The World News Headlines (06/12/12)

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6 December 2012

The World News Headlines

Rushanara Ali MP calls on UK to back Palestine MP had warned against abstaining, but UK decided to abstain on Palestine vote

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ushanara Ali MP had urged the UK Government to show leadership and courage at the UN General Assembly when it votes on a resolution granting ‘non-member observer state’ status to the Palestine Authority.

Responding to a House of Commons statement given by the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, Rushanara said: “Given our country’s distinct history in the region and the legacy that was left behind, does the Foreign Secretary agree that Britain has a unique responsibility to take a stand, show international leadership and courage and generate some hope for both the Palestinians and the Israelis who want peace? Surely, the resolution would be one way to signal our role in showing that leadership. I ask him to think again before tomorrow.”

Rushanara joined Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander in calling on the Foreign Secretary to reconsider Britain’s position ahead of the UN General As-

Palestine gained enough votes to become a semi-recognised state at the UN, despite the UK abstaining sembly vote, due to take place on Thursday 29th November.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary told the Commons: “When will the Foreign Secretary un-

derstand: statehood for the Palestinians is not a gift to be given, but a right to be acknowledged.

“I warn the Foreign Secretary, if the UK abstains tomor-

‘I warn the Foreign Secretary, if the UK abstains tomorrow it will not be a measure of our growing influence, it will be a confirmation of our growing irrelevance to meaningful engagement in the search for peace’ Rushanara Ali MP

row it will not be a measure of our growing influence, it will be a confirmation of our growing irrelevance to meaningful engagement in the search for peace.”

Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Britain called on the UK to support Palestine.

“Our Government must vote to recognise Palestine as a Sovereign State, with no conditions attached,” said the MCB in a statement.

The Muslim Council calls on the Government and the international community to ascribe

the Palestinians their basic human rights and not delay the UN membership of Palestine.

An opinion poll conducted by Avaaz, one of the world’s biggest campaigning organisations, showed that 72% of the UK public want a Palestinian state and a petition launched by them has so far been signed by over 1.6 million people and increases by the minute.

Farooq Murad, Secretary General of the MCB said: “The events we have witnessed over the last few days in Israel and Gaza points to the fact that now, more so than ever, there is an urgent need for Palestine to be recognised as an independent state. The news report that our government is imposing condition that for such UK support the Palestinian state must pledge not to pursue Israel for war crimes is plainly shameful and will be rejected by all fair minded British citizens”.

President Barack Obama, in his speech in Cairo in 2009, insisted: “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s.”

It is high time now for these words to be put into action.

“We have seen too many lives being lost, too many conflicts and too many innocent people suffering. Both Palestine and Israel have the right to live without fear, have rights to live life in peace and prosper as a nation. Only when Palestine takes its place as a sovereign member of the international community, lasting peace in the region will prevail,” said Farooq Murad.

Muslim Aid sends out special message on International Volunteers Day

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n the occasion of International Volunteers Day, Muslim Aid’s trustees and staff expressed their sincere appreciation and gratitude to its volunteers in the UK and overseas for offering their valuable time and commitment to serve humanity.

This day provides Muslim

Aid, as well as other NGOs, the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution and achievements made by the millions of volunteers of charity around the world who selflessly give their time, resources and ideas to support the needy.

A spokesman for Muslim Aid said: “Our volunteers are instrumental in the successful planning

and implementation of the vast array of programmes and disaster and emergency campaigns which support thousands of people around the world. This day offers us an opportunity to honour these individuals who sacrifice their time, and sometime compromise their own personal safety, to ease the suffering of others. We en-

courage everyone, particularly the youth, to participate in Muslim Aid’s national and international development programmes.”

Throughout 2012 Muslim Aid volunteers in UK organised many events and helped raise money for different appeals. During the month of Ramadan Muslim Aid volunteers also took part in the

Charity’s Feed the Hungry programme, a project that works with homeless people. Muslim Aid volunteers also help raise funds for those affected by disasters.

