AV 10th January 2015

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VOL 43. ISSUE 34

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

80p

10th January to 16th January 2015

Prince Modi to open Pravasi Bharatiya Andrew: Divas, Vibrant Summit a royal scandal

Sunetra Senior Amid the shocking allegations of a seventies pedophile ring in Westminster, comes another upper-crust scandal; this time traversing countries instead of decades.

A federal court in Florida heard last week that the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, may have been involved in an underage prostitution ring.

Continued page 8

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gandhinagar on January 8 and 11 to inaugurate the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas as well as the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit 2015 respectively.

"On January 8, the Prime Minister will be in Gandhinagar to inaugurate Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, which will conclude the next day. On January 11, Modi will also open the Vibrant Gujarat Summit," Gujarat Finance Minister Saurabh Patel said.

The 7th edition of the Vibrant Summit will be held between January 11 and 13 at the Mahatma

Sushma Swaraj reviews security with Gujarat officials

Mandir in Gandhinagar.

The state government has also organised a parallel exhibition called 'Global Trade Show' at Helipad Ground in Gandhinagar between January 7 and 13,

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he said.

Patel said that after inaugurating the Summit, Modi will have lunch with the global business Continued on page 26

India foils possible Pak terror attack

A Pakistani fishing vessel exploded and sank 365 km off Porbandar when an Indian Coast Guard ship intercepted it. The explosion was triggered by a fire set off by a four-member crew after the Indian Coast Guard intercepted the vessel near the IndiaPakistan maritime boundary on December 31, 2014.

The Coast Guard ships and aircraft spotted a suspicious fishing boat 365 km off Porbandar in the Arabian Sea, following intelligence inputs that one such boat from Keti Bandar near Karachi was planning some illicit transaction.

The Coast Guard ship tracked down the boat and after an hourlong hot pursuit, intercepted it. “Four persons were seen on the boat

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who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship... the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in an explosion and major fire on the boat,” said a Coast Guard release.

“The Coast Guard ship warned the fishing boat to stop for further investigation of the crew and cargo; however, the boat increased speed and tried to escape away from the Indian side of maritime boundary. The hot pursuit continued for nearly one hour and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots. Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate with investigation. Soon Continued on page 26

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Gerald La Touche, Managing Director, La Touche Global Limited

Gerald La Touche is a career public servant who joined the Civil Service in June 1998. Having worked across several government agencies, Gerald joined the Regional Development Agency for the West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands in May 2003. There, he served as Regional Economic Strategy Manager, and later Senior Corporate Planning and Performance Advisor. Gerald was also appointed a Justice of the Peace for the West Midlands area in April 2005, serving as Magistrate on the Birmingham Bench. In 2012 Gerald embarked on building his own consultancy. With a Masters Degree in International Studies: International Political Economy; Law; and Globalisation and Governance, Gerald focused on the international. Volunteering his services to the International Trade Union Congress, Gerald represented Labour issues at the UN Sustainable Development Conference, Rio+20 in Brazil in 2012.

Gerald also contributed to the negotiations and drafting of the UN Sustainable Development Conference, Rio+20, outcome document, ‘The Future we want�. Gerald featured in the BBC ‘UK Devolution What next’ programme by participating in the West Midlands segment, “More Power West Midlands?� Of Caribbean descent. He is happily married, father of three, and lives in the West Midlands community of Smethwick.

1) What is your current position?

Managing Director, La Touche Global Limited, developing international business strategies for businesses wishing to engage in international business.

Founder Global Governance Associates, focused on developing software as a service to facilitate international political economic analysis using open source data.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

Participating in the negotia-

tions and drafting of the outcome document at the UN Sustainable Development Conference, Rio+20 in Brazil in 2012. Being instrumental in bringing the African delegation and the Latin American delegation into agreement on defining good governance and the rule of law in the sustainable development process, is an outcome that I will forever cherish.

3) What inspires you?

Fairness; equal rights and justice. It may sound clichÊ, but inequality is at the root cause of many of our world’s problems.

