback edition for £7.99, eBook for £3.00 and Audio at £12.99. Don’t miss this soon-tobe best-seller that everyone’s sure to be talking about!

The previous month of December saw the 50th birthday of a special remarkable individual who is very close to my heart Sardar Charanjit ‘Bobby’ Singh, from Goodmayes, Redbridge, UK. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the motivational advice he gave to me almost forty years ago that changed my life. Due to having spent the majority of my childhood in the 1970s running away from bullies and finding ways to survive, this obviously took its toll on my education. By the time I was thirteen years old I could neither read or write. I struggled with basic Maths and English questions and could barely string a sentence together both written or verbal. My secondary school teachers decided to place me in a class entitled ‘Special Needs Class.’ In our first ever class they taught us basics such as A is for Apple, B is for Ball and so on. I was so embarrassed. After school that day I ran home and went straight to my elder brother Bobby Singh. I cried and explained to him that I was ashamed and felt like a loser because I couldn’t read or write and had become a special needs student. Bobby raised his voice to me and said ‘Don’t ever let me hear you say that again! You are no loser!’ He asked me ‘What do you want to achieve in your life?’ I told him that I wanted to read and write like a normal thirteen year old should. I will never forget the great advice that he gave me. He said ‘If you want to learn to read and write Jag, read whatever you can get your hands on, newspapers, road signs, manuals, and if you can’t pronounce the word ask someone. Keep practising to write until you get it right. If you don’t know what the word you are reading means then look it up in a dictionary. If you are struggling, ask me, ask a teacher and just keep asking. You will get there, but you will have to work hard. The school may have labelled you as ‘special needs’ but that is their view, it doesn’t have to be your view. Prove them wrong!’ I did just that. I read anything I could get my eyes on and spent many late nights just writing away at my stories. Eventually, all my hard work paid off. Within a few weeks I escalated to a higher English class and was no longer in the so-called ‘Special Needs’ classes. I applied the same hard working positive attitude to my other subjects and within a few months I was being awarded certificates at school assemblies due to my excellent test results. Today, as I write this article I can’t stop thinking about the fact that this would not have been possible if I had never followed my brother Bobby Singh’s advice almost forty years ago. I have not only shared the amazing educational advice he gave me with my children, but with hundreds of other children and adults who have

told me that they encounter learning difficulties: ‘Keep learning, asking questions and work hard. You will get there. Help is always available, all you have to do is reach out.’ During those gruelling school years in the 1970s, we were the only ethnic minority family in the whole area, surrounded by a majority WhiteBritish population and many of these individuals at the time did not want to accept us in the United Kingdom. As we were young growing Sikh boys with hair bobbles on our heads and had different colour skin than the majority, this meant we were wide open to physical and verbal racist abuse, which we encountered on a daily basis without fail. When we were being chased home by bullies Bobby would always tell me to run home to safety. He would stay behind and make the offenders chase him by gathering their attention and on many occasions he ended up taking the beatings all by himself. He knew I was too young to take the pain, the beatings, so he did it to protect his younger brother. I didn’t want to leave him alone with these predators but he would insist. ‘GO HOME! NOW JAG!’ I would cry all the way home, worried and concerned whether my brother would make it home alive. Eventually, Bobby would arrive home, bruised and injured. His biggest regret was that he couldn’t always be there to protect me. He could always tell when I had been attacked, caught out by the predators by my injuries. He would feel so guilty that he had failed to protect his younger brother. Bobby you did what you could whenever you could to protect me and that’s what really matters. It was impossible for you to be there for me all the time. The bullies tried to break our confidence and destroy us from within. But we kept our faith in our ‘Waheguru’ (God) and remained unbreakable. Bobby always reminded me that all we had to do was to pass those horrid

years and then we would be able to tell our story from the other side. It would be a story of bravery, faith, and the true power of the human spirit. That is exactly why I decided to write my book – Unbreakable – based on the true events that took place during our childhood. In 2015 when I first stood in front of over three hundred children in an assembly to speak to them about child protection, I froze for a few seconds and remembered Bobby, my brother, speaking to me when he caught me one time crying under my blanket in bed. I was nine years old. “Why you crying Jag?” “Bob, nobody should go through what we do? One day I am going to help children who get picked on and bullied at school! Nobody should get bullied!” “Don’t worry Jag, what we are facing right now will pass and one day you will get your chance to help children.’ As I stood in front of the children in the assembly in 2015 I smiled, England had now become a much more diverse and equal opportunities country. Many Acts had been passed in the British Parliament to ensure equal rights were exercised in our country. Sikhs in the UK and many other ethnics were all now accepted in schools, workplaces and respected accordingly. Bobby Singh, my Bro and Veerji, I would like to say thank you for being there for me all them years ago, protecting me, teaching me and loving me. If it wasn’t for you, I really don’t think I would be alive today. Your sacrifices will never be forgotten. Always going to be there for each other, forever! Happy 50th Birthday Sardar Charanjit ‘Bobby’ Singh Diraag! May Waheguru always enlighten your path. (All the extract’s above have been provided for you from the forthcoming book – Unbreakable – By Jag Singh) Jag Singh from London/Essex is an inspirational speaker, writer and he is constantly campaigning for Anti-Bullying, Mental Health and many other areas that effect 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 constant daily motivation you may follow Jag Singh on Twitter ~ @jagsingh_ican You Tube - The Inspiration Zone - Jag Singh Please feel free to contact Jag and his team for information regarding their inspirational seminars and workshops at ~ jagsingh70@btinternet.com

January 2019

Wave of Car Jacking Targets Victims’ Homes, as Masked Men Turn-Up on a Young Family’s Patio

By Manisha Bhanot

Bold and balaclava laden thieves showed up on a young woman’s doorstep on an evening last month, disturbing the home of three local families in the Sutton Coldfield area. Throughout this winter, the city of Birmingham has faced a huge car crime epidemic that has terrified many local drivers. Thieves have been organising themselves in gangs or by twos-and-threes. They have been found to be carrying knives and crowbars as victims have been left battered on the street, stabbed and dragged out of their vehicles. In order to pull off these petrifying car-jackings, attackers have been standing in the middle of roads, forcing drivers to stop by blocking their exit. They have also been deploying the same tactic by placing wheelie bins in the middle of streets and preying on drivers when they get out of their cars with the engine running to move them. As well as this, they have also been tailgating victims’ cars and flashing their headlights, making the road-user believe that there is something wrong with their car so they pull over and the thieves can attack. However, this most recent robbery attempt has shown that car-owners are not even safe in their own homes, let alone on the streets. The

event took place at the victims’ large house on Kempson Avenue, at around 6:30pm on Monday December 3rd 2018. The family’s luxury BMW was the main target. A young woman in her twenties, living at the family home was alerted to a trespassing in her back garden when she heard the sound of movement– and their security light system failed to come on. She said: “I was doing the laundry and heard rustling sounds – which sounded like leaves – and I looked to see if there was a cat or fox outside.” Instead, she was faced with two masked men in black staring back at her through the glass. The men used

a brick to smash the window open, at that point the woman started to scream until her mother-in-law and sister-in-law came into the room, the latter holding her 13 week old baby in her arms. As the men came in they shouted “Give us the car keys!” to the women, who began screaming and exited the property through the front door, alerting their neighbours to call the police. As they did this, the men moved to the upstairs floor and stole valuables and cash from the family home, they were unable to find the car keys. By the time the police arrived, the robbers were long gone.

The key witness and Mother of two children, who were luckily not at the address during the break-in, said: “I couldn’t get any words out of my mouth. It was unbelievable. I just screamed. There was a dining table in front of the patio door which slowed them down. They were just seconds behind us.” This car-theft attempt only comes a few weeks after a property near St Bernards Road was broken into during the early hours of the morning. Again, the tenants’ car was targeted as a balaclava-clad gang stole an Audi SQ5 and other valuables before making their escape.

Who Could Turn Down Luxury Chinese Cuisine at 50% Off?

By Georgia Horsell

The new restaurant Tattu on Barwick Street serving high-end Chinese food has been highly anticipated – even more so now you can get 50% off by just signing up to a mailing list. The new restaurant Tattu on Barwick Street serving high-end Chinese food has been highly anticipated – even more so now you can get 50% off by just signing up to a mailing list. Bookings open on the 19th of January for what is being called Birmingham’s hottest new bar, in the former basement of The Grand Hotel – and the transformation is spectacular. Images on their website show decadent Chinese décor that reverberates atmosphere and romance. The Birmingham restaurant will cover two floors named Yin and Yang, and will also have outside seating space. The Yin floor will have classical Chinese décor with stereo-typically feminine details highlighted by dark backgrounds whereas the Yang floor will be more stereo-typically masculine with more industrial materials such as polished brass to create a glowing atmosphere like a bonfire at night. The family-run business which began in Manchester was never intended to get so big, but has grown due to an ‘overwhelming response from customers’. The expansion into Birmingham and their other new

restaurant in Edinburgh will create 176 new jobs, boosting our economy and creating another pocket of bus-

tling atmosphere in our incredible city. Tattu champions the beauty of diversity and culture that Birming-

ham celebrates, and we can’t wait for it to open. The menu changes seasonally using the highest quality fresh ingredients and bookings are already flying in. Prices on main courses are between £14 and £70 with sharing plates starting at £7 and their mouthwatering desserts from £5. It’s not just the extraordinary flavours and presentation of the food that’s attracting attention, however, with 23 high-quality cocktails to chose from, ranging from £9-£14 and incorporating flavours you won’t find in every bar in Birmingham such as lychee and cherry blossom. If you want to keep the magic of Christmas going into the New Year or take a special someone out for the ultimate romantic Valentines meal, then it’d be hard to do better than Tattu. Its atmosphere embodies decadence, aesthetic beauty and hedonistic romance. Spot the building by its stunning temporary blossom exterior in Barwick Street behind Colmore Row symbolising good luck – and we certainly wish this restaurant the best success in Birmingham.

WHY BLACK AND WHITE IS NOT ALL RIGHT FOR THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA

A welcome side effect of the Raheem Sterling race row is that it has highlighted the mainstream media’s relationship – or lack of it – with black and ethnic minorities in this country. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Raheem Sterling is an England and Manchester City player who was the victim of alleged racial abuse from some Chelsea fans when they recently played City. He didn’t react to the provocation at the time but afterwards issued a calm and measured statement in which he highlighted how sections of the media treat black footballers and how that can help “fuel racism and aggressive behaviour”. Distrust of the mainstream media has grown in recent years, especially among minorities, and that’s hardly surprising when you see some of the portrayals of black or ethnic minorities. One problem is the lack of minorities employed in the media; a couple of years ago a study by City University London found that the British journalism industry is 94% white. The research - based on a random pool of 8,000 journalists working in broadcast, print and digital -also revealed that just 0.4% of British journalists are Muslim and 0.2% are black. That compares with 5% and 3% respectively for those groups in the general population. Even if you do get in, it’s not plain sailing especially when your employers have ingrained attitudes. Here are a few personal examples from my time on mainstream newspapers. On asking a features editor that I’d like to review music gigs, I was a bit stunned by his first suggestion - that I cover an Indian dance concert. He’d automatically assumed that I’d know about ‘Asian’ music when what I really meant was rock bands. I turned down the offer. An editor decided to email staff who had ‘Asiansounding’ names asking for their input into a proposed Asian fashion supplement. It was politely, and not so politely in some cases, declined or ignored. One recipient replied that although his name sounded Asian, his father was white, his mother Iraqi and he came from Norwich! As a reporter, I was fortunate in having my proper name used on bylines (albeit it was often abbreviated to Mo) but a Muslim colleague’s name was Anglicised for his byline. For a staff restructuring exercise, my then employer refused to rearrange my interview despite my protests that (a) I was on holiday (b) it was Ramadan and I was fasting (c) 5pm on a summer’s day was not a good time to question someone who hadn’t eaten or taken any drink all day! Imagine my delight then when I found out that colleagues on other papers had their interviews delayed because their boss was on holiday. (A very kind HR lady suggested that I sue the company for discrimination!) If staff diversity doesn’t go anywhere near reflecting the community you serve, then you’re not doing yourself any favours. Thankfully, and maybe belatedly, it’s an issue that some editors have recognised and are trying to address. For example, the Birmingham Mail newspaper and its sister website Birmingham Live recently announced that half of those shortlisted for its journalism vacancies would be from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) backgrounds. And last year, Mike Norton, editor of the Bristol Post, admitted his newspaper had too few ethnic minority journalists and that the paper had contributed historically to a “cultural divide” in the city. Let’s hope that this recognition leads to concrete steps in making our media more representative of the communities they serve. Mohammed Ilyas is Communications Manager for the Birmingham charity Islamic Help. The views expressed in this column are his personal opinions.

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January 2019

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£9.2 trillion in 173 years – the story of Britain in India

By Jemma Tennison

The effects of Britain’s colonization of India have been both the creation of a foundation for modern international capitalism and the prohibition of economic advancements in India, a top Indian economist has claimed. Utsa Patnaik, Professor Emeritus at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Economic Studies and Planning Centre, has recently voiced her conclusions of the staggering amount of money that Britain took from India during colonial rule. The Columbia University Press essay was based on extensive research conducted into the relations between the two nations during the days of empire. The social effects of colonization are generally better known, such as poverty, disease and malnutrition being widespread and resulting in an Indian

AW Facts Did you know? About half of the footballs manufactured in the world come from Pakistan

life-expectancy of just 22 years old in 1911. Patnaik perused her interest into the economic aspect of this colonial relationship to shed a new light on the extent of damage India experienced. Between 1765 and 1938, “the drain amounted to 9.2 trillion pounds” with a “5 per cent rate of interest” Professor Patnaik said in an interview with Live Mint this week. This figure, if it were drained from the UK, would collapse the modern economy several times over. Patnaik states that the key factor was Britain’s control over both taxation revenues. India’s natural resources, especially tropical goods - as these were “highly prized in other cold temperate countries” - were sold to earn profit for Britain at the expense of the Indian people.

Patnaik focused on The East India Company, as from 1765 onwards it annually took “up to one-third of Indian budgetary revenues”- showing the relentless extents the colonialists took. The detrimental effects have been recognised even before Utsa’s research; Congress leader and writer Shashi Tharoor, in his book Inglorious Empire, had also called British Prime Minister Winston Churchill one of “the worst genocidal dictators”. Patnaik’s research also shows how every year the British syphoned off resources equivalent to 26-36% of the Central government’s budget. This had the potential to make extensive differences in India’s developing socio-economic journey in the 20th century. The economist believes if these international

earnings had remained in India, the country would have achieved much greater advancements in healthcare and social welfare. Despite widespread calls throughout Indian politics for a stream of reparations, the latest UK Governments have taken a firm line against such measures. In 2015, ex-prime minister David Cameron ruled out the possibility of reparations for Britain’s role in the former slave trade during a visit to Jamaica, urging Caribbean countries to “move on.” India’s unwilling contributions have been claimed as extensive, as “the modern capitalist world would not exist without colonialism and the drain,” Professor Patnaik told Live Mint.

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Separated by Fate, United by Destiny By Priyanka Dutta Three siblings meet each other after a span of seventy years at Gurudwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib. Three siblings got separated by fate and now after seventy years have been united by destiny. Wondering if this is a plot of a new film? You are wrong. This is the story of two sisters who met their brother recently. An emotional reunion of three siblings happened at Gurudwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib. Two Muslim sisters were reunited with their Sikh brother from a village near Dera Baba Nanak. Their meeting was emotional as Ulfat Bibi and Mairaj Bibi hugged their brother Beant Singh tightly. The meeting was especially symbolic as they were meeting each other after seven decades. The trio were actually inhabitants of Paracha village near Dera Baba Nanak. The family was migrating to Pakistan during Partition and they lost their son and daughter during the turbulent times. Allah Rakhhi, the mother contacted their former neighbour, Sardar Makhan Singh and came to know about her son’s whereabouts. From that time onwards, the brother had been maintaining contact with his sisters with the help of letters. This year he finally got to meet them face to face as part of the Sikh Jatha from India to attend the 549th birthday festival of Guru Nanak along with his friend Sardar Nerpal Singh. Ulfat Bibi had mentioned that she should be allowed to travel to India to meet her sister-in-law, nieces and nephews. Ulfat and Miraj have also appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to extend their brother’s visa. India and Pakistan have now decided to open the Kartarpur corridor to help the Sikh pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak. The gurdwara is about 4 km away from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine, and can be seen clearly from the Indian side.