Muslim Aid has a comprehensive procedure for selecting its volunteers. To become a volunteer, visit the website muslimaid.org

This Week Bangladesh protest death

One protester was killed and dozens were injured in clashes with police during a countrywide day of protest in Bangladesh called by the country’s largest political party. The protester was killed in the northern town of Chirirbandar ahead of Tuesday’s shutdown of businesses and schools called for by the Jamaat-eIslami Party. A special court is trying senior leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami for allegedly carrying out atrocities during the 1971 independence war, the BBC reported. Other party leaders say the charges are politically motivated.

Egyptians continue protests

Egyptian police have fired tear gas at opposition protesters demonstrating against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s drive to hold a snap referendum on a controversial draft charter, as the country plunges deeper into crisis. Live television footage showed that some protesters broke through police lines and got too close to the presidential palace. Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo said: “They broke through the barbed wire [and] the police reacted and fired tear gas straight away.

This has been an issue for the protesters as they are not allowed near the palace.”

NATO warns Syria

Any use of chemical weapons

by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the ongoing uprising to overthrow his government will draw “an immediate reaction” from the world community, NATO’s chief has said. Secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s warning on Tuesday came as Syrian forces continued to hit rebel districts near Damascus, while state media reported that rebel forces had hit a school, killing dozens of children.

NATO missiles in Turkey

The NATO military alliance has agreed to the deployment of Patriot missiles as requested by member Turkey to help defend its border against possible threats from Syria. “NATO has agreed to augment Turkey’s air defence capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance’s border,” a statement released on Tuesday said.

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6 December 2012

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News Former MCB leader awarded doctorate This Week

Philippines typhoon kills 40

Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year, has slammed into a southern island, killing at least 40 people, destroying homes, cutting power and forcing the cancellation of flights and ferry services, officials said. The state weather service said Bopha made landfall on Mindanao island’s east coast at dawn on Tuesday, raking across the island of 10 million people, packing gusts of up to 210km an hour and bringing heavy rain. Local media said at least 40 people were confirmed dead and dozens injured, but there was no official verification at the time of writing..

Ban calls for green action

Ban Ki-moon, the secretarygeneral of the United Nations, has called on world leaders to confront a global warming “crisis” and show “strong political commitment” and compromise in dealing with it. Speaking at the annual UN climate talks in Doha, Ban noted that there were “mixed feelings” among delegates who were negotiating deals, but that the situation posed an “existential challenge for the whole human race”. “This is a crisis,” said Ban on Tuesday, as a string of scientific reports warned the world could be headed for calamitous warming way above the limit of two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) being targeted by the UN.

Iran captures US drone

Iran has claimed to have captured a small US drone that penetrated its airspace over Gulf waters, but the US Navy in the region denied any of its unmanned spy planes were missing. The naval arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on its website Sepahnews.com on Tuesday that “the unmanned US drone patrolling Persian Gulf waters, performing reconnaissance and gathering intel, was captured as soon as it entered Iranian airspace”.

Assistant referee killed

Prosecutors in the Netherlands have charged three teenaged football players after the death of a linesman during a youth football competition. Richard Nieuwenhuizen, 41, died on Monday hours after he was attacked following an Under-17 match in Almere, near Amsterdam on Sunday.

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uhammad Abdul Bari MBE, the former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, has been awarded with an honorary doctorate in education from UEL’s Cass School of Education today at the North Greenwich Arena in London.

Born and raised in Bangladesh, Dr Abdul Bari moved to the UK after gaining a scholarship to study for a doctorate at Kings College London. Following this he did post-doctoral research work at Royal Holloway and then trained as a science teacher, eventually becoming a special educational needs teacher.

From 2006 to 2010, Dr Abdul Bari was secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, the country’s largest Muslim umbrella group. He received an MBE in 2003 and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an honorary fellow of Queen Mary, University of London.

He said of the award: “I am deeply honoured and humbled to be given this gracious award from one of the most thrilling universities in the UK. I am excited about local communi-

Cllr Carlo Gibbs

Labour calls on Chancellor not to cut funding

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Former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain recognised with honorary doctorate from UEL ties, with which UEL has phenomenal links. The Olympic and Paralympic Games left a huge legacy of optimism and hope within the local community, with 2012 nearly over, let’s work together to make these promises a reality.”