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

There is a quote stuck in my head since secondary school, which I attribute to W.E.B. Du Boise, “They only way out for the Black man is an education�. I believe this is more a paraphrasing of his philosophy than a direct quotation, but he is the man!

4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

Poverty and a lack of resources have meant that I started late in the race. I am proud to have excelled and achieved irrespective, and managed to graduate with a 2.1 Masters degree from a red brick university in the UK without any government assistance, family support or student loan – all paid from my savings. I have always worked and studied part-time, including my Masters which was completed two years part-time.

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

The freedom to pursue my ideas and try to create something good for all humanity from my hands and insignificant position. I am driven by justice in the international system, and I am now free to give my everything to that cause.

7) And the worst?

As a start-up independent consultant I am only one man. I can see all the advantages that will come with having my software developed and in the market, but for now the scaling up must wait on my relentless efforts to secure funding and other resources.

Campaigning cancer patient dies at tender age of 21

Solihull student, Ulrika Dandekar, known as 'Riya' to her friends and family, died at the tender

age of 21 early in the morning last week. The brave young woman spent her last days campaigning

memorative statement about her “beautiful butterfly� saying “Her legacy, we hope, will have been to raise awareness of how simple, quick and painless it is to register online and potentially save a life.�

Speaking with great affection about her child she went on to say “Riya was only 21 but was an extraordinary young woman (‌) she taught us so much about living, about being brave, kind Ulrika and strong (‌) she never Dandekar complained or wallowed in self-pity – we found and raising awareness for that incredible.â€? stem cell donors in a bid The radiant crusader to save others' lives. passed away at the Marie Riya was making calls Curie Hospice with her from her hospital bed to loved ones at her bedside: get the donors on board, “People are saying how and earlier this year she sorry they areâ€? added inspired a huge increase in Ursula “but we are saying the number of Asian peodon’t be sorry, she’s not in ple joining the Anthony pain anymore, she is at Nolan charity’s bone marpeace. The main thing is row register. we were able to say our Her mother Dr Ursula goodbyes to her.â€?

Bahalkar made a com-

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To be a significant player at the global table for the benefit of all humanity, especially the underdeveloped and developing world.

My memories of Rio, Brazil and Mumbai, India are the same – it is as if I was in the same country twice. Rio’s world renowned tourist destination juxtaposed against its favelas and Mumbai’s Juhu Beach area and its Bollywood film industry juxtaposed against its slums have cautioned me about the generalisation assigned to the rising “BRICS� countries as booming!

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

The constant attack on the welfare state and NHS must stop: the scapegoating of the poor to support the rich is not a sustainable development idea – eventually the poor will fight back when our backs are pushed against the wall.

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

Charles Darwin – he should be able to figure out several ways how we could adapt and survive.

Man caught with false passport to help secure UK residency jailed A man caught with a fraudulently obtained passport and driving licence, to help secure residence in the UK, has been jailed for two months.

Kelvinder Singh Basrah, 50, came to the UK in 2002, but stayed in the country after his visa expired. He has since married an EU citizen and has two children, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Basrah, of Bowhill Grove, Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intention, knowing it was false, between September and December 2012.

Neil Bannister, prosecuting, said that immigration officers visited the defendant’s home on December 9 last year

when he was arrested on suspicion of obtaining false UK passports.

In 2000 he had obtained a passport in the false name of Harbinger Singh Basrah, using a false birth certificate and through various name changes he then obtained a second passport which he had already used for travel and also a driving licence. Basrah, who was had the proceedings translated by a Punjabi interpreter, appeared in court via a live video link from HMP Leicester, where he has been on remand in custody since December 10. He wept as Judge Nicholas Dean QC passed sentence.

Basrah was told he was likely to be released “in a few days’ time� because of time already served on remand.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

COMMENT

Mean-spirited and damaging

Cut your nose to spite your face best sums up Home Secretary Teresa May’s decision to restrict the numbers of overseas students entering Britain.