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January 2019

Top 10 Richest

1. Mahinda Rajapaksa

2. Arjuna Ranatunga

3. Maithripala Sirisena

4. Arumugam Thondaman

5. Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan

Percy Mahendra a.k.a “Mahinda” Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan MP and currently the leader of the opposition; the Sri Lankan Freedom Party. He formerly served as Sri Lanka’s 6th President for two terms, from 2005 to 2015. Early Life Mahinda was born in Weerakatiya, Southern Province, Sri Lanka on 18 November 1945. He is heir to a wellestablished political family. His father is an ex-politician, MP and Cabinet Minister. He uncle was also a State Councillor. Mahinda has attended Richmond, Nalanda and Thurstan College. He has also been at student at Sri Lanka Law College from where he graduated as a fully qualified lawyer. He married Shiranthi Wickremasinghe, child-psychologist and educator in 1983. The couple have three sons together; Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha, the eldest of whom is also an MP. Business and Career Mahina took over as the SLFP candidate for the Beliatta constituency after his father’s death, becoming the youngest MP the country had seen at the age of 24. After the 2004 elections, Mahinda was sworn in as Prime Minister, and also held control over the Ministry of Highways & Road Development at this time. Despite representing himself as a peaceful person, Mahinda has highlighted signs of ending the peace pact in Sri Lanka by forging agreements which called for a revision of ceasefire in regards to the country’s Civil war, during his first-term of presidency. Mahinda has also been accused of election fraud during his third failed attempt into presidency, and his previous runnings as PM as well. His estimated net worth is at $18 billion.

Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga is a Sri Lankan ex-cricketer and 96’ Cricket World Cup champion. Due to his position as captaincy when his team took the title, he is often nicknamed as ‘Captain Cool.’ Asides from being a successful cricketer, he is now also a mainstream politician for his country’s government. Early Life Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga was born in Grampaha, Sri Lanka on 1 December 1963. His father Reggie was a politician for the Sri Lankan Freedom Party. His brothers, Nishantha, Dammika and Sanjeeva have played cricket for their home country at an international level as well. Ranatuga became married to Samadara, the couple have a son called Dhyan. Business and Career From 1988 and 11 years thereafter, Ranatunga transformed the Sri Lankan cricket team completely. The squad went from a frail and poorly organised team that were repeatedly defeated, to a cohesive and highly successful unit. After retiring from Cricket in 2001, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and Join the Sri Lankan Freedom Party. After the electoral success of the UPFA in 2004, he was given the position of Deputy Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. He has since left the UPFA and is currently affiliated with the Democratic National Alliance, as the Minister of Highways, Ports and Shipping. His net worth is priced at $68 million.

A politician and current 7th serving president of Sri Lanka, since 2015. He is the country’s first PM from the north-province, and shockingly one that was not born into a historically political family either. He has been surprising citizens of Sri Lanka by issuing gazettes every Friday since late October 2018. Early Life Maithripala Sirisena was born on 3 September 1951 in a village named Yagoda within the Gampaha District in Sri Lanka. His father Pallewatte Gamaralalage Albert served as a Veteran in WWII. His mother Yapa Appuhamilage Dona Nandawathi, was a simple school teacher. After the family moved to Polonnaruwa, Sirisena jr. attended Royal College, where he first accumulated his love of Politics. Sirisena studied at the Sri Lanka School of Agriculture for three years, from where he graduated with a diploma in agriculture in 1973.Seven years later he was awarded with a Diploma in political science, which he earned from the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Russia. Business and Career At the young age of 17, Sirisena has worked as a secretary for the SLFP Youth Organisation. A couple years after, he became involved with politics at a national level. He has been a Village Officer, President, Chief Organiser and also Treasurer of the SLFP. He has formerly been the Minister of Mahaweli Development as well. He was appointed as general secretary of the SLFP in 2001. In 2005 and 2010, he was voted in as the Minister of Agriculture and Health respectively, before resigning and running for his current position in presidency. His net worth at present is valued at a total of $14 million.

A member of Sri Lankan Parliament, Thondaman is the current Cabinet Minister of Livestock and Rural Community Development (farm-welfare). Early Life Thondaman was born on May 29 1964 in Sri Lanka. Unlike the Prime Minister of his nation, he belongs to an established political family, with his grandfather having been the famous Unionist Saumyamoorthi Thondaman. He studied at the Royal College Colombo, and currently still resides in the country’s commercial capital. Business and Career Thondaman assumed office for the Ceylon Worker’s Congress Party in 1999. He is also a representative of the Nuwara Eliya District, and an advocate for the Indian Tamils residing in Sri Lanka. Aside from his political career, Thondaman’s accumulation of wealth includes sources such as stocks, properties, and share-holdings. He also holds private yachts and planes. His net worth is prized at an approximate $1.9 million.

Ex-militant and present politician, Muralitharan has certainly had what would be considered as an unusual career path for some. Early Life Muralitharan was born in a village called Kiran, within Batticaloa in Eastern Sri Lanka in 1966. He was born to Vinayagamoorthy, an agriculturist from the farming and business caste of the Vaisyas. He has formerly been a fighter for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, an insurgency seeking to create an independent state of Tamil, for two decades. He is married to a woman called Nira, the couple have three children together. Business and Career After giving up gunfire and armed combat, Muralitharan was placed as a list member for the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). During 2008, he was sworn into becoming the Minister of National Integration. Shortly after he joined the SLFP and was appointed as its Vice President in 2009. He was in office from that time up until 2015. Muralitharan’s net worth stands at around a current $1.7 million.

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January 2019

People in Sri Lanka

6. A. H. M. Fowzie

7. Chandrika Kumaratunga

8. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka

9. A. L. M. Athaullah

10. Ranil Wickremesinghe

Abdul Hameed Mohamed Fowzie is a Sri Lankan MP and Minister of Government. He suffered injuries whilst being immersed in a crowd during the Akuressa suicide bombing. Early Life Fowzie was born on 13 October 1937 in Sri Lanka. He is married, a successful businessman and also a practicing Muslim. His son, Nauzer Fowzie is also a Politician and a member of the Western Provincial Council. Business and Career Fowzie was formerly the Mayor of Colombo, from 1974 to 1977. He became a member of the National Government through the United National Party, and assumed the position of Minister of Disaster Management from 2010 to 2015. He has been the Minister of Highways from 2000 to 2001. He has also been the Minister of Environment & Natural Resources, and of Petroleum Resources & Development as well. His estimated net worth of $1.4 million.

Kumartatunga was Sri Lanka’s 5th reigning President, the only woman in the country who has been honoured with the position until date. She served two terms, from 1994 to 2005. Bandaranaike is a fluent speaker of Sinhala, English and French. Early Life Chandrika Bandaranaike was born on June 29, 1945 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her parents, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike were former Ministers. Chandrika came from a privileged and well-off background, she was the middle child of three in her family. Bandaranaike deserted her Law studies at Roman Catholic College in order to fly to France under a scholarship programme. After studying to improve her competency in the French language, she earned a degree in Political Science and a PhD in Development Economics. Business and Career After stepping down from Presidency and as head of the SLFP, Bandaranaike exited the country on a self-inflicted exile to the UK. She is an involved member of the Global Leadership Foundation and the Council of Women World Leaders. She is also a director of the Club De Madrid and a panellist of the Clinton Global Initiative in the USA. Her net worth is summed up to an average of $1.4 million.

Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Anura Kumara Dissanayaka is a politician from Sri Lanka, present leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and one of the country’s MPs. Early Life Anura Kumara Dissanayaka was born on 24 November 1968 in Thambuthegama, Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka. He came from a common working class background; his father was a labourer and his mother a housewife. He completed his A levels at Thambuthegama Central College. Dissanayaka was the first student from his college to be chosen for admission into university. However, he left Peradeniya University just after a couple of months due to receiving threats, shortly before transferring to Kelaniya University instead. Business and Career Dissanayaka’s involvement with the JVP began during his days at school. He is an ex-Cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation. As well as being appointed JVP party-leader in 2014, he has been the Chief Opposition Whip of Sri Lanka for the past three years up until December 2018. His net worth is around $1.3 million.

Ahamed Lebbe Maraikkar Athaullah is a Politician and representative of Ampara for the United People’s Freedom Alliance in Sri Lanka. He is the country’s ex-Minister of Water Supply and Drainage. Early Life Athaullah was born on 6 October 1957 in Sri Lanka. He attended Akkaraipattu Muslim Central College where he is now a member of the old boy society. He is a fully qualified teacher, which is the profession he was involved in before he joined politics. Business and Career Athaullah was the country’s Deputy Minister of Education from 2000 to 2001. He was the Minister of Highways shortly after that until 2004. Between 2010 and 2012 he has been the Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils. Athaullah currently resides in Colombo, his net worth is prized at a total of $900,000.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP is a Sri Lankan politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 9 January 2015. He has been Leader of the United National Party since 1994 and the Member of Parliament for Colombo District from 1977. Early Life Ranil Wickremesinghe was born on 24 March 1949 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is the son of Esmond Wickremesinghe, an ex-lawyer, and Nalini Wickremesinghe née Wijewardena. Wickremesinghe attended Royal College, Colombo where he completed his formal studies. He graduated from the University of Ceylon, where he was a student under the Faculty of Law. After graduation, he undertook his exams and then his oath at the Sri Lanka Law College in 1972. Wickramasinghe has an honorary doctorate from Deakin University in Australia for his prominent contributions to the reform of economy, human rights and education. Business and Career Wickremesinghe began his political career by becoming the youngest Cabinet Minister of Sri Lanka, when he was appointed as Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment. Wickremesinghe has served two former terms as Prime Minister, between 1993 and 1994, and 2001 until 2004. During his terms he has improved Sir Lanka’s Foreign Policy. He has vouched for the use of Peaceful Negotiations in solving the country’s Ethnic Problem. His current net worth is $860,000.

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January 2019

Mission Rabies Educates One Million Children in India

In December 2018, Mission Rabies celebrated the education of one million children in India. The milestone is a result of its work delivering rabies education lessons over the last five years, empowering children in local schools and community groups with the knowledge of how to protect themselves from rabies and what actions to take if bitten by a potentially rabid dog. In 2018, no rabies-related human deaths have been recorded in Goa or Ranchi, Mission Rabies’ two Indian project sites, as a result of Mission Rabies’ focused vaccination and education campaigns. India was the first country that Mission Rabies started working in, beginning with a 14-city canine vaccination drive in 2013. Following a successful pilot, Mission Rabies began to focus on making Goa rabies-free as a model for other State Governments to follow. The project has now become the largest systematic mass dog vaccination and community education campaign to have ever been conducted in India. Education has become a key cornerstone of the project. The charity has now worked in 1,390 schools across Goa and led workshops for hundreds of community groups to ensure as many of the people at risk from rabies have the knowledge to protect themselves from this deadly disease. The lessons often take the form of creative role playing performed by Mission Rabies staff and interactive participation from children to help them learn the actions they should take to stay safe from rabies. Dr Murugan Appupillai, Director of Education in India said, “One third of all human rabies deaths occur in India which is why our work here is so important. By educating children in schools we are having a real impact where it’s needed most.

We prioritise primary schools as we know that children are more receptive to new messages at this age and more likely to share these with their com-

munity, so there is a multiplier effect for each of these one million children reached. It is great to see people putting our lessons into practice.”

The milestone was reached following an intensive month-long mass vaccination and education campaign in the Bardez region of Goa in October 2018. During the four weeks, the teams vaccinated over 12,000 dogs and reached more than 24,000 children in schools all over the state with their life-saving lessons. The Mission Rabies education teams continued to visit schools until the end of 2018 to ensure all communities in Goa now have the knowledge they need to protect themselves from rabies. Luke Gamble, Mission Rabies CEO, said, “This is a phenomenal achievement and I am incredibly proud of the team. We couldn’t have achieved it without the support of our partners on the ground and I would like to thank the local government authorities in Goa and Ranchi for working with us toward

this goal. India remains the global hotspot for this disease and with every child educated we get one step closer to the day when no one dies from rabies here.” This milestone also follows the success of Mission Rabies’ education projects in Malawi, which celebrated the education of one million children back in April 2018. To date, Mission Rabies have now educated 2,337,980 children about the risks of rabies across all their global projects. The education and vaccination statistics from all rabies projects are recorded on the Mission Rabies app, a bespoke tool that utilises smartphone technology to support the charity’s work and ensure the campaigns are effective and measurable. For more information on the work of Mission Rabies in India and any of their other projects, visit our website: www.missionrabies.com

Havoc Rose When a Leopard attacked a Buddhist Monk While Meditating Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve was alerted one morning in late December to catastrophic news. A Buddhist monk meditating inside the forest for around 28 days was being brought food by his fellow monks, when he was attacked and then dragged by a leopard, succumbing to many injuries. Rahul Walke Bodhi, 35 was a member of Buddhist temple inside the Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, India. Reports say that despite several warnings to the monk community to not go deep inside the forest, the victim and other devotees went meditating inside the prohibited area. While Rahul Walke Bodhi could not survive the attack, the other two devotees escaped the attack and alarmed the police. According to forest officials this has been the 5th attack in the last few weeks by the big cat.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, home to 40+ tigers, wild dogs, Sloth bear, Gaur, Sambhar, Barking deer, Cheetal, Chausinga, Nilgai, wild boar along with rare species such as Ratal, flying squirrel, Pangolin and Rusty spotted cat is the oldest National Park in the Chandrapur district of the Maharashtra state of India. The biggest threat posed is the civilization of 59 villages out of which 5 are inside the zone. The inhabitants of these villages regularly go outside for farming and are vulnerable to fatal attacks by the wild animals. Since the last attack, the area has been barricaded by the forest officials and only certain hours will be allocated for the temple monks prayer visit. Gajendra Narwane, the Reserve’s Deputy Conservator said that they are working on tranquilizing the deadly

big cat in order to contain it. Some other incident of the tiger killing a villager last week visiting a Hindu temple and a shopkeeper being killed at the outpost of the forest have also been reported. It is still unknown

as to whether the same leopard was responsible for the deadly cat created havoc. Going by the past incidents, Forest Director NR Pravin, and other forest officials have alerted the locals and

By Khushboo Chauhan the Buddhist monks to only visit the forest area at the defined time by the authorities. The monks have gone inside the forest for their annual prayer conference every morning, constantly ignoring the officials’ warning. Reports suggest that there are around 12000 to 14000 leopards in India and hundreds of them are killed every year for their body parts by poachers. The increasing number of such incidents can be contributed to the rampant urbanization, withering the natural habitat of wild animals. Human encroachment to their land has brought devastating results. Although the officials are considering these incidents on priority, we humans failing to maintain the natural habitat of the both of us will face catastrophic results.