The Muslim Council of Britain is a national representative Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools. The MCB

is pledged to work for the common good of society as a whole; encouraging individual Muslims and Muslim organisations to play a full and participatory role in public life.

The MCB’s aims and objectives include: > To promote cooperation, consensus and unity on Muslim affairs in the UK. > To encourage and strengthen all existing efforts being made for the benefit of the Muslim community.

> To work for a more enlightened appreciation of Islam and Muslims in the wider society. > To establish a position for the Muslim community within British society that is fair and based on due rights. > To work for the eradication of disadvantages and forms of discrimination faced by Muslims. > To foster better community relations and work for the good of society as a whole.

head of tomorrow’s Autumn Statement which could see council budgets slashed further, local Labour councillors have joined with Tower Hamlets’ two MPs and London Assembly Member to urge against further cuts.

In a letter to the Chancellor the politicians highlight the disproportionate £200 a person cuts our deprived borough has already suffered. They say that further cuts to the poorest boroughs would be unacceptable, especially when some richer.

The letter comes only days after Labour highlighted the damning state of the Council’s finances and called on the Mayor to rein in his new spending pledges rather than leave the Council bankrupt.

Labour’s Lead Member for Resources, Councillor Carlo Gibbs, said: “With the Government intent on savagely cutting the budgets of the poorest boroughs in the country, it is clear that Tower Hamlets will be harder hit that almost anywhere else.”

Hundreds of residents turn up for advice as Mayor pays a visit

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ver 600 residents took the opportunity to get advice about the changes taking place to welfare benefits, and the impact that they might have, by attending a Money Matters Month event during November.

Money Matters Month events were held in Idea Stores and community centres, to give residents ‘one stop shop’ access to employment, housing and finance advice.

While pensioners are protected from the changes, the government’s welfare reforms will still affect thousands of households in Tower Hamlets. The introduction of the ‘benefit cap’ will limit the amount of benefits that a person

can receive to £350 per week for single people without children and £500 per week for everyone else.

The ‘spare room tax’ will affect all people of working age who receive Housing Benefit if they are living in council or other social housing with more bedrooms than the Government says they need.

Steve Hill from the Tower Hamlets Housing Benefits Service said, “The cap on benefits which is being rolled out in April 2013 will affect many hundreds of households in Tower Hamlets. Many of those in high rent households may have their housing benefits cut. As we have seen

Mayor Lutfur Rahman

Cllr Rabina Khan

though, Tower Hamlets residents are taking these changes very seriously and hundreds have received one to one advice from us”.

Tower Hamlets Mayor, Lu-

tfur Rahman, joined staff and residents at the Chrisp Street Idea Store event lend his support to the Money Matters Month Campaign. He said, ‘The gov-

ernment’s welfare reforms may have a devastating impact on our residents, and we are doing all we can to help residents prepare for the changes that are coming in April 2013. I am pleased that so many residents have made the most of Money Matters Month’.

Cabinet Member for Housing, Rabina Khan said, ‘I believe that the government’s welfare reforms, particularly those associated with changes to housing benefit, could disproportionately impact on families in Tower Hamlets and in particular, single mothers. It is important for residents to seek advice about their options’.

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6 December 2012

News

Councillors urge Mayor to suspend Old Flo sale

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ouncillors have resolved that the Tower Hamlets Mayor should put his controversial decision to sell the much loved Old Flo sculpture on hold. The move came as it emerged that the Council has been contacted by lawyers working on behalf of the Art Fund who have raised serious questions about the Council’s claim of ownership.

The Council motion was supported by a clear majority of councillors with the Mayor’s cabinet refusing to support it. The Mayor refused to answer questions put to him by Councillors but will now have to indicate whether he will abide by the Council’s wish.

Separately, a letter from lawyers for the Art Fund, supported by the Tate Gallery, Henry Moore Foundation and Museum of London, has detailed what they say could be evidence which shows the Council doesn’t actually own the sculpture. The lawyers have asked the Council for urgent clarification of its claim to ownership and have written to Christie’s detailing their concerns.