It is both mean-spirited and damaging to the national interest, as the senior and much respected Tory politician, David Willetts, pointed out recently in a newspaper article. Higher education is one of the UK’s most challenging and profitable exports. The vast majority of foreign students seeking admission into Britain’s world class universities are from India and China, two of the strongest emerging economies in the global marketplace. The education they seek is paid for, earning these institutions much needed revenues that go some way to ensuring that their plans for the future do not get derailed. Vice Chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge universities, for example, are seasonal visitors to Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, in talent-spotting exercises.

Scottish universities tread the same path with a similar goal in mind. However, the more enlightened Scottish authorities permit their foreign students to stay back for a couple of years after graduation in order to earn some money to defray the cost of their education. The skills of these students, especially in the sciences and engineering, contribute also to the Scottish economy. Beyond the commercial angle, there is the intellectual enrichment that the best foreign students bring to British academe. It is a win-win situation, surely.

US President Barack Obama thinks so, hence his administration has modified visa restrictions for foreign students – most, as in the UK, from India and China - at American universities, enabling them to prolong their stay in the US, with priority

given to science and math graduates. The US government went further. If these skilled graduates were able to get long-term employment in the country, they would be eligible for green cards for right of abode and eventual citizenship, if they so desired. US industry had argued long and hard for such measures so that US companies would have no skills shortage and thus retain their global competitiveness. Clearly, their words were given sufficient weight by Congress and the White House which, alas, has not been the case in Whitehall, despite the pleas of British academics and captains of industry.

David Willetts relates how an Austrian minister rubbed his hands in glee on hearing the UK’s restriction measures. Britain’s loss, he averred, would be Australia’s gain. Indeed, within the Commonwealth, Australia, New Zealand and Canada are becoming destinations of choice for growing numbers of Indian and Chinese students.

The bonds created at university translate eventually to lasting goodwill and myriad advantages for both parties. Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative colleagues and Lib Dem coalition partners are dead set on winning the next general election this year. The Conservative party gamble that their latest will convince the country of their seriousness in tackling immigration is not likely to yield significant dividends simply because public concern on immigration (top priority, according to opinion polls) barely touches foreign student numbers. The government appears to have misread the signs. David Cameron and Home Secretary Teresa May may rue their decision and its possible consequences.

There is no stopping the march of Indian firms in the UK. Top of the list is Tata, whose Chairman Cyrus Mistry took an engineering degree from Imperial College London. Tata, which owns Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR), among the best automobiles in their class in the world, is the UK’s biggest manufacturer, and its ambitious expansion plans guarantee no change in this position in the near future. Beyond this, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the company’s software firm, is today a global player with a large footprint in every continent. So successful are TCS, Infosys, Wipro and other Indian IT-BPO firms in their UK operations that they have outpaced their American and European rivals in the British market. Their collective market share for IT-BPO has grown six times in less than a decade. “In the commercial world in particular, we have seen substantial growth in the market-share of India-based providers (up from 4 per cent in 2002-05 to 25 per cent since 2010); this has come at the expense of other foreign providers, particularly those based in the US and Europe, rather than domestic (UK) providers,” according to the NASDAQ-listed Services Group. The research firm IDC, says the UK’s enterprise IT services market was worth $ 38.5 billion in 2013.

Indian IT firms generated 27 per cent of their UK revenue from the financial services sector.

“There was a time when some of our UK-based clients would look at Indian firms and for smaller projects and the American vendors for big-ticket deals. But now, Indian companies are competing head- to-head on all levels with their global counterparts across applications, consulting, infrastructure and other technology areas,” said Ganersh Natarajan, Vice Chairman and CEO of RPG group company Zensar Technologies. Arun Jain, Chairman of Polaris Consulting and Services says that the top Indian IT companies (TCS, Infosys, Wipro) deserve credit for leading the way and creating a positive brand image for Indian IT as a whole. Analysts see Indian providers as tough competitors for their American rivals not only in the UK but also in Continental Europe and Asia.

“Our closed-door strategy meetings with 200 top customers in the UK, US and Asia underscore that Tata Consultancy Services is now being seen as the most formidable challenger to IBM Global Services,” said Peter Schumacher, Chief Executive Officer of management consultancy firm Value Leadership Group. That’s progress for you. Time was [in the late 1980s] when Indian IT exports to the UK earned a mere $10 million in revenue. In less than two decades these have galloped past $100 billion in global sales – a wakeup call for the West not to rest on its past laurels.