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January 2019

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BRITISH AIRWAYS TAKES OFF TO ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

The City of Hull hosts 5th Annual #MicroBizMatters Day • Three-per-week service from Heathrow begins June 2, 2019 with tickets on sale from today starting at £499 return • British Airways’ newest aircraft type, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will operate in to Islamabad’s newly-opened airport British Airways has announced that it will fly from Heathrow to Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, from June 2, 2019. Tickets are on sale from now. The route will launch as a three-per-week service, operated on a three-class Boeing 787 Dreamliner – British Airways’ newest long-haul fleet that is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than other aircraft and features larger windows, mood lighting and the latest inflight entertainment. Return fares start from £499 for World Traveller, £773 for World Traveller Plus and £1,799 for Club World. Thomas Drew CMG, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, said: “I am delighted to be welcoming British Airways back to Pakistan. The launch of direct flights by British Airways between London Heathrow and Islamabad’s new International Airport is excellent news for both countries. The links between Britain and Pakistan are already extraordinary – from culture

and cricket, to people, politics and education. I see this launch as a vote of confidence in the future of those links – and, of course, a reflection of the great improvements in the security situation in Pakistan in recent years. The return of British Airways will give a particular boost to our growing trade and investment links. British Airways itself joins an increasing number of British companies doing business in Pakistan. I hope too that it will allow more people from the UK to discover, like I have, what a beautiful country Pakistan is. I

look forward to using the service myself when flights start in June.” Islamabad is a quiet and tranquil city with plenty of green spaces, gardens and parks. It is a hub for culture with a rich heritage and has an impressive collection of museums, markets, Mosques and hiking trails, as well as restaurants which serve a variety of cuisines from local Pakistani dishes to food from around the world. The airline has a long history of flying to the city and offered its first scheduled flights between London and the Pakistani capital in 1976. Islamabad is one of four long-haul routes being launched by British Airways in 2019, its centenary year. The airline is also launching direct flights to Pittsburgh and Charleston in the US and Osaka in Japan, alongside several short-haul routes. British Airways’ long-haul flights include complimentary food and drink, online check-in and free seat selection 24 hours prior to departure. The airline is amid a £4.5 billion investment for customers, including the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. Next year, the airline will launch its new business class seat with direct aisle access. For sales enquiries please email: pakistan.sales@ba.com

Timetable Outbound (LHR-ISB) Day of operation Local departure time Local arrival time Tuesday 9.15pm 9.55am Thursday 9.15pm 9.55am Sunday 9.15pm 9.55am Inbound (ISB-LHR) Day of operation Local departure time Local arrival time Monday 11.40am 4:00pm Wednesday 11.40am 4:00pm Friday 11.40am 4:00pm

We hope that everyone will #IGave 11 minutes to help another business owner on Friday, January 11th, 2019. Show the world that #MicroBizMatters After three years in London and then Manchester in 2018, the City of Hull will host the live streaming event for the fifth annual #MicroBizMatters Day on Friday, January 11th 2019. The UK’s biggest small business membership organisations are actively involved. Enterprise Nation, Forum of Private Business (FPB), Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Freelance Heroes and the International Association of Bookkeepers will all feature in both Hull and business networks across the UK. The day will also involve live streaming to the partnering organisations’ members. Paul Uppal, the Small Business Commissioner is also travelling to Hull to support #MicroBizMatters Day 2019. Hull City Council, supported by the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank, is to play a significant part in this annual, social media day of recognition, action (#PayIn30Days) and learning. The Day celebrates the contribution made by the 5.5 million micro businesses to the UK Economy and hundreds of thousands of micro business owners are encouraged to kick off the new business year by giving 11 minutes (#IGave11) of their time to support other business owners. The base for #MicroBizMatters Day is at the historic Guildhall in the heart of the City of Hull at which the co-founders and organisers, Tina Boden and Tony Robinson OBE, will host a number of online sessions including topics such as Family Business, Freelance Heroes, Makers, Creators or Manufacturers, Network of Networks and Entertainment. Additionally, there are many VIP interviews and workshops by the Forum of Private Business on ‘Late Payment’ and ‘Saving the High Street’ with one from the FSB on ‘Digital Taxation’. #MicroBizMatters Day always trends number one on Twitter and the live streaming from the event takes place on YouTube. Over 150 business owners are expected to contribute to the social media content by attending the Hull event. Some of the local individuals and businesses are Hannah and Sue from Inspire Ignite, Leah from Amethyst Cleaning, Ben Robinson from Prehistoric Hull, Sophie Green of Seams Impossible,

Phil Ascough, Ross Bennett of Engaging Education, T Arran Photography, Janet Adamson and 15 year old Millie Notarantonio of Millie Rose as well as Charles Cracknell and Mike Notarantonio who are Youth Enterprise Network Champions. Co-Founder of #MicroBizMatters Day, Tony Robinson OBE, aka The Micro Business Champion, said “We are so grateful to the truly enterprising City of Hull for hosting our social media and the live streaming main event. We will publish on the day our ‘Small is Beautiful Roll of Honour’ of business names and networks which support EF Schumacher’s and our #MicroBizMatters movement’s values and campaigns such as #PayIn30Days. After 22 years of campaigning this is the closest we’ve got to succeed with #PayIn30Days and it does appear that many in all political parties and business membership organisations have recognised how important it is for 7,500 large businesses to stop bullying 5.7 million medium, small and micro businesses with 45 to 120 days ‘take it or leave it’ payment terms.” Tina Boden, Co-Founder of #MicroBizMatters Day, aka The Tiny Troubleshooter, added, “We hope that everyone will #IGave 11 minutes to help another business owner on Friday, January 11th, 2019. Show the world that #MicroBizMatters. Together we have the #PowerOfPlenty and it is really important that we support each other. This includes buying products and services from each other which is why we have our #Indie25ER campaign. I buy not just 25% of products and services from independent business owners but average over 80% week on week.” Councillor Daren Hale, Deputy Leader Hull City Council said, “I am pleased that the 5th #MicroBizMatters Day 2019 is to be held in Hull and it’s fantastic that young entrepreneurs in Hull from the Making Changes for Careers Programme (MC4C) are supporting the Day by playing an active part in the day in showcasing their businesses alongside established micro businesses in the City. Hull’s involvement in this annual day of recognition, action and learning further illustrates our commitment to micro businesses in general and youth entrepreneurship in particular and I am delighted that Paul Uppal the Government’s Small Business Commissioner will be coming to Hull for the event.”

January 2019

Winners for the first Scottish Asian & Business Awards 2018 are revealed

Winners for the 13th Scottish Asian & Business Awards have been revealed after a glamorous, black-tie awards ceremony was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Tuesday the 18th of December in Glasgow. The much-anticipated annual award ceremony began its journey in 2006 and exists to honour and celebrate the hard work of Asian professionals, community groups, activists and businesses that have succeeded, excelled and persevered in the Scottish Asian community. Categories this last time were wide-ranging, honouring entrepreneurs and professionals across private, public and third sectors. The event was organised by the UK’s leading ethnic consulting and promotions organisation Oceanic Consulting, finalists at the Asian Media Awards 2017 for their impact in the Marketing & PR Sector. Oceanic Consulting are responsible for some of the most successful and well-known events in the country, including the British Indian Awards, the Curry Awards, and the Brit-

ish Muslim Awards. Irfan Younis, CEO of Oceanic Consulting said: “We would like to congratulate all winners and finalists rewarded at last night’s 13th Scottish Asian & Business Awards 2018. The 13th Scottish Asian & Business Awards produced some memorable and hilarious moments, honoured some of my personal role

models including Bashir Ahmed and the Chhokar Family, and gave thanks to those hard-working and brilliant people who cement Asian culture and presence across all sectors of industry in Scotland. Fantastic night with top people, amazing food and continued legacy & I already can’t wait for year 14!”

With 29 awards presented on the night, the winners are as follows: Rising Star in Law: Raees Khan (Jones Whyte Law) Business of the Year: Asif Ashraf (Smartways Extra) Rising Star of the Year: Harjit Singh (HRC Recruitment) Best in Civil Service /Third Sector: Raza Sadiq (Glasgow Council for Voluntary Sector) Food Entrepreneur of the Year: Cook Gill and Indi (Cook & Indi’s world buffet) Micro Business of the Year: Nadia Mohammed (Personal Match) Franchise of the Year: Suhail and Tasnim Rehman (Home Instead Senior Care) New Business of the Year: Tauseef Masud (What the Fudge) One to Watch Award: Kamran Khalid (JP Morgan Chase & Co) Retail Business of the Year: Asghar Mohammed/ Suraj Mohammed (Abbey Pharmacy) SME Business of the Year: Zeeshan Khokhar (Khokhar McAdam Chartered Accountants) Small Business of the Year: Kamran Butt (Kam Removals) The Chhokar Family Legacy Spirit of Scotland: Iftiker Sharif (Scottish Ethnic Minority Deaf Club) Woman of the Year: Kay Singh (University of Glasgow) Best Community Convenience Retailer: Asif and Abada Akhtar (Premier Smeaton Stores)

Shanmugam (Glasgow Caledonian University) Professional of the Year: Araf Saddiq (Scottish Ambulance Service) and Pete Cheema (Scottish Grocers Federation) Makeup Professional of the Year: Saleema Ali (Saleema Ali Hair & Makeup) The Bashir Ahmad MSP Community Initiative of the Year: Saqib Razzaq (Colourful Heritage) Best Professional in Business: Jwad Hanif (Miller Beckett & Jackson Solicitors) Fashion Boutique of the Year: Khizar Ali (La Dona) Takeaway of the Year: Sajjad Mohammed (Taj Tandoori) Garage of the Year: Farhan Ahmad (M I Garage) Asian Food Retailer of the Year: Aqsa Ali (World Foods)

Convenience Retailer of the Year: Imran Ali (Day-Today Bourtreehill Supermarket)

Charity Work of the Year: Javaid Ullah (Human Appeal Scotland)

The Abid Bashir Retail Entrepreneur of the Year: Adeil Hussain (One Stop Airbles Street)

Restaurant of the Year: Michael Singh (Panda Cuisine)

Medical Professional of the Year: Sivaramkumar

Outstanding Achievement Award 2018: Kasim Gulzar (Honey Pharmacy)

International visit marks University’s 175th anniversary Birmingham City University in the UK has marked its global links formed over the last 175 years with an international event attended by senior leaders representing partner institutions from Egypt, India, Japan and Morocco. Hosted by Birmingham City University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Philip Plowden, the international visitors discussed potential areas of future collaboration, including staff and student exchanges. Among the distinguished guests, the networking event welcomed Professor R. S. Bawa, Vice-Chancellor and Professor Rajan Sharma, Deputy Director from Chandigarh University in India, along with Professor Masaaki Suzuki, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology. As well as discussing areas of potential collaboration, the delegates enjoyed a concert in Birmingham City University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – Now That’s What I Call 175! – which showcased iconic music created in and linked to the Midlands city from the past 175 years. Professor Rajan Sharma, Deputy Director, Chandigarh University, India, said: “Thank you very much for your time and warm hospitality extended during our visit to Birmingham City University. It is always pleasure to be here.” The international event was part of a season marking 175 years since Birmingham City University’s foundation as the Birmingham Government School of Design in 1843, the forerunner to the present day schools of Art and Visual Communication. BCU 175 has been celebrated with special events and activities in and around the city

since September, and will continue into 2019. In 1884 the School evolved into Birmingham College of Art, moving to a purpose-built Venetian Gothic building on Margaret Street designed by John Chamberlain. Today, Margaret Street still houses the University’s School of Art and is a Grade I Listed Building. Parmila Murria, Director, International Office, Birmingham City University, said: “Birmingham City University is proud of the strong international links the institution has nurtured since our infancy. Today our work around the world enhances research and teaching collaboration, while we strive to give our graduates the very best international career opportunities through study opportunities with our global partners. Back here in the UK, our international students and staff enrich our campus community immensely. Through the International Office and Birmingham City University Students’ Union, we encourage our international scholars and workforce to highlight their unique culture and customs to fellow students and staff around the University and across the city.”

AW Facts Did you know? Around 70% of small businesses are owned and operated by a single person

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January 2019

‘Migritude’: Facts of UK migrants for Policy attitude

By Anurag Srivastava.

Ups and Downs of Annual Black Country Budget Event

The UK could well be the world’s most significant migrant-positive nation if one considers the number of migrant residents it holds and the remittances they forward to their countries of origin. Numbers say it all! In 2015, the UK was the smallest nation (along with the UAE) holding the largest number of resident migrants with the US, Germany and Russia being the only (way bigger sized) exceptions! With just this much of extract from the 2018 International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report, I may be safe in asserting even without numerical levelling that the UK hosts the largest number of migrant residents in the world relative to its size. Further, numbers clearly point that the UK’s large migrant pool is a positive one and a plus at aggregates if we look at the remittances transferred abroad by the migrants in its borders. A study reveals that in 2016, £21billion was sent abroad by its resident migrants. That is about 150 percent of the British overseas aid at about the same time, which as per official data (2016) was £13.4 billion! Only do the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates send more remittances than the UK.

Even in comparison to them, the UK remittances are significant if one further breaks down the £483bn remitted globally in 2017 as the World Bank mentions. On who got the most from the UK, in order, Nigeria was the top receiver with £3.27bn sent in 2017, India stands next with £3.13bn, £1.4bn was sent to France, Pakistan received £1.34bn while Germany received £1bn. Across the pond, the US is home to the biggest number of migrants from developing countries and is the biggest sender of remittances in the world. The biggest recipients of US remittances in 2017 were Mexico (US$30,019bn), China (US$16,141bn), India (US$11,715bn), Philippines (US$11,09bn) and Vietnam (US$7,735bn), according to the World Bank estimates. In comparison, the UK received less than 5 percent from its residents abroad. Australia remitted the most with US$1.08bn received from there. Spain, Canada, the US and South Africa were the next biggest senders. India is the biggest receiver of remittances across the world, receiving a total of US$68,968bn. Just as the Indian government clapped down British foreign aid recently,

there is some respite in the fact that it does receive increasing amounts of private remittances. China is the second biggest receiver of remittances, after India, receiving a total of US$63,860bn- all of 2017. Remittances from the UK not only have considerable positive impacts on productivity and economic growth in the UK but may also result in the transfer of skills, knowledge and technology to the recipient countries. Most of these other countries being less financially resilient than the UK and many outrightly poor and fragile. Globally, the remittances are now more than three times the amount of all nations’ Official Development Assistance (ODA). The UK has assimilated highly skilled migrants as well as those assailed by humanitarian crises across the globe. With more money sent by migrants than spent on overseas aid by the British government, it’s clear that the migrants in the UK are productive and skilled in per capita terms. In a way, they exceed the government! Undoubtedly the net effects as well as per migrant contribution is significant- a fact that may ideally inform the emerging UK migrant policy for both skilled as well as not so privileged migrants!

The University of Wolverhampton held a live budget event last season. Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the budget. Amongst various topics in the event, there was also a Q&A session by an expert panel. The panel was chaired by Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber, Corin Crane, and also consisted of Martin Dudley, Director at Thomas Dudley; Tracey Jackson Business Development Manager at Howells Glazing; Francesca Hutchinson Tax Director at Dyke Yaxley, Paul Kalinauckas, Chief Executive of BCRS Business Loans and economist Dr Ian Jackson of the University’s Business School. In the event, the experts talked about their views. Dr Ian Jackson of The University of Wolverhampton said it had been a “missed opportunity to bolster the local economy.” Howells Patent Glazing director Tracey Jackson showed her disappointment for the lack of budget for micro and medium-sized firms. She was particularly concerned about the lack of help with research and development support or relief on corporation tax.

By Khairul Azam She said: “We also needed something to help small companies over pensions which are crippling for us. Bigger companies seem to cope better.” Paul Kalinauckas, chief executive of Wolverhampton-based BCRS Business Loans saw the positives of the budget. “The reduction in business rates for small shops was a positive step,” he added. Meanwhile, Great Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said that while there were plenty of positive announcements for businesses, but, there was no mention of Greater Birmingham or the West Midlands. Henrietta Brealey, policy and strategic relations director at GBCC showed dissatisfaction: “While devolved nations, the Northern Powerhouse and beyond received a number of nods, the news for the West Midlands was buried in the Budget Red Book.” “It is clear from the announcements that there is still work to be done on promoting further devolution to English regions which still lag behind devolved nations and London on funding.”

January 2019

Mayor’s Mentors programme provides ladder of opportunity into construction sector The evolving skyline of the West Midlands is to be transformed further still by the efforts of number of construction experts who have recently joined The Mayor’s Mentors initiative launched last year by the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street. The latest business to join the scheme, which is to helping young people develop life skills and gain the advice they need to flourish is the international consultancy and construction company Mace, which recently signed up a sixth senior member of its Midlands team. 26-year old Mustafa Abdillahi is one of the mentees who is currently being supported by Mace. He said: “It’s still early days but this has been a fantastic experience so far. I’ve been matched up with John Egerton, an operations director for Mace in the Midlands. “With my background in mechanical engineering, I was unsure of what route to take next and John has spent time helping me to work that out. He’s encouraged me to study for a masters in project management. As a result, I’m now shadowing John and his team at Mace, whilst I work towards an MSc at the University of Birmingham. My ambition is to become an accredited Project Manager and then hopefully like John, I’ll one day reach director level and have the opportunity to lead on flagship construction projects across the region.” West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, said: “One of the first things I did after becoming Mayor was launch the Mayors Mentors initiative. The reason was that I passionately believe that one on one support through mentoring gives young people the best chance for the future”. John Egerton, operations director for Mace, said: “The Mayor’s Mentors scheme is a great way of helping young people like Mustafa to prosper. I’d encourage any professional who is working in the West Midlands to seriously consider getting involved. It’s just a couple of hours each month and a very positive experience.” Mace’s team in the West Midlands have delivered many key infrastructure projects in the region including the project management of Birmingham New Street’s redevelopment, and the redevelopment of the former municipal bank at 3 Centenary Square.