Labour’s spokesperson for Heritage and Culture, Cllr Denise Jones, said: “The Mayor’s handling of this issue has been

Rushanara Ali MP calls for more action on Aids and HIV

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ushanara Ali MP has called on the UK Government to set out its plans for tackling HIV and AIDS, following an event in Parliament to mark World AIDS Day. Rushanara spoke with activists from the Stop AIDS Campaign about the progress made in tackling the HIV epidemic, with 8 million people now accessing HIV treatment across the world, and AIDSrelated deaths declining from a peak of 2.2 million in the mid2000s to 1.8 million in 2010.

This Week Royal pregnancy souvenirs

News of the royal pregnancy is set to spark a wave of souvenir manufacturing, industry experts have said. Sales of Jubilee and London 2012 memorabilia have injected more than £300m into the UK economy, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

It said £199m was spent on 2011 royal wedding souvenirs and a baby could prove almost as popular. The Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy was announced on Monday after she was diagnosed with acute morning sickness.

Judge criticised

Old Flo has caused much debate in Tower Hamlets. The sculpture’s official name is Draped, Seated Woman, and it was created by Henry Moore disastrous from the start. First he decides to sell a much loved sculpture without considering any alternatives, then he completely ignores the public’s outcry. Now we hear that the

sculpture might not even belong to the Council. The motion the council passed tonight was a clear message to the Mayor that he needs to stop the sale and get his house in order, considering

‘We will continue to work with the 2,500 people who have signed the petition to keep Old Flo in the borough and do our utmost to prevent the Mayor of Tower Hamlets from selling off this very special East End treasure’

all the options and returning the sculpture to the borough.

Labour Councillor, Anwar Khan, who seconded the motion, said: “We know the Mayor is desperate for money to fund his pet projects but trying to sell sculptures he may not even own is a new low.

“With possible legal challenges on the horizon he must listen to the Council and put this process on hold until we have all the facts.

“Ownership should be the first thing the Council checks when proposing

to sell assets such Old Flo, this really does defy belief.”

Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara Ali, said: “Thanks to our campaign to save Old Flo and keep her in Tower Hamlets, we now find there are serious questions about whether Tower Hamlets Council even owns the sculpture. We will continue to work with the 2,500 people who have signed the petition to keep Old Flo in the borough and do our utmost to prevent the Mayor of Tower Hamlets from selling off this very special East End treasure.”

Cllr Khan accuses ‘opportunist Tories’ of hypocrisy over sale of Old Flo sculpture A s Tower Hamlets Tories join forces with Joshua Peck’s Labour to oppose the Mayor’s plans to sell the Henry Moore statue, Draped, Seated Woman to invest in social housing, heritage and young people’s projects, Councillor Rania Khan says her team’s investigations reveal that in 2010 Peter Golds’ Tories actually proposed selling the statue themselves.

Councillor Rania Khan is

the Tower Hamlets Cabinet Member for Culture. She said: “If wasn’t for a glance at records anyone would have believed that the Tories were genuinely interested in keeping the Henry Moore statue locally.

“Despite their current position against the Mayor, back in March 2010 they brought a council motion proposing to sell the sculpture at auction in order to raise funds.

“This has nothing to

do with heritage and everything to do with political opportunism.

“The borough – and the country as a whole – is in a worse financial position now than in 2010 but suddenly they’re in favour of keeping Old Flo. “It seems the only principle Peter Golds’ Tories follow is to oppose the Mayor at all costs – including consistently at the welfare of the residents.”

A judge who said burglary needed “a huge amount of courage” has been given a formal reprimand, the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) has said. Judge Peter Bowers made the comments at Teesside Crown Court in September as he spared an offender jail. The judge reportedly told him: “I wouldn’t have the nerve.” An investigation led by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice found the use of the word courage was a “serious error of judgement”.

PM praises schools plan

David Cameron has hailed plans to squeeze spending in most Whitehall departments and use the money to build new schools and transport schemes.