Cricketers, like all figures in the public eye, have their entrances and exits from the national and international stage on which they displayed their mettle. It was no different for India’s cricket captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni, who called it a day after the drawn Test between India and Australia at Melbourne. Two cheers for Dhoni as captain of the Indian side that won the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2011 and the Twenty/20 Champions Trophy in England in 2014. The third and loudest cheer, usually reserved for success at the highest level of cricket, namely, Test matches, must be withheld as Dhoni’s record in this the most testing format of the game has been abysmal since 2011. In the first phase of his career, he took India to the top spot in Tests, but the subsequent freefall tarnished his reputation as a Test match leader. While the Indian media gushed with choreographed adulation of his leadership skills, and too many former Indian stars followed suit, the evidence and the statistics – 15 Test losses and two wins in 22 games abroad – told a starkly different tale. True, the team was in transition, but this, surely, was the situate that required that Dhoni lead from the front. An

anonymous leader by then, he had become a slave to routine. But Dhoni meandered on mouthing rancid clichés at post-match press conferences on the “positives” when there were none that were visible to the naked eye during a series of humiliating defeats. The Indian cricket board’s poster boy should have been relieved of his Test captaincy, but is to misunderstand the reality of board politics. The unseemly struggle for power by board president N. Srinivasan, and the scent of scandal have brought Indian cricket into disrepute. Indian cricket is as much a game in distress as it is a Byzantine exercise in a hall of mirrors.

That said,the young man from Ranchi has opened the way for cricketers from the country’s small towns to think big and reach for the sky. Dhoni’s departure hopefully will usher in a new era for India’s beleaguered, lack lustrate Test cricketers, not least for for Virat Kohli, the new captain, who has set Australia alight with his rousing performances with the bat, and can now showcase his leadership skills. For a start, his new broom can sweep away the dead wood that clogs Team, India those on life support from cracen selectors in hoc to the to the cricket board.

Indian tech firms shine in UK

Two cheers for Dhoni

3 Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!

- Anne Franks

Cllr Rabi Martins Watford Borough Council

Lib Dems make good Coalition partners

The General Election may be some five months away but judging by the opening salvos from David Cameron and Ed Millband the voting public is going to be subjected to relentless claims and counter claims that the other Party cannot be trusted with our country’s economy, education or the health service.

They are both right of course.

Both major Parties tend to govern first and foremost in the interests of their respective “masters” - big business in the case of the Conservative Party and trade unions in the case of the Labour Party. The polls suggest that it is unlikely that either of them will win an overall majority. So the chances are we are in for another period of Coalition government This is good news for those of us who believe consensus politics delivers the best outcome for the majority of the population. We can say this with confidence based on what the Coalition Government has delivered It is inconceivable that left to govern by themselves the Tories would have implemented the Liberal Democrats manifesto pledge to raise the income tax threshold or introduced the Pupil Premium aimed at ensuring children from low income families also get a good start in life. It is also likely that many of our civil liberties would have been curtailed.

That is why the best outcome of the next General Election will be a result that forces the Conservatives to seek another coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

There are those who point to the low showing for the Party in recent

opinion polls and say it is evidence that the Party has lost direction and sold their sould to the Tories.

I think they do Nick Clegg and the leadership a dis-service Fact is had they walked away from this unique opportunity the Party would have denied itself the chance to demonstrate that it was in politics to make things happen To implement ist manifesto pledges.

I do however agree with those who say that having decided to form a coalition government they could have driven a harder bargain. It was probably a mistake to take on quite as many ministerial posts as they did. By so doing the majority of the Parliamentary Party got tied into collective responsibility and unable to stand up to Conservative Party proposals Liberal Democrats inherently disagreed with – Tuition fees for one and Bedroom Tax for another This is a mistake that must not be repeated when the inevitable horse trading starts on the 8th of May. When a Party holds the balance of power it is in an incredibly strong position. The minority Party owes it to itself and to the country to drive a hard bargain and extract from the majority Party a water tight guarantee to implement as many of its own key manifesto priorities as possible Liberal Democrats have demonstrated that they can work with the Conservatives in the interests of the Country.