The retail sector’s approach to ex-offenders needs a rethink

The retail industry employs more people in the UK than any other private sector industry, providing 4.9 million jobs across around 374,000 businesses in roles ranging from customer service and warehousing through to buying, So imagine wanting to get into this huge and vibrant industry but getting knocked back time and again because you’ve honestly declared that you have a criminal conviction. Five years into the Ban the Box campaign only three retailers have signed up to open out their opportunities to people with a criminal conviction through their mainstream recruitment channels. Ban the Box calls on UK employers to give ex-offenders a fair chance to compete for jobs by removing the tick box from application forms that asks about criminal convictions. This removes the damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation that candidates say the tick box puts them in. They feel that if they tick the box they’ll be thrown on the scrapheap but if they don’t they could be found out later and lose their job anyway. The flexiblity of Ban the Box Ban the Box can be flexible to meet the employer’s recruitment needs. It still allows employers to ask about convictions later in the recruitment process, fairly weighing up any risk against the circumstances and the role so there’s no excuse that it can’t be done in any organisation. Walgreens Boots Alliance – a huge international retailer – was one of the first companies to sign up following a prison visit that convinced Executive Vice President, Global Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Marco Pagni of the need to act. He expected other companies

would follow their lead and more than 110 have done so across every major sector. Retail is severely lagging behind. So what’s stopping some of our biggest employers, many of them with entry level jobs and high staff turnover, taking a chance on an ex-offender? Mostly retailers are concerned with what their customers and staff might think and that’s an understandable concern. The companies that have successfully tackled this have been open and honest with their existing staff. They’ve offered training and prison visits and they’ve created opportunities for staff to meet ex-offenders and see that they’re just people too. There is still a huge stigma attached to the idea of employing someone who has been found guilty of a crime. Retailers have the power to challenge that, along with the misconceptions about the types of people who have criminal convictions. The

truth is, people with criminal convictions are just like the rest of us. They’ve made a mistake and been caught. They’ve been punished – be that with a fine, community order or time in prison – and they’re looking to put that behind them and move on with their lives. Employers who are making a difference Employers like Barclays, Boots, Costain, the Civil Service, Fujitsu, Virgin Trains and a hundred more recognise the value people with criminal convictions can bring to their organisations and have opened up their mainstream recruitment processes through Ban the Box. Others, such as Timpsons and Greggs, have made themselves so widely known as places where ex-offenders are welcome that they don’t feel the need to sign up. But they’re enthusiastic about the business benefits of their inclusive approach. At Greggs, the average six-

month retention rate for people with criminal convictions is 83%, with 33% of these employees moving into management roles. Boots UK recruits about 100 people with convictions from prison and the community each year to cover the busy Christmas period in their warehouses . One of Boots’ key suppliers, Ricoh UK, sees a direct financial saving of £390.10 for each person they successfully recruit directly through prisons and Ban the Box. A number of retailers do have schemes in partnership with Business in the Community or other voluntary sector providers to provide job opportunities directly to disadvantaged groups and some of these include people with criminal convictions. However, if they haven’t signed up to Ban the Box they are still missing out on a much larger potential group of candidates who would otherwise come through their mainstream recruitment processes.

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January 2019

Business frustrated by Brexit ‘meaningful vote’ delay

Responding to the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons on delaying Parliament’s ‘meaningful vote’ on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration, Phil Smith, Managing Director at Business West, said: “Firms are looking on with utter dismay at the ongoing saga in Westminster, and express concern that politicians are seemingly acting in their own interest, with little regard for the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on the success of UK business and trade. Many

business leaders will be intensely frustrated by yet another delay in this drawn-out process, which impacts real-world business conditions, not least currency markets”. “Businesses are clear that time is rapidly running out. With just under 100 days to go until

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the 29th of March, many are already enacting contingency plans in the absence of clarity from Westminster. Even basic business planning for next year has become difficult, if not impossible, for many firms and their investors”. “Our research shows that in a

‘no deal’ scenario, many businesses would cut investment and recruitment, or move some of their operations elsewhere. Surveys after survey have shown that businesses will be taking decisions that are right for them, but may damage the UK economy”.

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“Businesses need clarity and precision on the UK’s future relationship with the EU and with other key trading partners. Businesses are clear that they do not want a messy and disorderly exit, which both government and far too many firms are underprepared for”.

“Avoiding a messy exit from the EU is a matter of national urgency. Efforts must be redoubled to find a route forward, while at the same time ensuring that preparations are stepped up to help businesses and communities deal with any potential scenario.”

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January 2019

AW Facts Did you know?

Bionic Buster 2.0 makes over Rs.500 Crores

Devika Rani was the first actress with a film-making degree

Ali Zafar reclaims sexiest Pakistani crown Interview with

RAXSTAR

January 2019

Simmba Song Tere Bin

Ranveer Singh And Sara Ali Khan’s Romance Is On Point Team Simmba is back with yet another remix after the chartbuster Aankh Maare. Simmba’s Tere Bin is a soothing track filmed on Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan in the picturesque and exotic locales of Switzerland. The second song from the film, titled Tere Bin, is the remixed version of the Tere Bin Nahi Lagda song, which was also a part of Ajay Devgn’s 1999 film Kachche Dhaage. Simmba’s Tere Bin too is a romantic song, filmed in the beautiful Swiss scapes. Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan’s romance is on point and the song will surely connect with their fans. This romantic track is sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Asees Kaur and Tanishk Bagchi, also composed by Tanishk Bagchi and the lyrics are penned by Rashmi Virag. The original song was composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi shot across 70 locations

Trai ler of Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi starring Kangana Ranaut has been launched by Zee Studios’ Manikarnika – The Queen Of Jhansi is one of the most anticipated films of 2019 and the teaser has given audiences a glimpse into the scale of the film. The film is based on the life of Rani Laxmi Bai, known to be India’s biggest warrior queen, who fought for independence against the British army. The makers wanted the film to look as authentic and as real as possible. Hence, they did a recce for over two months and shortlisted 70 locations across six cities including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner and Alsesar. The team conducted extensive research that went into the making of this film. Not just that, over 30 sets were built for the making of the film. Since the film is set in 1857, it was crucial for the studio to choose apt locations, which not only showcase the larger than life scale but also resemble that era authentically. Directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi , Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi is set to release in cinemas on 25th January 2018.

Vicky Kaushal plays the role of an army officer, who leads a covert military operation

The trailer of upcoming action film Uriis out now. Starring Vicky Kaushal,Yami Gautamand Paresh Rawal, Uri is based on the 2016 surgical strikes on Pakistan after Uri Base Camp in Jammu & Kashmir was attacked. The action-packed trailer introduces audiences to Vicky Kaushal’scharacter, an army officer who leads the military operation. Audiences also get a look at Yami Gautam’s character, an intelligence officer. The trailer goes on to give us a glimpse of the powerful story as Vicky’s character trains his chosen team for the operation and prepares for what is to come. The recently unveiled trailer has received a humungous response from audiences. Bollywood celebrities too have hailed the trailer on social media. Bollywood celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Suniel Shetty and Arjun Kapoor amongst others gave thumbs up to the trailer. Alia Bhatt said “What a fabulous trailer!!!!!” Karan Johar said, “Goosebump Wala trailer!!!!! You are amazing as is the trailer!!! Well done to the entire team!!!!! This ones going to fly!!!!” Suniel Shetty said, “Jai Hind!! Goosebumps!! Hats Off”. Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, Uri will be releasing in cinemas on 11thJanuary 2019.

“AJA SONIYE” By Santu Singh

The 28-year-old Santu Singh has released his first ever free download audio track ’Aja Soniye’’, an infectious Punjabi Love ballad track with a hint of the western feel guaranteed to be a major success. Santu’s versatility knows no bounds, as he is able to switch from Hindi to English to Punjabi in a number of music genres effortlessly. Santu has used music from the well-known chart topping track ‘say something’ produced by Dan Romer. Santu has grown up surrounded by music. Hailing from a spiritual family, he has spent many years performing shabads and playing tabla and harmonium in Gurdwaras. His love of music saw him performing on TV at the tender age of 8. Santu has performed as a support act alongside major international artist in sold out events all over the UK such as 02 Arena London, Wembley Arena. Santu has already topped the charts with Two Number 1 hit singles ‘Nayo Lagda & ‘’Gal Sunja’’ Both on world iTunes Charts and BBC Asian Network as well as others to name a few. ‘Aja Soniye’ is out for free Download via SoundCloud NOW

Ali Zafar reclaims sexiest Pakistani crown

Singer and actor Ali Zafar has reclaimed his title as the sexiest Pakistani on the planet and rounded off an action packed year that included his hit home production Teefa In Trouble. The multi-talented superstar finished eighth overall in the globally renowned 50 Sexiest Asian Men in the world list and showed once again why he is Pakistan’s biggest global male star. “I’m humbled and thankful yet again. Big shout out to all the fans who voted,” said Ali Zafar. The 15th edition of the globally popular list put together by UK based Eastern Eye newspaper had a strong Pakistani contingent. The annual list based on votes from fans around the world, heat on social networking sites and media attention also generated massive global interest. Millions from around the world voted and helped the list trend on social media once again. Eastern Eye’s award-winning Entertainment Editor Asjad Nazir, who founded the list and compiles it annually, thinks Ali Zafar, has been an impressive international ambassador for Pakistan. “A singer, songwriter, musician, actor and producer, Ali Zafar has been a global trailblazer for over a decade now and showed Pakistanis that no dream is impossible. This year he gifted his country a gamechanging movie with Teefa In Trouble and once again raised the bar for everyone else,” said Asjad Nazir.

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SIMMBA IN CINEMAS NOW. OPENS TO ROARING REVIEWS. BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Ranveer Singh is all set after having closed 2018 with another energyinfused performance in Rohit Shetty’s Simmba After the power-packed portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in “Padmaavat” at the start of 2018, actor Ranveer Singh gave with another energyinfused performance in Rohit Shetty’s Simmba, which opens in cinemas today to marvellous reviews. Directed by Rohit Shetty, Simmba marks Ranveer Singh’s first film with the director. Simmba also marks Sara Ali Khan’s second appearance in Bollywood. The movie is a full on masala entertainer and is filled with action, romance, humour, drama and thrill. In Simmba, Ranveer Singh plays the role of corrupt cop-turned-good cop. As per the film’s trailer, Ranveer Singh’s character ACP Sangram Bhalerao aka Simmba from Shivgarh (Singham’s hometown) is corrupt and has only one aim - to fill his own pockets. Simmba is very clear that he became a cop to help himself and not others (the exact opposite of Singham). However, Bhalerao transforms into a more responsible police officer and the bad-cop-turned-good-cop persona is sure to generate cheers and excitement with the fans. The changed Sangram Bhalerao

wages war against the rapists of Shivgarh, who tormented one of his most loved ones.

January 2019

FARHAN AKHTAR TAKES THE STAGE BY STORM AT A RECENT CONCERT

Farhan Akhtar who recently visited The first edition of FEST (Bhubaneswar City Festival) received a roaring response from the masses. A flock of 30,000 fans welcomed Farhan with immense hooting and cheering as he took the stage with his accompanying talents. Farhan started off with his famously recited poem Toh Zinda Ho Tum from his super-hit film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, The actor was then greeted by loud applause as he broke into his first track, Sinbad the

Sailor from his musical hit movie Rock On!! Sharing the picture on Instagram, Farhan said, “Let’s dance.. put on your red shoes and dance the blues ~ D Bowie #farhanlive #bhubaneswar #musiclove #funtimes”. Farhan Akhtar is gearing up for his debut album release ‘Echoes’. Both the tracks, Rearview Mirror and Why Couldn’t It Be Me from the album have been widely loved and appreciated by the music lovers.

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January 2019

Director Sharique Minhaj’s film on Delhi’s ‘Nirbhaya Case’

Filmmaker Tariq Khan has joined hands with director Sharique Minhaj for their upcoming Hindi feature film inspired from the painful, tragic and embarrassing ‘Nirbhaya Case’ in Delhi. The film titled as “Delhi Bus” was released in the final days of 2018 across various regions, as a tribute to the sixth anniversary of this rape and fatal assault case of ‘Nirbhaya’. The film is presented by Vipul Shah. The title role is being played by Haryana based Divya Singh who was earlier seen anchoring TV shows. S.K. Das, the creative director of the film who has also partnered in writing the screenplay and dialogue is also playing the role of a police officer. Dr. S.K. Das works in Odisa and that

too in the revenue department of Bhubaneswar as S.D.M. Das has earlier made two short films too. Tariq Khan, the producer of this film. Vipul Shah, the presenter is a builder by profession and is the organiser of Navratri Utsav for the last 10-years in Mumbai. Vipul Shah states, “This film is not made for commercial gains. I have joined hands to be a part of spreading awareness within the people of our country and how such heinous acts of violence can be avoided and stopped and understand the pain and trauma of the victims.” Director Sharique Minhaj is known for making factual cinema and spread message to our young generation. He is known for making films on fiery and controversial subjects. Earlier to this he has made film on Gujarat’s Godhra

case titled as “Chand Bhuj Gaya”. Then he made a films “Latif – The King of Crime” inspired by Gujarat mafia. Of late he has directed a film “Chinaar-Dastaan E Ishq on the backdrop of Kashmir. Speaking about his new film, “Delhi Bus”, Sharique Minhaj says, “The shocking incident of ‘Nirbhaya Case’ has shocked the entire nation and was widely condemned. I was shaken by this incident too. I took my screenplay and dialogue writer Amit Gupta and S.K. Das to study the entire charge sheet and make a film on it. We have taken a bit of liberty and have added some other scenes too, so that it didn’t turn out to be a documentary film. On the whole the film is inspired from the true story. Now, henceforth, our young generation and our government should awake and see that

such a gruesome act never occurs again.” “Delhi Bus” features Divya Singh, Aanjjan Srivastav, Neelima Azeem, Sanjay Singh, S.K. Das and others in its starcast. The film is produced by Tariq Khan, directed and conceptualised by Shariq Minhaj on a screenplay

and dialogue by Amit Gupta and S.K. Das. Ashfaq Khan Haque and Arav have provided the musical score. Jehangir Mulla has cranked the camera. Sunil Yadav is the editor while Shahid Khan is the line producer. It is a Vipul Shah presentation.

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Welcome to the most Unexpected Romance of the year! An unexpected twist to a beautiful love story is what all about the Sonam Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao starrer Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. The trailer depicts a love story, which is beyond gender, caste, creed or religion. Directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar, the father-

daughter duo of Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor will be seen together for the first time in the film that also stars Juhi Chawla. The trailer features Rajkummar as the narrator of a play, as he recites the story of the time he fell in love with a girl, played by Sonam Kapoor. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga is set to release in cinemas on 1st February 2019

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January 2019

Modern meets Classic as Avant Garde Designer, Gaurav Gupta, & Heritage Duo, Shyamal & Bhumika, come together at Aashni + Co Wedding Show 2019

0121 767 5344 Hello Peridot Gems!

How are we? Hopefully we will have some great weather this year! I sincerely wish that you all are in good health and still fully charged this Winter.