All but four departments will be asked to save an extra 1% next year and a further 2% the following year. The PM said the £5bn saved would be spent on capital projects to kickstart growth.

MPs beat human rights bill

MPs have defeated a bid by a Tory MP to scrap the Human Rights Act. Richard Bacon said the act had been used by the European Court of Human Rights to influence British law, which was “fundamentally undemocratic”. But Labour’s Thomas Docherty said Mr Bacon had misunderstood the legal impact of the act and praised it as one of Labour’s most important reforms during government.

Man murdered toddler

Cllr Rania Khan

A County Tyrone man has been found guilty of murdering his former partner’s toddler. Barry McCarney was also found guilty of sexual assault and the grievous bodily harm of Millie Martin. Millie’s mother, Rachael, was cleared of allowing her daughter’s death.

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6 December 2012

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Features Respect rallies to save Banglatown and Lansbury

‘Of all the countries in the world that produce tea, only the tea workers of Bangladesh suffer indescribable hardships’

Viewpoint Abjol Miah

of all the tea gardens, and brings the reader bang up to date with young female tea workers getting drunk during their free time.

He also throws in some shady insinuations about Arabs buying up some tea gardens, but then, Arabs are the subject of a lot of insinuations, shady or otherwise.

Kazal implies that there is a mix of ownership of tea gardens, but then later mentions some of the largest tea companies in Bangladesh: Ispahani, James Finlay, Duncan Brothers and Raj. In fact, he writes: “There are a total of 156 tea gardens in Bangladesh. Of them, 33 gardens are British-owned and managed by three companies. James Finlay owns 15 companies produce 42 per cent of the total tea production of Bangladesh. Of the rest, BTMC [Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation] owns 25 gardens, which are managed in collaboration with Bangladesh Tea. The National Tea Company, or NTC, owns a total of nine gardens. NTC is public limited company – 51 per cent of its shares are owned by the government and the remaining 49 per cent is private sector.

Individual owners account for the rest of the gardens.”

While that ownership mix seems inkeeping with global conventions, the treatment of the workers does not.

He claims that, “Of all the countries in the world that produce tea, only the tea workers of Bangladesh suffer indescribable hardships.” He goes on to claim that workers are beaten and tortured and do not even enjoy the facilities that other Bangladeshi workers in other sectors of the economy enjoy; nevermind workers in other countries.

Child labour, while technically illegal in Bangladesh, is nonetheless prevalent on many tea plantations across the country, and daily wage for a teenage tea worker in the Sylhet area is less than 10 takas, which works out to be less than 7 pence.

“Tea workers are a neglected class,” writes Kazal. “They are neglected by their union leaders, by the garden authorities, and even by the government.”

Even as a child, Kazal was made aware by his elders that the tea workers were “different”. He was discouraged from mixing with them. He talks about this early on in the book, and at the same time time thanks the Workers’ Party – which he became a part of – for the opportunity to get to know these much-maligned and neglected community.

He does point out that are some who try and raise awareness of the plight of the tea workers, and they happen to be people, like him, in the news media.

I don’t think I’d be giving much away if I said that Kazal’s book illustrates the sad fact that little or nothing has changed for the tea workers. From being treated literally as slaves by the British during the colonial days to the current situation in which they are nominally free but, in practice, they are just as enslaved as they always were.

While that central conclusion seems clear, the book is nonetheless a revealing look at one of the most important industries in Bangladesh – both in terms of culture and well as trade: Bangladesh exported 48.26 million kilograms of tea in 1992-93, and the country is the eighth-largest tea exporter in the world.

Kazal spends little of the book offering solutions to the problems tea workers face. Nor does he address the fact that foreign companies are doing such massive trade in a commodity that grows from under the feet of 140 million poverty-stricken Bangladeshis. But that’s not a journalist’s job; neither is it a historian’s.

It was American newspaperman Philip Leslie Graham who described newspapers as the “first rough draft of history”. Graham, who lived from 1915 to 1963, was the publisher and co-owner of The Washington Post.