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UK’s leading, South Asian High Fashion Bridal and Beauty Showcase to Present the Rich Diversity of Indian Bridal and Couture Fashion Modern meets heritage at the UK’s leading, South Asian high fashion, bridal and beauty extravaganza, Aashni + Co Wedding Show, as avant garde designer, Gaurav Gupta, and classic design duo, Shyamal & Bhumika, come together among the curated designer lineup showcasing their latest bridal and couture collections on Sunday 13th January 2019 at The Dorchester, Mayfair. Upon graduation from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, a young Gaurav Gupta was instantly recognised as the ‘Future of Couture’ by Altaroma Altamoda. This served as a clear sign toward the direction he would be taking to emerge, ten years later, as one of the strongest voices in couture and fashion from India. At an early age, his experiences of working with Hussein Chalayan, of being the youngest jury member at Mittelmoda and receiving various awards for his noticeable debut in Japan, Russia and India, helped shape his ideas. Over a decade, Gaurav Gupta, the man and the brand, have carved a world that is future primitive, reflected through sculpture-like

garments. Changing the face of the sari forever, merging indigenous Indian construction and embellishing techniques with his idea of the future, Gupta has delivered and sustained a world that is Indian at its core and boundless in its form. He is consistently endorsed on the red carpet by Indian and international celebrities such as Skylar Grey, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nicole Scherzinger, Julie Berman, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor. Designer couple, Shyamal & Bhumika, launched at Lakme Fashion Week in 2006. Bhumika’s passion for textiles and fashion led her to study Fashion Design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. After setting up the label, Shyamal left for London to research fashion and thereafter researched Italian Design in Milan. Shyamal & Bhumika adopt artisan techniques while designing their Indianwear and international collections, showcasing their love for Indian embroideries, hand woven fabrics and age-old craft techniques in their collections. The designers are also involved in the research and revival of various dying arts and crafts. Truly luxurious, infinitely wearable and minimal are the trademark qualities of the label. Continuing to surpass itself

and the expectations of discerning fashionista’s and brides-tobe annually, Aashni + Co Wedding Show 2019 will once again transform one of the world’s most iconic, luxury venue destinations into a wonderland of bridal and beauty luxe. Some of India and Pakistan’s most celebrated designers will once again descend on the Capital to present their latest bridal and couture collections on one high-end platform, from established, A-list fashion houses to the most sought after new-gen talents. Showcasing alongside them will be the leading names in fine jewellery, accessories and wedding/ occasion services, with visitors having the opportunity of meeting their favourite and wish list designers and suppliers in person, accessibility being key to the show. Previous participating designers have included a who’s who curation of the leading fashion and bridal brands from India and Pakistan, uniting heritage fashion houses with the crème of new gen such as Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna, Tarun Tahiliani, Gaurav Gupta, Rimple & Harpreet Narula, Gaurang, Shyamal & Bhumika, Varun Bahl, Anushree Reddy, SVA, Ridhima Bhasin, Ridhi Mehra, House of Masaba, Faraz Manan, Elan, She-

hla Chatoor and many more. 2018 being the year of the Bollywood celebrity wedding, with A-list actresses Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra tying the knot in true Bollywood grandeur and style, inspired brides-to-be will have the opportunity of shopping the collections and bridal trousseau’s of some of the leading fashion designers for the Bollywood fraternity at Aashni + Co Wedding Show. Style council will also be provided during the day through a series of masterclasses with some of the most internationally respected names in styling, makeup artistry, wedding planning and the fashion and beauty blogosphere. The full list of participating exhibitors and influencer panelists will be announced shortly. The luxe backdrop of The Dorchester will be further transformed through floral styling and production design by Zita Elze, an award-winning artist, designer, teacher, creator of the Living Embroidery Bridal collection and design consultant. Aashni + Co Wedding Show. The Dorchester, 53 Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1K 1QA Sunday 13th January 2019, 11.00am – 6.30pm

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January 2019

with Raxstar w e i v r Inte

1. You’ve always been involved in the music scene from a young age. You used to create cassettes and CDs of mix tapes in school and sell them to your peers. What was it that inspired your love of music and composition and encouraged you to get into the industry? I feel as if there wasn’t something in particular that inspired me, but I always felt as if it was something I had to do. It was just a matter of trying to find a way to enter the industry. I remember meeting people and around that time we’d press up our vinyls and take them to HMV on Oxford Street. Around that time garage culture was really big, and if a Vinyl was popular they’d play it in the clubs. I was kind of analyzing how that worked and I translated that into making my own CDs and just pushing my own music out so that I could build a name for myself.

beat makes it easy to get into. What has the response been to the track so far? The song was a bit of a risk to produce because you don’t hear others like it too often anymore. It has three rap verses, whereas most other songs now days only have around two verses. It has an old school type of vibe to it as it was inspired by the singer Yamla Jatt. He used to sing about real-life issues in a narration style, telling an account of the events happening around him and about people’s everyday situations. Therefore, the song was my own-take on doing that but in a modern 21st century context. People have connected to the song a lot. Again, I felt as though it was a risky track because there isn’t anything commercial about it, but it has received a good response, which is a testament to people wanting music that’s real and honest.

2. What inspires you when writing your music, where do your ideas come from? It all depends on the song – sometimes it’s an idea in my head or an imaginary concept, such as me thinking: “what would it be like to write a song if I was in a certain situation?” But I would say the majority of the stuff I write is a reflection on something I’ve gone through or am experiencing.

5. You’ve also got Pav Dharia featuring alongside you on the track. How do you think his Punjabi singing and your English rapping work well together? Would you say he brings more of a Desi style to the song, while you try and maintain that Urban/Indian mix? Me and Pav have worked on a few songs together now, we have a good working relationship. I sent the song consisting of my pre-recorded verses to Pav, he loved it and created his own parts for it. I think we made a good combination for the track. We have done a bunch of different songs together but this is one of the more serious ones but we have some fun

3. Last year you released your latest album Glass Ceiling. Could you describe the overall theme of the album and the concept behind it? I feel like I’ve been in the industry and making music for a long time – over 10 years. I was building the foundation for where I am now, and I just wanted to level up – literally break through a glass ceiling. So the concept of the album was to create songs that would allow me to reach a wider audience and connect to more people. 4. The song ‘Yamla Jatt’ is a little bit different to your other tracks. It’s got that slow, melodic vibe to it. It’s a bit more serious but overall the rap and RnB style

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tracks as well. Overall I think we work well together and compliment each-other greatly.

nect to, so I just want to do the same with my own sound.

6. Some of the lyrics you feature in your music are quite deep, and mention your hostile attitude towards fame, and the struggles of being under scrutiny from audiences as an artist. Do you think that’s one of the things that makes you quite different as a singer, that you can talk about the dark side of being in the industry so openly? I think that’s for other people to decide – for me it’s always about being honest and talking about things from a point of view where people can understand what it’s really like being in the music industry a little bit more. I have conversations with people who don’t necessarily see the other side of working in this field because it’s seen as so overly glamorous all the time. I love people who are real in their music and talk about things you can con-

7. What was it like working alongside Rajeev B and Mickey Singh for the single ‘Signs’ and was it a good collaborative experience? Yeah, that was a fun project that we did together. It was a long time in the making because me and Mickey actually met back in 2014. We discussed working together and it took a while because of our obligations towards managing our busy work and travelling schedules. However, I really enjoyed the project and I think it was something unique to the Asian music scene. 8. Who are some of your favourite artists? Definitely everyone who I’ve worked with so far I’m a big fan of, and the artists who feature alongside me on mew album. So people like Arjun, Prophecy, Pav, Mickey Singh, Zack Knight, Mumzie. I’m loving what these new guys are doing as well; Nish, Ezu. I think there’s a lot of talent I’m really excited about right now that’s coming out in the music scene. 9. Which cities is the Glass Ceiling tour coming to? We’re actually still arranging that – we had a launch party in London and one upcoming in New York as well. I am performing in London at the beginning of December too but we’re still finalizing the rest of the upcoming dates and venues. 10. Are there any new and upcoming projects you’re working on at the moment? There’s a lot more music and upcoming collaborations that I’ve got in the works right now. I can’t say too much right now, but it’s all about Glass Ceiling at the moment.

The Bionic Blockbuster Surpasses Rs 500 Crores ($70.4Mn) Worldwide! Rajinikanth Versus Akshay Kumar • 2.0 becomes the highest grossing Hindi film for superstar legend Rajnikanth and megastar Akshay Kumar • 2.0 sets new benchmarks taking the number one spot at the international box office in its opening weekend from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald • The film is set to break further records as the widest 3D release for a foreign film in history as it releases on 52,000 screens in China • “2.0 works, and in a big, big way” - Roger Ebert.com, “One of the most entertaining experiences you can have at

a cinema” – Polygon, “A visual delight” – The Economic Times From the creators of the phenomenon that was Robot comes the highly anticipated sequel, 2.0, an action-packed extravaganza produced by Lyca Productions and directed by Shankar, one of Indian cinema’s most successful filmmakers. Superstar of South Indian cinema Rajinikanth returns in the leading role of Chitti, and is joined by Hindi screen megastar Akshay Kumar (Pad Man, Gold) and British actress Amy Jackson (Singh Is Bling, Supergirl). 2.0 has surpassed a record Rs 500 crore (USD $70,487,045) worldwide in its

first week alone, taking this week’s number one spot at the international box office from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and becoming the second highest grossing Hindi film ever. 2.0 has also become Rajinikanth’s most successful Hindi film and is set to become Akshay Kumar’s highest earner. The film has been heralded as the new standard for India’s blockbusters with impressive effects, a captivating narrative and dynamic action sequences. The film is set to break further records as the widest 3D release for a foreign film in history as it heads to 52,000 screens in China with 40,000 screens in 3D.

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Ground-breaking global support service launched for parents and carers of autistic children

An online programme of post-diagnostic support & strategies created by Nicola Powell, whose daughter Ellie is autistic, in partnership with specialists Anna Rattlidge & Deborah Brownson MBE The Autism Plan (TAP) is a new online service for parents and carers of children with autism, accessible from the comfort of their own homes at the times of their own choosing. The plan was created by a team of consultants, parents and professionals, including mother of two Nicola Powell, whose daughter Ellie, aged 11, regularly vlogs about her experiences as a way of helping other children in a similar situation. Also involved are autism consultants Anna Rattlidge and Deborah Brownson MBE. The idea was conceived in response to a growing body of evidence showing that ‘access to positive, pro-active and readily-available support provided to parents can influence life-changing outcomes’.1 Yet, despite significant progress in raising awareness of autism, there are still wide variations in the quality and relevance of information provided to parents, lengthy waiting lists to see autism experts and a general lack of practical family-focused support from relevant organisations. “Receiving a diagnosis of autism for your child can be particularly overwhelming,” said Anna. “Through my experience and history of managing the Autism Helpline at the National Autistic Society, I have seen time and again how practical advice designed around a family’s unique set of circumstances can really help parents new to autism learn how best to help and support their child.” “At TAP, we focus on strengths, rather than seeing an Autism Spectrum Disor-

der (ASD) diagnosis as a set of vulnerabilities,” added Anna. “Although the term ASD includes the word ‘disorder’, we have a different view of autism. We don’t see it as a ‘disorder’. We focus on the parents/carers, as well as the child, and aim to build the confidence of parents, by increasing understanding of ‘what next’ post-diagnosis. We will be providing tried and tested practical strategies, devised by experienced autism consultants and professionals, supported by resources that will enable parents and

carers to confidently manage the new direction in their family life.” Nicola added: “The basis of The Autism Plan is to provide accessible information, practical resources and empowering support plans, at a time of their choosing, for people living with autism. I know from personal experience that it can be an emotional time for parents, who are often dealing with different stages of acceptance. There can be a conflict for them as they try to learn what they ‘should be doing’,

often all at once, whilst dealing with the added pressure of the general public’s overall lack of understanding of autism and the anxiety, confusion, stress and distress that this can cause. We have called our family-focused support plan ‘Autism: Everything We Wish We’d Known’ because we don’t want to see other families struggle as we did when our children were diagnosed. We want to help other autism families and share with them everything we can to make their situation feel brighter.”

Deborah added, “This is the world’s first global support network for autism families. The Autism Plan will revolutionise and digitalise the way in which information and bespoke support is accessed by people, families, and professionals living and working with autism”. Mum Sarah Dean, who has used various autism support services and helped to develop the TAP materials, added: “My experience with finding accessible support relevant for my own set of circumstances was very difficult. TAP’s support course also helped build my confidence in knowing that it was not ‘bad parenting’ that was the cause of my son’s behaviour challenges. I now try new strategies and techniques recommended to me by The Autism Plan to support my son, and the results have been amazing. I believe the information and support TAP offers will help lots of other parents in similar situations to our family”. The Autism Plan is centred around the strengths, the potential and the positives living with autism can bring and is aimed at parents, teachers and carers. Without waiting for lengthy referral times and negotiating long waiting lists, TAP provides accessible and flexible online support plans, at a time when parents can access them, from the comfort of their own home. To view The Autism Plan’s Support Service, guides, resources and materials visit www.autismplan.co.uk or Facebook: @autismplan and Twitter: @ theautismplan

Major Break-Through: Success for Scientists in Destroying Cells Carrying Deadly HIV Virus

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur in Paris have released news of a potentially huge breakthrough in the battle against HIV. Researchers working at the medical centre say they have managed to kill cells infected with the Aids virus, which is usually treated with prescriptions of antiretroviral drugs. The drugs cannot remove the virus from the body, but can prevent its growth and stop it from spreading to other organs. However, just at the end of last December, medical journal Cell Metabolism published a report which declared that scientists had discovered a method to destroy infected HIV carrying cells. These cells are called ‘reservoir cells’ as although they are infected with the disease, thanks to medication they can go into a resting state where they are not actively using the body’s energy to replicate themselves. A spokesperson at the Institut Pasteur said: ‘The antiretroviral treatment used today is designed to block HIV infection

but it is not able to eliminate the virus from the body. The virus remains in reservoirs - the CD4 T lymphocyte immune cells, the main targets of HIV.’ HIV targets an organism’s immune system cells with increasing metabolic activity and uses their host energy to

multiply. The release also states: ‘Thanks to metabolic activity inhibitors, the researchers have managed to destroy these infected cells, or “reservoirs”, ex vivo.’ It finishes by stating that the research is opening doors for new pathways to remission by killing off the aforementioned reservoir cells.

The next steps in the experimental process will be examining the potential of metabolic inhibitors ‘in vivo’ – which will be tested on living species. Rhetorically, if the viral load in a body is decreased enough, destroying the cell HIV has hijacked and is using as an energy source could keep it from spreading in the body and, it is hoped, maybe eliminate it altogether. The study was funded by the Institut Pasteur, Sidaction, and the AmfAR (American Foundation for AIDS research). HIV-AIDS first emerged around 35 years ago and is considered to be one of modern time’s most atrocious pandemics. Significant progress in retroviral drug administration conclude that patients can commonly live long and fulfilling lives, thanks to medication hindering the spread of the virus throughout the person’s body. In many instances, sufferers of HIV have untransmittable and undiscoverable viral

loads. This, combined with the high success rate of the drug PrEP, which stops the spread of HIV, have led to prominent reductions in new diagnosis rates within the countries worldwide. However, approximately 36 million people around the globe live with HIV, and scientists have devoted decades to searching for a cure. Since the initial outbreak of AIDS, roughly 35 million people have lost their lives to the disease. By Manisha Bhanot

AW Facts Did you know? Unsweetened tea can lower risks of cardiac arrest, Parkinson’s, certain cancers and type 2 Diabetes.

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Measuring speed of mental replay of movies reveals new insights into how we access memories Researchers have discovered that ’fully detailed’ memories are stored in the brain, but people access this information at different speeds and levels of detail, with people accessing memories ’forward’ that is recalling older information first. They quickly skip episodic blocks of information when recalling events in summary – for example, telling a friend about the plot of a movie they have seen, but can also delve into greater levels of detail at a slower speed when asked about a particular movie scene. Experts at the Universities of Birmingham and Kent worked with a group of volunteers, who were asked to associate word-cues with a series of short videos, as the researchers investigated the flexible dynamics of episodic memory replay. They found that memory replay does not occur at a constant speed, but changes flexibly during recall, in a study which is published in Nature Human Behaviour. Dr Simon Hanslmayr, Reader in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Birmingham, commented: “Think about the scene in Pulp Fiction, where Vincent (John Travolta) tells Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) about his trip to Amsterdam – you might methodically and sequentially revisit every element of that particular dialogue because it’s fun to do so. ”On the other hand, if a friend asks

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Exercises to Strengthen your Knees

you what the movie is about you would mentally skip between key scenes – omitting less important information – as you quickly summarise the action. “Our understanding of flexible episodic memory may help PTSD sufferers troubled by slow, uncompressed replay of memories which haunt them. We may be able to design therapies that speed up the replay process to recall these memories in a less disturbing way.” Researchers studied a group of 24 participants in the video study, supplemented by 23 volunteers who took part in a further study enhanced by real-time, non-invasive

brain scanning (magnetencephalography or MEG). The tests used six-second video clips featuring three separate but coherent sequences of a single theme, such as a ship sailing followed by a diver jumping into water followed by an octopus floating in the water. Researchers found that participants in the study were able to flexibly skip between ‘sub-events’ during memory replay, demonstrating different levels of information compression. The study links to earlier research carried out by Dr Hanslmayr and colleagues, which suggests that heavily traumatized people, such

as refugees fleeing war, torture and natural catastrophes may not necessarily develop PTSD. Dr Hanslmayr worked with a group of refugees – half suffering from PTSD, the others not – and asked them to suppress neutral memories. Results showed that participants who struggled to control these thoughts were more likely to show symptoms of PTSD. This research raised the question of whether the ability to control memories protects against developing PTSD or if the condition causes an impairment in an individual’s ability to control their memories.

Protect Your Feet and Ankles from Winter Weather

Foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons advise focusing on lower extremities this winter The winter months bring snow, ice, and increased foot and ankle injuries, according to foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons. As we plan for the next couple months of winter weather, the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) offers guidance to protect your feet and ankles. Protect Your Feet and Ankles from Winter Weather If you live in an area with winter weather, you probably already take measures to protect yourself from the elements. Foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons advise that you take special precautions for your feet and ankles. When walking outdoors, prevent falls by avoiding surfaces that look wet, and step onto snow or grass to gain traction. Plan on adjusting your pace and walk with shorter steps, bending your knees slightly to maintain your balance. Your shoes can make a difference as well. “Invest in footwear that provides good traction on all surfaces with a thick sole and cushioning,” explains Adam

Bitterman, DO, foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon with Northwell Health Orthopaedic Institute in New York. “Shoes with insulation and full outer coverage prevent cold-related injuries to one’s foot and toes.” In addition, Dr. Bitterman recommends maintaining your strength around the ankle as it may prevent ligament sprains and fractures. During the winter months, you may be more at risk for a

deficiency in vitamin D, which is vital for maintaining bone health. Research studies have linked low levels of vitamin D to increased chances of fractured or broken bones. Approximately 30 percent of the US population has the deficiency and minimal sun exposure in winter depletes one of the main sources of vitamin D. Patients at risk should speak with an orthopaedic surgeon or primary care physician to check their levels

and protect themselves against future injuries. Even with taking precautionary measures, winter mishaps could still result in foot and ankle injuries, such as an ankle sprain or fracture. A severe sprain can often mask the symptoms of a broken ankle, which include: • Immediate and severe pain • Swelling • Bruising • Tenderness when touched • Inability to put any weight on the injured foot • Deformity, particularly if there is a dislocation as well as a fracture “It is important to understand that most injuries require assessment by a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon, especially those that do not improve with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories,” Dr. Bitterman said. If you hurt your foot or ankle, see a doctor as soon as possible. Learn more about identifying ankle fractures, caring for a sprained ankle, and the importance of Vitamin D for bone health from FootCareMD.org.

Knee injuries are one of the most common injury prone areas for regular exercisers. Strengthening the muscles that support your knee is absolutely imperative for ‘fitness freaks’, and to continue with your exercise regime. Here are some useful tips to keep your knees strong! Stretch Your Knee Stretching and Warm –up exercises can certainly enhance the performance of your leg muscles perform better. For e.g a brisk 5-minute walk will help you workout better and reduce injury risk. Squats Squats exercises, advanced strengthening moves that keep your feet on the floor. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart – keeping your back and neck straight, slowly bend your knees. Do ensure that you knees don’t go beyond your toes and that you never lock your knees once you come back up. For balance, you may raise both your arms straight forward as you bend down, and bring them back down and straighten your legs. Hamstring Pushes Hamstrings are the muscles on the back of your thigh. Stand straight facing side, using a chair, wall for support. Now bend your knee and push back against gravity with resistance, using your heel. Do repetitions of 16 with each leg. Do 3 sets in the beginning. You may increase the sets to 5 as your hamstring becomes stronger. Leg Raises Leg raises are most effective with light ankle weights. Sit straight on a high chair and raise your legs together for 12 counts. Do 3 sets and take a 2 minute break and do 3 sets again. An effective variant of this is to do alternating Leg raises 12 counts each leg for 3 sets. Take a short break and do 3 sets again. Knee Curls Stand straight facing side, using a wall or chair for support and bend and straighten your knee, keeping the foot flexed. Do ensure that your knee is completely locked as you straighten your leg. Do 15 lifts and switch sides. Adding light ankle weights as you gain strength. Do 3 sets of 15 for each leg and increase to 5 sets each leg as your knee becomes stronger. Calf Raises Stand facing the back of a chair and slowly raise the heels to your highest point and slowly bring them back on the ground. Do three sets of 15 raises, raising it to five sets as you progress. Non-Impact Cardio Exercises for Your Knee In case you have weak knees or have minor pain in your knees, completely avoid high-impact cardio exercises, such as jogging or running, skipping, high impact aerobics, amongst others. Instead, do low impact aerobics, that is without jumping, power walking and swimming. Swimming is one of the best cardio exercises to do to strengthen your muscles without causing any impact or injury to them. Exercise should ever cause or increase any kind of muscular pain or in the joints. If you feel pain while exercising, stop right away and check with your physician.

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Fly Fearless

AW Facts Did you know? In 2017 alone, over four billion people flew on commercial flights globally

By: Rida Khan - Aviation Author Travelling is a part of our everyday life, without travelling our work is simply incomplete. The three modes of transportation – Air, Water and Land play an important role for people, not only economically, but personally too. Talking from the safety point of view, air Transport is the safest mode of transportation, and there are various reasons behind it. 1.) Prevention Action Taken First – Before take-off crew members of every airline check all the parts of the airplane. From small to big they take care that everything in the plane is well maintained. Pilots are personally in charge to do an external drill as well as a cockpit check before take-off. So ultimately, a pilot’s job is not only to take flights from one destination to another, but also carry out a big responsibility of preventing accidents. They will not take the flight until and unless it is cleared from all security checks. 2.) Pilots train and update themselves continuously – Pilots go on a continuous training and a certification processes, only after which airline companies allow them to fly airplanes. They are extensively trained to handle various weather conditions, turbulence, emergency landings, etc. Through such training there is also a reduced risk of accidents. 3.) Technology plays a vital role – Moving towards the high tech world, the airline industry is one of the fastest to accept new technological advances. All mechanical work is now done electrically, where every system is interconnected with one-other. There are so many programs designed to control and detect turbulence, manage accidents, weather forecast etc. taking into consideration the safety of all. Due to this the world wide safety record for flights has improved with very few accidents taking place per in 2 million flights. 4.) After extensive testing Airplanes are handed to Airline Companies – Vehicles like cars, cycles, boats, ships etc. when manufactured go through only one or two tests in their workshop. But when airplanes are made

they have to pass through various tests such as ingestion testing, temperature and altitude testing, wing flexibility testing, brake testing, etc. They are tested on emergencies which are faced by the pilot in the sky, such as lightning strikes, turbulence, fuel leakage, etc. After successfully passing all the tests, manufacturers hand over the planes to the airline companies. So, safety of passengers is not only the responsibility of the pilot or Airline Company, but the manufacturer also. 5.) Pilots Study Regularly – Studies for pilots never stop; they have to study continuously throughout their career. The reason is that Pilots have to get updated with the latest technology and keep upgrading their knowledge related to their airplanes, changes made in the systems by their Airline Company, technological study, etc. They have to pass the various exams, go for courses conducted by their airline company so that they are fully informed and ready to take flights successfully to the destination. To move further I had discussed this topic with some of my pilot friends and their opinions are:-

Aviation is the safest mode of transportation because every single possibility of failure or mistakes is thought ahead and trained in the simulator sessions. If we talk about the airplanes, then the systems are duplicated or tripled to avoid any total loss of a certain In-flight system. The engines are extremely reliable and even in the remote case of an engine failure the remaining engine is capable to keep the plane flying safely.

3) Pilot Sayed Abu Al Hassan (Instagram A/c - @abu350) -

2) Pilot Joao (Instagram A/c - @roedeljc) -

In today’s time, Aircrafts have decreased the distances between east and west like never before, whether it be single aisle aircrafts or jumbo jets. For a person to fly from A to B is not just a journey... it’s their happiness.

1) Hudson Sa (Instagram A/c - @hudsoncsa)

Airline companies operate very modern certified aircrafts, equipped with all sorts of safety items, and a very much automated operation. Airlines are required to maintain all of its pilots in a high proficiency level, being able to handle several kinds of different emergencies, how to proceed in case of mechanical failure, adverse weather encounters and to be trained in good decision making, for all this Pilots are trained and evaluated every three, or six to twelve months, year after year in simulator devices, line checks and oral exams. Not only this, Pilots’ health is also of utmost concern. That’s why we are always taking specific medical exams every year.

You can now be having breakfast in Paris and Dinner In Tokyo.... All thanks to the means of Air Transportation All this is achieved by the help of the air traffic controllers, Pilots, Cabin Crew and Engineers who work together as a team to make your trip safe and a memorable one. The soul of an aircraft is it’s Pilot and myself being one not just takes the responsibility of flying from one point to the other but also take care that they can safely reach their destination. For all the travellers who love travelling it is our honour and privilege to have you all on-board! Hoping to see you on board on one of my flights. - Sayed Abu Al Hassan Senior First Officer with Air Arabia. After talking to the pilots on this topic in the end I would like to say that, “Travel free from fear through Airplanes because they are the Safest Mode of Transportation.” By: Rida Khan - Aviation Author (Instagram A/c - @aviationauthor.ridakhan)

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ESTA is helping people to pursue their American dream

A while ago, going to work in the US would involve a long, drawn-out process of applying for a visa before UK citizens could start to plan a career in the US. However, the ESTA which is part of the Visa Waiver Program has changed that and made it easier for people to travel to the US for a short period. ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization and is an online form that people travelling from a set list of countries including the UK can complete in order to be granted permission to enter the

US. One of the particularly appealing parts of the process is that it enables permission for travelling to the US for both work and tourism purposes. So for those who have always dreamed of working in the US, whether they want to be a performer on Broadway, a banker on Wall St or working in any other industry, an ESTA gives people an opportunity to go and give it a try.

An ESTA can be used for up to 90 days, so after that people would need to get an alternative type of visa to continue their stay in the US. But if you are pursuing a dream then going over the the US for job interviews or auditions etc. might be necessary and an ESTA is your first step towards living that dream. How to apply for ESTA The online form is available at

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estaform.org and it comprises of several sections that you must complete covering personal information, passport details, some medical questions and questions related to criminal convictions and countries you have visited. The process can be very quick, taking sometimes just a matter of minutes to process but generally it is advised to apply for ESTA at least 72 hours before

you are due to fly out to the US. The process is quick and easy and usually a confirmation email will be sent soon after submitting the application to say that it has successfully been approved and it will then be valid for a period of up to two years. This means that you can make multiple trips to the US within the two year period, provided that you do not stay for longer

than 90 days at a time. So it is perfect for people who frequently travel between the US and the UK for business. When your ESTA is due to expire you should get an email to advise you of this and then if you are going to the US again, you are required to submit another application, filling in the same questions as you did in the previous application.

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Our Universe: An expanding bubble in an extra dimension

Image Credit: Suvendu Giri In their article, the scientists propose a new model with dark energy and our Universe riding on an expanding bubble in an extra dimension. Uppsala University researchers have devised a new model for the Universe – one that may solve the enigma of dark energy. Their new article, published in Physical Review Letters, proposes a new structural concept, including dark energy, for a universe that rides on an expanding bubble in an additional dimension. We have known for the past 20 years that the Universe is expanding at an ever accelerating rate. The explanation is the “dark energy” that permeates it throughout, pushing it to expand. Understanding the nature of this dark energy is one of the paramount enigmas of fundamental physics. It has long been hoped that string theory will provide the answer. According to string theory, all matter consists of tiny, vibrating “stringlike” entities. The theory also requires there to be more spatial dimensions than the three that are already part of everyday knowledge. For 15 years, there have been models in string theory that have been thought to

give rise to dark energy. However, these have come in for increasingly harsh criticism, and several researchers are now asserting that none of the models proposed to date are workable. In their article, the scientists propose a new model with dark energy and our Universe riding on an expanding bubble in an extra dimension. The whole Universe is accommodated on the edge of this expanding bubble. All existing matter in the Universe corresponds to the ends of strings that extend out into the extra dimension. The researchers also show that expanding bubbles of this kind can come into existence within the framework of string theory. It is conceivable that there are more bubbles than ours, corresponding to other universes. The Uppsala scientists’ model provides a new, different picture of the creation and future fate of the Universe, while it may also pave the way for methods of testing string theory. For more information, contact Ulf Danielsson, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Uppsala University, email Ulf.danielsson@physics.uu.se or telephone +46 70 3141086.

Cyber Security Predictions 2019

Consumers will need to be extra vigilant this year as established threats like ransomware and email phishing increasingly target individuals, while web skimming hacks grow, and new automated attack methods emerge using off-the-shelf artificialintelligence and machine learning tools. Artificial intelligence and machine learning Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already widely used in cyber security to predict and counter emerging threats. However, it’s likely that cyber crooks will begin to take advantage of these technologies as they become increasingly accessible. In short, we can expect to see attacks that are faster, more adaptive and more difficult to capture. For instance, targets could include customised social network attacks designed to steal user data for identity theft, as well as specific attacks on companies. Web skimming attacks In terms of specific attacks and malware there will be an increase in web skimming attacks. These have been very prominent in 2018, for instance, the attack on British Airways’ website in which 380,000 payment card details

were stolen as people made purchases. These types of attacks have taken place all over the world and have proven to be lucrative for fraudsters. In 2019 they will continue but attacks are likely to become even more sophisticated by also stealing log-in credentials and other sensitive information. Financial services The financial sector should also be bracing itself. New hacking groups that focus on European financial services outfits have emerged so there will inevitably be a ramping up of successful attacks. Banks face hundreds of probes, if not more, on their networks every day and successfully defend against them. But advanced social engineering campaigns targeting internal employees or third party companies connected to the bank are not as easy to detect and stop. Fraudsters will leverage the flood of leaked data from other organisations by identifying employees, to prepare and plot this new wave of attacks. Email phishing attacks Email spam and phishing attacks will also continue at a pace with incidents recorded every day. These are relatively old techniques but they are successful hence their continued popularity among

attackers. That said, we’re set to see an increase in email social engineering attacks in which individuals are targeted. Once an attacker has chosen a victim they can craft personalised phishing mails that are extremely convincing. There will be a spike in these types of personalised attacks. Privacy awareness There is a wave of privacy awareness sweeping across Europe and the US following high profile revelations about how personal data is collected, used and sold-on by large organisations. As such, expect to see an increased uptake of the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) by consumers, who don’t want to be tracked on the internet, want to communicate with friends and family privately and want to access entertainment services wherever they are. Phishing emails will still cause lots of damage by exploiting the unwary. There is a huge underground industry dedicated to cybercrime with cyber fraudsters continually developing ever more sophisticated attacks. The bottom line is that consumers and businesses should be vigilant when online and protect themselves with good cyber security.

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January 2019

China introduces the world first AI News Presenter By Muhammad Nadeem Jahangir - Technology Correspondent

Founded in 1931, Xinhua is the biggest and the most influential media organisation in the People’s Republic of China. As a publishing and news agency this organisation owns more than 20 newspapers and dozens of magazines in multiple languages worldwide. In 2018 China held the 5th World Internet Conference in November where Xinhua become the very first news organisation worldwide to introduce an AI News anchor. This newly invented AI has the personality of a young man with a voice which is very close to conventional male news anchor and it is supported two languages: Mandarin and English. “He has become a member of its reporting team and can work 24 hours a day on its official website and various social media platforms, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency.” said Xinhua. The Anchor AI impressed the world in no time, people get very inspired by its facial movements and expressions. The first reporting was about Panama official and Chinese tycoon Jack Ma and is covered by many news agencies around the globe. Some people acknowledge this as China’s achievement in AI ecosystem and showed positive comments. Liu Chien-chih, secretary-general of Asia IoT Alliance said, “The creation showcases China’s progress in voice recognition, text mining and semantic analysis, all of which is covered by natural language processing.” On the other hand, criticism is always there as some people criticise this by saying it is

World First Robotic Heart Surgery Performed in India

“soulless” and “robotic”. Some call it “a news reading device without a soul”. Considering it an artificially intelligent news anchor is maybe too early as experts have different opinions about it. Yann LeCun is one of the fathers of modern deep learning and said, “More BS from the (human) puppeteers behind Sophia. Many of the comments would be good fun if they didn’t reveal the fact that many people are being deceived into thinking that this (mechanically sophisticated) animatronic puppet is intelligent. It’s not. It has no feeling, no opinions, and zero understanding of what it says. It’s not hurt. It’s a puppet.” Some experts said that being intelligent is not about making good facial expressions like humans or behaving like a human but, is about thinking like a human.

This news anchor may be good at script reading and presenting bot but is it capable of generating actual intelligent tasks? It is still not clear to call it an intelligent news anchor because we do not know if it can research and write a report. Can it provide an in-depth view of news or can it gather information and deliver insightful articles? These questions still make people believe that it may not be an intelligent system as claimed by Xinhua. “What actually creates those images and the movement of the lips and the voice of this anchor is using algorithms that are related to artificial intelligence. But to call this an AI anchor is slightly overselling it,” said Shafti, researcher in Robotics and AI at imperial collage London, told CNBC.