And like most journalists – and non-journalists – Graham acknowledged that much of what we write in newspapers and history books is really about things we understand all too little. In April 1963, just before his death, Graham delivered a speech to the overseas correspondents of Newsweek in London: “So let us today drudge on about our inescapably impossible task of providing every week a first rough draft of history that will never really be completed about a world we can never really understand…”

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ower Hamlets Respect has launched a campaign to protect the borough’s heritage. It has been announced that the Boundaries Commission is keen on dropping “Banglatown” from the Spitalfields and Banglatown ward. It is also looking to remove “Lansbury” from the East India and Lansbury ward.

The announcements have been made after the Tower Hamlets Tory Group wrote to the Commission, suggesting those changes. Their inconsiderate behaviour is a testament to how aloof Peter Golds and his councillors are from the local population.

Banglatown was added to the Spitalfields ward in 1998, in recognition of the Bangladeshi community’s achievements in the area. For many, it is symbolic of the struggle the early Bangladeshi settlers faced in their fight for justice and equality. Many have spilt blood, sweat and tears in creating a safe haven for the Bangladeshi community in the area.

This action by the Tory Group is a direct attack on everything the Bangladeshi settlers and local population fought for, in the 80s and early 90s. In effect, it is an attempt to rewrite the history books.

George Lansbury [after whom the East India and Lansbury ward was named] was a local MP, Labour Party National Leader and a champion for the working class.

George was famously jailed for supporting the suffragette movement, to grant women the right to vote.

Removing his name from the ward is a partisan attack by the Tories, to erase the legacy of a local hero. This attack on the heritage of Tower Hamlets is an affront to those who have fought and campaigned for a more just society.

Respect rejects the call by the Tower Hamlets Tories to erase the borough’s rich history.

Respect will be holding a public rally to defend the legacy of George Lansbury and the early Bangladeshi settlers, and their sympathisers.

Tea workers in Bangladesh Book review Tea Workers’ Movement in the Surma Valley – a History and Perspective

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t is commonly said that newspapers are a first draft of history, the rough and ready stories about contemporary life to which historians, in a more academic and scholarly way, later refer in order to understand a particular moment in life. Ishaque Kazal has been writing first drafts of history for several decades, having spent many years plying his trade at regional and national newspapers in Bangladesh, including Daily Banglabazar Patrika, where he was awarded Journalist of the Year in 1996.

He is currently one of the senior members of the editorial staff at Janomot, which became the first Bangla-language newsweekly published in Britain when it was founded in 1969. Janomot still enjoys widespread respect and a relatively healthy circulation despite the dozens of other newspapers, magazines and television stations currently competing in the same market.

How such a small community of Bengalis in Britain can sustain so many media operations is beyond my albeit limited understanding of economics. What is for certain in my mind is that most people who work in newspapers have a strong interest in people, communities, societies and, perhaps above all, history.

And for Kazal, that interest in history has led to his writing a fascinating book about an aspect of Bangladeshi life which is both integral to the feelings of national pride as well as a source of anguish, as he explains in the book.

Entitled Tea Workers’ Movement in the Surma Valley – a History and Perspective, the historical work begins with a time when China was the only nation on Earth which produced tea, journeys through the days of the British colonisation and their ownership

‘Tea workers are a neglected class,’ writes Kazal. ‘They are neglected by their union leaders, by the garden authorities, and even by the government’

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6 December 2012

Features Oxfam, Asia House show investment potential of SMEs

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Human Aid launches fund for Air Ambulance Press release Human Aid UK

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uman Aid UK, the international charity based in Whitechapel, which aims to alleviate the suffering of the poorest people world-wide, turns its attention to the local community by aiming to raise £5,000 in 2013 for London’s Air Ambulance, the charity which delivers an advanced trauma team to critically injured people in London.

The partnership was initiated by Human Aid supporter, Runu Miah, who was treated by London’s Air Ambulance in 2009.