Facebook challenges TikTok, with its very own music and video app Lasso By Khalid Karim - Technology Correspondent

Not content in creating their own version of Snapchat, Facebook has now set its sites on taking a slice out of TikToks’ pie. The Chinese short-form vide sensation as seen Facebook launch their own version with Lasso. Currently only available in iOS and Android, Lasso is hoped to be Facebook’s answer to the wacky zany mobile lipsyncing playground stuff that has gained global popularity with young users both in the West and in China. With TikTok looking like the next biggest thing, it’s not surprising to see Facebook is following suit as it did when feeling threatened by the dominance posed by Snapchat. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed that the launch of Lasso on iOS and Android is in the U.S. only, for now, quoted as saying “Lasso is a new standalone app for short-form, entertaining videos — from comedy to beauty to fitness and more. We’re excited about the potential here, and we’ll be gathering feedback from people and creators.” While Lasso was released under the Facebook banner, the company launched it simply via a tweet from a product

manager on the team with relatively little fanfare. Lasso lets you shoot videos up to 15-seconds long with popular songs as an overlay, only restrictions are no direct uploads allowed. Typically the app centres around an algorithmic feed of recommended videos, but also lets you tap through hashtags or a Browse page of themed collections. Lasso’s beta users have selected a slew of videos which look pretty good, making use of the millions of songs in its soundtrack catalogue. There are no zany filters or funky augmented reality effects like you’ll find in TikTok, but users are already taking advantage of the slo-mo and fast-forward recording features to make fun clips. Overall the user experience of the app feels well-constructed and has that colourful and playful teen vibe much suited to its

target audience. You can log in with Facebook or Instagram to get instant personalisation, with the option to organise your Lassos to Facebook Stories with that option for Instagram is coming soon. Not surprisingly, all content and profiles on Lasso are public, which could cause some concern about older users leering at dancing teens. Similar concerns were made with Musical.ly, however, Lasso sought to alleviate that with a report button, but it’s not clear where Facebook will draw the line on what’s allowed. Another big question is whether Lasso is too late, whether the boat has sailed on this one. Musical.ly rose to over 200 million registered users before being acquired by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and rolled into its similar app TikTok. That app has been on a mete-

India has achieved an important breakthrough in the history of medical science with the World’s First-inHuman Telerobotic Coronary Intervention by Dr. Tejas Patel, Chairman and Chief Interventional Cardiologist of the Apex Heart Institute at Ahmedabad. This is the world’s First Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) conducted from a remote location outside of the catherization lab. The operation was performed from Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, located at a distance of roughly 32 km from catherization lab of the Apex Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, where the patient was admitted and attended to by Dr. Sanjay Shah. The success of this study paves the way for large-scale, long-distance telerobotic platforms across the globe. Dr. Tejas Patel, Chairman and Chief Interventional Cardiologist of the Apex Heart Institute, said, “The first-inhuman case of remote robotic PCI represents a landmark event for interventional medicine. Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, are the number one cause of death worldwide resulting in nearly 18 million deaths per year. The application of telerobotics inIndia has the potential to impact a significant number of lives by providing access to care that may not otherwise have been possible. I am honoured to contribute to this historic groundbreaking research which will earn a lot of glory and global respect for my country.” Telerobotic coronary interventional platform has the potential to dramatically improve patient access for both elective and emergent percutaneous coronary interventions and stroke in ru-

oric rise over the last year, turning into a global phenomenon that surpassed Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube in downloads during the last quarter. While Instagram and Facebook were smart at cloning Snapchat’s Stories with great success, they had the advantage of building that feature into their already popular platforms. Lasso has a long way to go and will have to start from scratch as a standalone app. Facebook’s previous teen-focused standalone assets like Slingshot and Poke failed infamously with the same strategy.

ral and underserved populations. It will reduce time to treatment for emergent procedures such as STEMI and stroke and will also reduce variability in operator skills and thus, improve clinical outcomes. Dr Tejas Patel used CorPath® technology of Corindus Vascular Robotics, Inc. to conduct the first-in-human (FIH) telerobotic coronary intervention. Mark Toland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Corindus, stated, “Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, are the world’s most significant and undertreated clinical problem due to limited access to specialized, timely medical care. As a result of existing barriers to care, including increased global poverty and a declining number of trained specialists, only a fraction of patients worldwide receive lifesaving treatment, resulting in substantial death or disability. We anticipate that our technology will revolutionize cardiovascular disease treatment by providing specialized and timely medical care to anyone, anywhere.” Cardiovascular disease, including stroke, are the number one causes of death worldwide resulting in nearly 18 million deaths per year. Geographic barriers, socioeconomic status and a rapidly shrinking number of skilled specialists significantly hinders patient access to timely, specialized cardiovascular care. This is especially of concern during highly emergent medical events, such as heart attacks and stroke, where ideal treatment must be received in as little as 90 minutes or within 24 hours, respectively, to avoid death or permanent disability.

Facebook will be pinning its hope on its core network of content creators to convince people to download a whole new app, which could be an uphill struggle, even for a giant like Facebook.

AW Facts Did you know? Everything that you speak to Siri is sent to Apple, stored, and analyzed

January 2019

FOOD

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AW’S

Kitchen

Toblerone Takes Hit from Far-Right Supporters for ‘Halal’ Certification Toblerone has surprisingly become the target of a boycott from farright wing supporters, as shown by recent statements released on social media. The US-based manufacturer Mondelez which produces the Swiss delicacy declared that the product has officially been branded as ‘halal’, angering many consumers of the chocolate treat. The company has underlined the fact that no part of the recipe which constitutes to the making of the famous triangle shaped chocolates has been altered. Mondelez has been producing halal confectionary for

several months now and has recently decided to label Toblerone as Muslim friendly to the public. Translated from Arablic, ‘Halal’ implies that something is pure, and thus members of the Muslim faith are allowed to consume the food under the pretext of Islamic Law. The faith excludes alcohol and pork to be consumed by its followers, and meat must only be eaten if the animal has been killed in a specific way with the reading of religious scripture. However, since Toblerone is already made without using pork gelatine, Muslims are allowed to eat it, along

with many Vegetarians as well. However, not all online commentators were pleased with the news released about the Toblerone factory in Bern Switzerland, regarding its achievement of halal certification back in April of 2018. Jörg Meuthen of the German Nationalist Party the AfD, released the following statement on his Facebook page: “Islamisation does not take place - neither in Germany nor in Europe... It is therefore certainly pure coincidence that the depicted, known chocolate variety is now certified as HALAL” he wrote sarcastically.

Many people agreed with Meuthen’s post, and lashed out with their own statements of outrage: “Too bad, I like to eat. But I don’t like Muslim food,” wrote another Facebook user. Others saw no reason for the outcry, and chastised those who were posting Islamaphobic comments on the internet: “I don’t see a problem with this. What do you want to do about this?” someone wrote. “Halal means that it can also be eaten by Muslims. No one would be outraged if it said ‘gluten free’ on the packet”. “Anyone who has the power and time to get upset about such non-

sense must not be surprised (by the ridicule),” said someone else. By Manisha Bhanot.

AW Facts Did you know? Honey is the only edible food product that can never go off

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January 2019

Popularity of the Robust Street Foods

By Rida Khan ( Aviation Author)

Street Food literally means food which is sold on the streets by the hawkers or vendors. It is food which can be easily carried away by the people and eaten by walking or standing. Today people adore consuming street food that it has made way to be a part of their life. Street food reflects the traditional flavours of a particular state / country. Though they don’t use high technology, products or very good quality food ingredients to make a particular dish nor they use very expensive crockery to serve it, street food is more in demand and is very popular. It’s just because of its simplicity and great overall taste. To increase my knowledge related to street food I thought to interview a food explorer of India who had travelled because of only food and has tasted street food of different regions of India. And my search ended only when I got

to know about Mr. Kalyan Kamarkar, who is India’s famous food explorer, writer and food blogger. Following his stories and blog on internet I thought of interviewing him on this topic. Sharing his interview below, you will get the answer why Street foods are so important for us. Mr. Kalyan Kamarkar, is from Calcutta but lives in Mumbai. He was a sociology student and grad who practiced market research for 15 years before he became an independent food writer. He writes for one of the India’s earliest and most awarded food blog. He is an author of a food travelogue called ‘The Travelling Belly’. He has also worked as a columnist for NDTV Food, Daily O and has written for leading Indian media and eminent publications in the past. Because of his hobby which is food exploring he has achieved many awards in India.

Q) How do you define street food? Kalyan - It is the soul of India. Food sold on the streets and street corners of India. What India runs on.

Q) Why street food is important? Kalyan - It offers affordable food to the man on the street. Food that fuels him and gives him joy. It is so integral to us that it defines the identity of the city it belongs to.

Q) Is having street food good for health or not? Kalyan - Street food which is based on local food traditions, produced and are prepared fresh can definitely be an energy booster. Healthy is relative, it cannot be as healthy as home food but could be healthier than that in restaurants which see low turnover or display poor hygiene levels themselves.

Q) Do street food reflects the culture of their country? Kalyan - Absolutely. It reflects the history of a country as well as its culture. It brings its people together and empowers them on too. It can be a source of great pride and gives a sense of belonging.

Q) Many travellers, food lovers from different countries get motivated first towards street food. What is the reason behind it? Kalyan - It gives them a chance to come in direct contact with the people of a place with no artificial barriers in between. One can strike up conversations too in the informal settings that street food is served in. Plus it is more affordable and has so much more soul.

Q) You have visited so many street food stalls & tasted their food. How was your experience? Kalyan - I love seeing a city through its street food and getting to know people there. One of my fondest memories is of going to the original Tunday kebab outlet in Lucknow. It was chaotic. Two strangers welcomed me to their table, helped me place my order, told me about their lives and their association with the place and at the end paid my bill even though were not very financially well off. Their kindness made me feel most welcome.

Q) Any food advice to the food travellers who visit other countries? Kalyan - Please try the local food and get to know the people there through conversations over your meals. Be respectful. Be open minded. Travel with a hearty appetite for great food and lovely experiences. Be an ambassador for your own country when you travel. Create bonds of trust and hope wherever you go with food as a starting point.

January 2019

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Alex Smith announced as managing director of Volkswagen Group UK Ltd

McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTS UP THE SUPERCAR CLASS WITH NEW 720S SPIDER

New 720S Spider the most accomplished convertible supercar ever from McLaren, combining the thrill of open-air driving with unparalleled Super Series dynamic performance and sophistication Light, stiff and extremely strong Monocage II-S carbon fibre core features integrated rollover protection structure (ROPS); needs no additional strengthening over Coupé, ensuring a convertible without compromise and guaranteeing exceptional dynamic agility Bespoke carbon fibre body structure and new Retractable Hard Top (RHT) support a lightest dry weight of 1,332kg – lightest in class at just 49kg more than the 720S Coupé and 88kg less than the dry weight of its closest competitor Unparalleled visibility due to unique, glazed flying buttresses that also accentuate aerodynamic purity of design and increase downforce Patented new carbon fibre roof system is electrically actuated and delivers fastest-operating time in the supercar class, lowering or raising in 11 seconds at vehicle speeds of up to 50km/h (31mph) Retractable Hard Top is available glazed with an electrochromic glass panel that can rapidly switch between tinted and transparent states 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged McLaren V8 engine produces 720PS and 770Nm of torque, with a power-to-weight ratio for 720S Spider at lightest dry weight of 540PS/tonne Acceleration from 0-100km/h (062mph) is same as 720S Coupé at 2.9 seconds; 0-200km/h in 7.9 seconds; maximum speed with roof raised 341km/h (212mph) – roof lowered 325km/h (202mph) Active rear spoiler aerodynamics automatically tuned to closed- or open-roof driving 720S Spider is second new model under

£1.2bn McLaren Automotive Track25 business plan Deliveries to customers commence March 2019; UK prices start from £237,000 McLaren Automotive, the British manufacturer of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars, is expanding its Super Series product family with the introduction of a second new model under the £1.2bn Track25 business plan and its most accomplished convertible supercar ever: the new 720S Spider. Revealed online in late December of 2018 and available to order with immediate effect, the new 720S Spider delivers the exhilaration of open-air driving and levels of day-to-day usability unseen in the convertible supercar class. “The new McLaren 720S Spider offers an unparalleled blend of extreme performance, crafted luxury, driver involvement and daily usability – all with the additional exhilaration of openair driving whenever required. As the most accomplished convertible supercar ever, the new Spider delivers across a remarkable spectrum of abilities to outstandingly high levels, and as lightest in class with an increase of just 49kg over the 720S Coupé, moves us even further ahead of our competition in the weight race.” Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive The design foundations of the new McLaren Spider are the seamless and organic forms introduced in 2017 with the 720S Coupé. Combining to maximise downforce, minimise drag, enhance powertrain cooling and optimise aerodynamic performance, these shapes produce an overall appearance akin to a futuristic sculpture, formed by the air that flows over, under, around and through it. A new, electrically actuated Retractable Hard Top (RHT) is seamlessly integrated into the design, as are

new buttresses. Carbon fibre core for strength and light weight Like all McLaren cars, the new 720S Spider has a carbon fibre structure at its core, in this case designated Monocage II-S. The strength, rigidity and light weight of the McLaren Monocage is the base for the dynamic excellence for which McLarens are renowned. The Monocage II-S is a development of the Coupé ’s Monocage II, without the central ‘spine’ running front to rear above the cabin. The rearmost section of the upper structure is also unique to the Spider, to accommodate the Retractable Hard Top; additionally, the header rail across the top of the windscreen has been revised, to integrate the central latching mechanism. McLaren’s engineering ingenuity, underpinned by the inherent strength and rigidity of carbon fibre, means that despite the removal of the fixed roof there is no need for additional strengthening; even the unusually slim but incredibly strong windscreen A-pillars first seen on the 720S Coupé remain. To provide enhanced rollover protection for occupants, fixed carbon fibre structural supports are integrated into the rear of the Monocage II-S, additionally providing the main anchor points for the roof system and the seatbelts. In the first-generation Super Series, steel supports featured and the switch to carbon fibre has contributed to the Rollover Protection Structure (ROPS) in the 720S Spider being 6.8kg lighter than in the 650S. Ferocious acceleration on par with 720S Coupé; 202mph with the roof down… The 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged McLaren V8 engine that powers the 720S Spider is unchanged from the Coupé. Mid-mounted for exceptional handling and purity of response, it produces 720PS and 770Nm and –given the lightest-in-class weight of the 720S

Spider and resulting power-to-weight ratio of 540PS-per-tonne at lightest dry weight – it is no surprise that performance is extreme. Acceleration is nothing short of phenomenal, with 0-100km/h (0-62mph) covered in 2.9 seconds and 0-200km/h (0-124mph) achieved in just 7.9 seconds – just 0.1 seconds off the pace of the Coupé. The standing quarter mile sprint is dispatched in 10.4 seconds – again, only 0.1 seconds slower than the Coupé – and where conditions allow, the 720S Spider will continue accelerating to a Coupé-matching top speed of 341km/h (212mph) with the roof raised. Even with the roof lowered, maximum speed remains extraordinary at 325km/h (202mph). The minor variations in performance arise from differing aerodynamics and the additional 49kg the Spider carries. Three specifications, two new exterior colours, return of one heritage colour The new 720S Spider is available in the same three specifications as the Coupé, with Performance and Luxury trims extending above the standard model. Two new exterior colours – Belize Blue and Aztec Gold – have been introduced for the new Spider among a palette of 23, one of which is Supernova Silver, a Heritage colour that was first available on the McLaren 12C. The McLaren 720S has established a reputation in Coupé guise for its ground-breaking design, cutting-edge technologies and ferocious pace, complemented by a breadth of ability and sophistication that delivers everyday usability belying its extreme performance status. The new 720S Spider, which is available to order now from £237,000, is the equal of the Coupé in every respect. For further information and film of the car, visit: cars.mclaren.com/superseries/720s-spider.

Alex Smith is to return to Volkswagen Group UK Ltd as Managing Director this year, replacing Paul Willis who is leaving the company. Smith re-joins the Group from Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd, where he has been Managing Director since 2016. This announcement follows the resignation of Willis, who is to pursue a new opportunity outside the Volkswagen Group following five years as Managing Director and, previously, as a Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars. With initial motor industry experience at Ford and Kia, Smith started at Volkswagen Group UK in 2007, heading successively the functions of Group Parts Operations, Retail Operations for Volkswagen Passenger Cars, before becoming Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK in November 2011. On 1 July 2014 he was appointed as Director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars UK, reporting to Paul Willis. Willis will stay on into the first quarter of 2019 to ensure a smooth transition to his successor. Both have played important roles in the transition of Volkswagen Group UK to become the leader in UK new car sales, with a combined market share YTD of over 20%. Commenting on his appointment, Smith said: “I am very pleased to be returning to Volkswagen Group UK, especially at such a challenging yet exciting time for both the company and the automotive industry in general. Thanks to huge levels of investment, particularly in the field of e-mobility, the Group is well positioned for a strong future.” Volkswagen Group UK is the UK importer for the products of Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

AW Facts Did you know? On average, 5 months of a person’s life-span is spent waiting in a car at red traffic lights

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TECH 38-39

FOOD 40-41

MOTORING 42-44

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January 2019

YOUR WINTER DRIVING QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY GEM: SAFER DRIVING IN FOG

HYUNDAI MOTOR REVEALS WORLD’S FIRST SMART FINGERPRINT TECHNOLOGY TO VEHICLES

• World-first fingerprint technology to be applied first on 2019 Santa Fe SUV • The technology allows drivers to unlock and start their vehicles without using car keys • The fingerprint technology offers maximum security available and is updated constantly with ‘Dynamic Update’ feature Hyundai Motor Company announced the world’s first smart fingerprint technology that allows drivers to not only unlock doors but also start the vehicle. Hyundai plans to implement the technology initially in Santa Fe SUV model that is to be released in select markets on the first quarter of 2019. To unlock the vehicle, the driver needs to place a finger on the sensor located on the door handle. The encrypted fingerprint information will be identified and delivered to the fingerprint controller inside the vehicle. The driver can also easily start the

vehicle by touching the ignition that is also equipped with a fingerprint scanning sensor. The technology also provides a customized driving environment. Matching information of driver preference with fingerprint data, the vehicle automatically adjusts seating positions, connected car features, and side-view mirror angles according to the driver. “In the future, Hyundai Motor plans to further expand the application of the technology to allow the adjustment of temperature, steering wheel position, and many other features which will be tailored to driver’s preferences” said Albert Biermann, President and Head of Research & Development Division of the Hyundai Motor Company. “This will ultimately offer quality driving experience to each and every Hyundai customer.” Hyundai also addressed the security issues on the smart fingerprint technology. With capaci-

tance recognition, which detects differentials in the electricity level in various parts of the fingertip, the fingerprint technology efficiently prevents forgeries and faked fingerprints. The technology’s chance of misrecognizing other person’s finger print as the driver’s is only 1 in 50,000 making it five times more effective than conventional vehicle keys, including smart keys. Moreover, through real-time learning of fingerprints supported by ‘dynamic update’ system, the fingerprint system can continually improve its success rate. Hyundai will apply the fingerprint technology in select markets and gradually expand to the other markets. Hyundai Motor also plans to continue to implement other customizable technologies to vehicle line-up, to strengthen technological leadership in the future mobility market.

ROAD SAFETY and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is encouraging motorists to ensure they – and their vehicles – are ready for the potential challenges of driving in winter. In this third of four advice notices, GEM road safety officer Neil Worth answers questions on driving safely in times of fog: What is fog? Fog is a thick wet mist that either rolls in from the sea or radiates up from the ground. Fog forms when the temperature drops to the point at which air is saturated, and invisible water vapour in the air condenses to form suspended water droplets. Why is driving through fog

dangerous? Primarily because you can see so little. So go slowly, use dipped headlights and fog lights, but remember to switch the fogs off when visibility improves. Is there anything I can do to continue driving safely when the fog is really thick? Quite possibly not. You can wind down the window, in an attempt to hear what you may not be able to see, but there’s no magic way for gaining visibility. Should I use the rear lights of the vehicle in front or the centre white line of the road as reference points? No. It’s dangerous to follow the lights of the vehicle in front as you may well allow yourself to

get too close, meaning you might not have enough space to stop suddenly. You can follow the edge of the road as a reference point, but not the centre. If I see another car without lights, should I take the number plate and report the driver? We advise that you focus on keeping yourself and your passengers safe. Check out GEM’s advice on winter driving techniques. You’ll find a video, leaflet, tips and a free eBook download at www. motoringassist.com/winterdriving Follow GEM on Twitter @ MotoringAssist for the latest industry news.

WELSH MOTORING WRITERS – GOHEBWYR MODURO CYMRU Car Awards Wales: joint project with Welsh Automotive Forum announced Alex Grant wins GoMW AA Campaigning Journalist of the Year Award Rachel Boagey highly commended in BCA Feature Writer of the Year section Wales will have its own car awards in 2019 in a new partnership with the Welsh Automotive Forum. The awards will be presented at the WAF Annual Dinner, a black tie event attended by around 400 members representing the automotive industry in Wales. Introducing the Car Awards Wales initiative at the 2018 annual dinner of WAF, CEO Tim Williams said: “Jointly with WMW we have a special announcement to make. More details in the New Year but our aim is to create a select and limited number of awards, each of equal value, grounded in the Welsh Automotive sector. “They will also take account of innovation here in the areas of powertrain and propulsion technology. We plan

to make the first Car Awards Wales presentations at our next Annual Dinner a year from now”.

WMW Chairman Huw Thomas added: “One thing we can say at the outset is that this will not be yet

another ‘Car of the Year’ competition. We will be looking to recognise automotive excellence and outcomes

which really make a difference from both a product and manufacturing perspective”. WMW members are also delighted with the recent of the success of both Alex Grant and Rachel Boagey at the 2018 Guild of Motoring Writers Awards. Alex won the AA Campaigning Journalist of the Year award while Rachel was highly commended in the BCA Feature Writer of the Year category. Huw Thomas commented: “Both Alex and Rachel are valued members of WMW and a real asset to the group. Alex’s award is especially timely as he leaves Fleet World for a freelance career. It is a real privilege to have them as colleagues and they take with them our very best wishes for the future”. Pictured (left to right): WMW member Michael Nash, WAF CEO Tim Williams, WAF chairman Prof Richard Parry-Jones CBE, WMW chairman Huw Thomas and Secretary of State for Wales the Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP.

January 2019

DOING DRY JANUARY? HOW ABOUT MAKING IT A SAFER JANUARY ON THE ROADS? ASKS GEM

ROAD SAFETY and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging all road users to put safety at the top of their 2019 agenda. The call comes as we once again prepare to make those well-intentioned turn-of-the-year pledges to do more of this or less of that. Thinking about road safety makes particularly good sense in January. After all, there is the end of the holidays and the big return to work to contend with, as well as the long nights, the threat of bad weather and often the worry that goes with a pile of Christmas bills to pay. Any or all of these can play havoc with our attention on journeys, according to GEM. GEM road safety officer Neil Worth said the New Year offered everyone a perfect opportunity for resolving to reduce risk on road journeys. “We admire those who are determined to improve their fitness, commit to a month without alcohol or any other healthy plan. But if we all committed to a few minor changes in the way we use the roads, the benefits for everyone would be significant,” he said. “It could be as simple as leaving

five minutes early to keep stress levels down on journeys, refreshing your knowledge of the Highway Code or making a commitment to banish distractions on journeys.

These can all be achieved with very little effort, but the effect they can have on a safer road environment is massive. GEM has assembled a selection of

five simple, straightforward tips to help drivers make worthwhile New Year’s resolutions: Before a journey: Take a few minutes to plan and

check your route before you set out. This will help ensure you don’t get lost, and by leaving five minutes early you won’t end up rushing and making risky decisions. Pay attention: Give the road your full attention. Don’t be distracted by passengers, mobile phones or private thoughts. Hold back: Make a pledge that you won’t react to the actions of other drivers. Nobody’s perfect, so don’t waste time and increase risk by trying to rebuke another road user. Focus on holding back and staying safe. Choose your speeds wisely: The speeds you use are entirely your own choice. No one can tell you to exceed the speed limit. So, ensure you make wise decisions to keep your speed both legal and appropriate for the conditions. Time and space are two commodities you can never have enough of when driving! Be alert: Don’t drive tired. Around 25% of all fatal or serious injury crashes are sleep-related, so if you feel exhausted, or become tired on a long drive, then stop and rest.

JAGUAR I-PACE TAKES CLEAN SWEEP WITH THIRD MAJOR UK TECH AWARD

• The all-electric Jaguar I-PACE has won Stuff Magazine’s ‘Best Car’ Award, marking a clean sweep of awards in the major UK tech publications • I-PACE has already been named Pocket-lint’s ‘Best Car’ and T3’s ‘Best Car’ this year, as well as ‘German Car of the year in 2018’ and ‘Sunday Times Car of the Year’ • With an all-electric range of 292 miles (WLTP), artificial intelligence technology and advanced infotainment, the I-PACE is the ultimate expression of a modern Jaguar. The Jaguar I-PACE has won its third major UK tech award this year, having been named ‘Best Car’ by Stuff Magazine; the best-selling gadget magazine. The award follows on the heels of I-PACE being named ‘Best Car’ by T3 and ‘Best Car’ by Pocket-lint, marking a clean sweep among major tech publications. I-PACE is the most high-tech Jaguar ever produced, featuring a fullyelectric powertrain fitted with two electric motors. It is also Jaguar’s first vehicle to include the Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, capable of over-the-air software

updates, and uses artificial intelligence to adapt to a driver’s personal preferences, ensuring driving and infotainment settings are matched to each individual using the car.

With four-wheel-drive, 400PS and 696Nm of torque, I-PACE delivers sports car performance, accelerating from 0-60mph in just 4.5 seconds. Despite its exhilarating speed,

I-PACE is capable of 292 miles (WLTP) of real-world all-electric range, thanks to a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery complemented by a suite of range-optimising

technologies, including an advanced battery pre-conditioning system. Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover UK Managing Director, said: “We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the response to I-PACE. There are many that said the world isn’t ready for electric cars, but with a range of almost 300 miles, a quick charging time, sports car performance and nearly 25 major global awards under its belt, the I-PACE has proven them wrong in incredible style. Thank you to the team at Stuff for this award; it’s the latest in a long line of accolades that really validates the years of hard work, from thousands of passionate employees, that went into creating the car”. I-PACE’s innovations and cutting-edge engineering have secured well over 20 major awards wins since its introduction, and not just in tech publications. It was voted as German Car of the Year and Scottish Car of the Year by two panels of motoring experts, the Sunday Times named it ‘Car of the Year’ and Top Gear Magazine named it ‘Best Electric Vehicle’. The Jaguar I-PACE is available to order now, priced from £59,995 (including government incentives) at www.jaguar.co.uk.

LOCAL 4-15

GLOBAL 16-20

BUSINESS 21-25

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HEALTH 34-35

TRAVEL 36-37

TECH 38-39

SPORTS

FOOD 40-41

MOTORING 42-44

SPORTS 45-47

January 2019

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Planning Approval for 2022 Commonwealth Games obtained in Perry Barr

Birmingham’s preparations to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games successfully sprinted ahead on December 20th 2018, with the approval of the Planning Application for the residential element of the Athletes’ Village. The planning application approved today is for the first phase of a wider regeneration scheme for Perry Barr, which will provide around 1,400 new homes. The properties are being built on the site of the former Birmingham City University campus and will accommodate around 6,500 athletes and officials coming to Birmingham in the summer of 2022 when the Games take place. After the Games, the properties will be converted to provide around 1,400 new homes across a range of tenures – social and affordable rent, homes for sale, and for private rent – creating a new high-quality residential neighbourhood for Perry Barr. The development, unanimously approved by Birmingham City Council’s Planning Committee, will also include a retirement village and a community centre. And in recognition of the importance of the scheme as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of Perry Barr, financial support has been secured for the council-led scheme

from central government (£165million) and the West Midlands Combined Authority (£20million). Work is set to begin on site in early 2019, to ensure completion in time for the arrival of representatives from the Commonwealth’s 71 nations and territories in the summer of 2022. Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “Since we announced our intention to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, I’ve always said the event is about so much more than just 11 days of sport. “The regeneration of Perry Barr will

be the most tangible and transformative legacy we achieve as a result of hosting the Games, bringing investment and regeneration to area that has long been crying out for it. “I commend everyone involved with the development of this planning application. It shows the ‘can do’ attitude of the city council and its commitment to partnership working – by securing planning permission today, 364 days since the Games were awarded to Birmingham, we’ve successfully completed work that would normally a take a Host City three years to complete in just one.”

Cllr Sharon Thompson, Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods, added: “Through this scheme we will provide people from across the Commonwealth sports movement a first-class home away from home when they come here for Birmingham 2022. “But longer-term and even more importantly, the Athletes’ Village will provide a place for 1,400 families to call home, part of a community that will be able to look back with pride at why and how their homes came to be built and look forward to living their lives in an improved Perry Barr.”

Waheed Nazir, Corporate Director for Economy at Birmingham City Council, said: “The fact that we have secured a planning consent for such a scheme within 12 months of being awarded the Games demonstrates the ability of the public sector to drive forward major projects at pace. We have used our experience as one of the city’s housing developers to drive the project forward and I look forward to seeing construction start in the New Year.” Future phases of the Perry Barr regeneration plan will be consulted on in 2019.

Is Roger Federer losing his midas touch?

By Ronald Daniel Sampson

Last year 2018 has officially come to a close for Swiss superstar Roger Federer after losing his semi-final clash to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets at the year end ATP World Tour Finals in London. Roger Federer had begun 2018 in fine fashion by winning the Hopman Cup partnering Belinda Bencic. Weeks later he clinched the Australian Open for a record equaling sixth time and in the process became the first male player to win 20 Grand Slams. He followed that up with another title in Rotterdam and looked menacing as ever. All looked rosy for the then 36 year-old until an hand injury forced him to take an indefinite break from the game where he had to once again skip the French Open. In June, Federer returned to action and straightaway captured another title by winning the Stuttgart Open and regained the World Number 1 status. It seemed things were falling back to place for Roger Federer until a shock loss to youngster Borna Coric

at the Halle Open final; a tournament which Federer has won on a record nine occasions. Everything started to change from then on as Roger Federer looked a different player. Since then, Federer lost to South African Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon in five sets despite being up

by two sets to love. Next, he stumbled at the final hurdle against rival Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati. He followed that up with another shock loss to Australian John Millman in four sets in the fourth round of the US Open where he committed a whopping 77 unforced errors including 10 double faults. The world

was witnessing very un-like Roger Federer performances. His next assignment was the Shanghai Masters where he once again fell to Borna Coric in straight sets in the semi final. It seemed as though Roger Federer was losing his midas touch and what better way to regain it by playing a tournament at home. He found solace at the Swiss Indoors in Basel and went on to grab the title by defeating Romanian Marius Copil in the final. Federer seemed to have gathered some much needed form as he headed to the Paris Masters but all came crashing down in the semifinals where he met a red hot Novak Djokovic who was on a 21-match winning streak. Despite a topsy-turvy year, Federer had qualified for the year end ATP World Tour finals where he was placed in the Lleyton Hewitt group along with Kei Nishikori, Kevin Anderson and Dominic Thiem. Federer started the tournament in horrible fashion with a loss to Nishikori but followed it up with brilliant victories over Anderson

and Thiem to reach the semi finals only to lose to Zverev in straight sets to end the year with an overall scorecard of 48 victories and 10 losses. Roger Federer, now 37, would have definitely liked to end the year on a high and fans are certainly saddened to see such a prolific player failing to churn out titles after titles. No doubt, injuries off late and especially age catching up are massive factors behind a dip in form but as they say, “form is temporary, class is permanent.” Roger Federer is certainly a class player and despite losing a bit his midas touch, he’s undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players to have played the game. Long live Roger Federer!

AW Facts Did you know? Athletic shoes make up about 20% of all shoe sales in the U.S.

January 2019

SPORTS WOMAN OF THE YEAR

NA ZIA KHATUN Nazia Khatun a Muslim, Bangladeshi Former Boxer and Fitness Specialist has a lot to celebrate, she has just won the title ‘Sports Woman of the Year ‘ by the Baton’s Awards, which celebrates women of BAME backgrounds who are pushing boundaries in all walks of life. Nazia received her award at The Houses of Parliament on the 29th November 2018. Nazia won the award for helping women gain confidence and selfesteem via her fitness programme which uses neuro science to recreate the way females view them in a society that defines beauty standards. The way she does this is by speaking to her followers about self love on social media practically every day, her tag line I AM ENOUGH is practised by her followers from different parts of the world. People and especially females are always messaging Nazia about their transformations due to her educational impact via social media. Nazia is no stranger to depression, low self-esteem and selfloathing and it all started whilst she was at college. She found herself comparing herself to her peers, she felt she needed to keep

up and her appearance became an obsession, before she knew it Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders became part of her life and carried on into her twenties. Being a boxer super fit and healthy made no odds she was always looking for that validation and acceptance from her peers and family. She found herself to be very toxic and in turn she was attracting toxic people. Despite her appearance Nazia was fooling people into thinking she was this confident and positive person. The healing process of her condition and issues came down to one thing …she had to learn to love herself and her own company. It was a long process that took time and practise and something that should be taught to everyone at schools and higher education. Nazia says ‘Having gone through this journey myself I discovered there are certain stigmas and negative views out there when people do things by themselves…I want to challenge these views and break down barriers, which I have done via my instagram platform’ Fitnessrebornuk1’ creating a movement which is called ‘Dat-

ing Yourself’ . This involves me spending 3 days all by myself, doing things such as eating alone, going to a museum alone or the movies even spending a night in a boutique hotel alone and quite simply just enjoying my own company for self- care and mental well- being!’ She goes on ‘I am not your normal fitness coach I like to do things differently and stand out from the crowd. I wanted to offer my followers something unique and unorthodox….my method creates sustainable results and gives my clients the drive to go out there and achieve their goals even if it is not related to sports and wellbeing. I want to show how we can use fitness as a tool to create a strong future. Being a former boxer Nazia also feels it’s her responsibility to be a role model by educating people from her own background and beyond. She wants people to understand the impact sports has had on her in the most positive way but also discuss sensitive topics and challenge ideas rather than brushing them under the carpet.’

TACKLES SELF LOVE

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June 2018