Runu was riding on his moped in Haringey, North London preparing for the ‘Knowledge‘ exam, before being tragicaly knocked off and run over by a car. Runu suffered severe limb and pelvic injuries and lost vast amounts of blood. A London’s Air Ambulance doctor and paramedic were at his side within minutes. They administrated pain relief, splinted his limbs and pelvis on scene and requested blood from The Royal London Hospital to be ready on the helipad as soon they touched down.

Runu Miah, Human Aid volunteer and ex-patient of London’s Air Ambulance, who initiated the charity partnership, said: “ Fundraising for London’s Air Ambulance ultimately means giving back to our local community, as you never know who will need their services next. Before they saved my life, I hadn’t realised how valuable the service London’s Air Ambulance provides is and I want to help this amazing charity continue their operations.“ In the upcoming year, Human Aid UK will make an excep-

‘London’s Air Ambulance saves thousands of lives in London every year. We are delighted to support this vital service that hugely benefits our local community’

tion to their mostly international focus and will fundraise for local charity, London’s Air Ambulance. Based at The Royal London Hospital, London’s Air Ambulance attends over 2,000 life-saving missions in the Capital per year. Missions commonly involve serious road traffic collisions, falls from heights, incidents on the rail network and assaults. Human Aid UK will be collecting donations from the local community, with local community Mosques as their main fundraising platform.

Commenting on the partnership, Chairman of Human Aid UK, Jilu Miah said: “London’s Air Ambulance saves thousands of lives in London every year. We are delighted to support this vital service that hugely benefits our local community. Apart from launching a number of fundraising activities in 2013, we also hope to raise awareness about the fact that London’s Air Ambulance is a charity that relies heavily on public donations.”

London’s Air Ambulance is the Charity which runs London’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. The service provides pre-hospital medical care to victims of serious injury, at the scene of the incident, throughout London - serving the 10 million people who live, work and commute within the M25.

Based at the Royal London Hospital and founded in 1989, the service is unique in that it operates 24/7, with the helicopter running in daylight hours and rapid response cars taking over at night.

The Team, which at all times includes a Senior Trauma Doctor and a specially trained Paramedic, perform advanced medical interventions, normally only found in the Hospital Emergency Department, in time critical, life threatening situations. Missions commonly involve serious road traffic collisions, falls from height, industrial accidents, assaults and injuries on the rail network.

London’s Air Ambulance has an international reputation for clinical excellence and delivers pioneering procedures which have been adopted across the world.

London’s Air Ambulance has an international reputation for clinical excellence and delivers pioneering procedures which have been adopted across the world

xfam invited leading investment experts to Asia House in London to learn how investment funds can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) secure a stable income and how this can benefit poor communities.

The event, which had a particular focus on agriculture, was hosted by Amanda Feldman, Engagement Manager at Volans, with guest panellists Gavin Stewart, Investment Propositions Director at Lloyds Banking Group; David Pitt-Watson, former Chair of Hermes Focus Asset Management, and Susannah Nicklin, UK Liaison at Global Impact Investment Network.

Two ground breaking initiatives in Asia – the Enterprise Development Programme and the Small Impact Investing Fund – were showcased as investing in a variety of enterprises. Oxfam is taking a lead in demonstrating that investments can deliver both social and financial returns, but warns a lack of investment in SMEs is stifling progress.

Nicholas Colloff, director of innovation for Oxfam, said: “Countless small businesses in developing countries have the potential to prosper but are being held back by limited access to credit. Establishing viable investment models for this ‘missing middle’ is a key aim for Oxfam.

“We have seen through direct experience the difference that investing in these SMEs in Asia can make, both for those working within the businesses and for the wider community. We hope that bringing more people’s attention to the potential of this sector through events like today will encourage further investment.”

Established in 2008, Oxfam’s Enterprise Development Programme (EDP) directly invests in small enterprises, helping some of the world’s poorest and most remote communities to establish commercially viable businesses.

EDP builds their capacity, invests in them with a mixture of grants and loans, enabling each enterprise to generate wealth in a sustainable way.

To date, EDP has supported a variety of pro-poor enterprises in Asia, including seed producers in Nepal, dairy producers in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, as well as processors of moringa (a plant used in cattle feed) in the Philippines.