It is more than likely they will be called by the country to do so again The public should be told up front whether they will and under what conditions.

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MIDLANDS VOICE

Father in coma after brick attack

Land Rover worker Mahmoud Hussein, a hard-working 46 year-old father, endured a vicious brick attack near his home in Stechford when he went out to go to the chemist's.

The dad of four sons and one daughter was hit over the head with a brick in Stud Lane last month and was left unconscious in the street. He was placed in an induced coma by doctors while the extent of his head injury was assessed and is still fighting for his life in hospital three weeks later.

Hussein moved with his family from his Wartorn country of Palestine, hoping for a more peaceful life in the UK. Devastated wife Eman Tahaineh has been waiting despeartely by her husband's side at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital: “It’s very difficult”, she wept to 'The Birmingham Mail'.

“I’m counting the hours and minutes until he wakes up.” Hussein, who

Mahmoud Hussein before the attack left him unconscious

holds a degree in mathematics, had taken a job at the Land Rover company to support his large family.

Though brother-in-law Nadel Arif says the dedicated dad had no personal enemies to speak of, police are still looking for a possible motive. Arif has also speculated that a group of men who regularly took drugs near the family man's home may have been behind the attack after Hussein launched a complaint about their illicit meetings.

DI Dale stated: “The level of violence shocked not only the family but officers dealing with it. We suspect that members of the community will know who committed this offence. If that’s the case then it’s likely people are keeping that information and keeping the individual away from police attention.”

Arif told the newspaper: “He (Hussein) spent most of his time teaching his children, teaching them mathematics, he’s got hundreds of notebooks (…) He told me his children are the most expensive thing he had and he was every day concerned about them (…) The children ask every day about him and we have said ‘he’s just a little bit sick.” A 24year-old man is being questioned by police in connection with a vicious attack on a dad-of-five outside shops in Stechford. The suspect handed himself into police at Stechford.

Man's body found in alleyway in Hinckley Police have launched an investigation after a man's body was found in an alleyway Monday.

A member of the public found the body in the alleyway in Station Road, Hinckley at 8am. Police cordoned off the area and are now conducting a forensic examination of the scene to establish a cause of death.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: "Police were called by a member of the public at around 8am this morning to an alleyway off

Station Road in Hinckley.

Investigations are in their very early stages and officers are determin-

ing whether there was any suspicious circumstances around the death."

Homeless man charged with murder of Baljit Singh on New Year’s Day A homeless man has been charged with the murder of a father who went missing after going out to buy his son a birthday cake.

Baljit Singh, pictured, 50, was found dead in a basement of a house in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, on New Year's Day - more than a week after he failed to show up to collect the treat.

West Midlands police said 32-year-old Stuart Millership, of no fixed address, was charged with the murder, after he was arrested in New Year's Eve at an address in Kingswinford, near Dudley.

A 27-year-old woman was also arrested at the same address in connec-

tion with the disappearance and has been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

A postmortem examination revealed Mr Singh died of head injuries and a knife wound to the neck.

He was reported missing after he left his home on the afternoon of December 23 and was thought to have gone for a drink at a

nearby pub, the Red Cow. Detectives believe he left the pub in his grey 58plate Range Rover but made an appeal to the public for information after he failed to return home.

Millership and the 27year-old woman were initially arrested on suspicion of stealing Mr Singh's car.

Two other people arrested on suspicion of theft - a 28year-old man and 23-yearold woman from Kingswinford - have been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: 'A 27-year-old woman arrested at the same time as Millership has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Birmingham thugs wanted in tower block attack

Two men are being hunted by the police after they attacked a 45-year-old man when he was stepping out of a lift in a Birmingham tower block.

The victim, yet anonymous, was punched and kicked so he fell to the floor and his pockets could be rifled through.

However the thugs, pictured in CCTV footage, found nothing and fled the scene empty-handed.

Police are asking anyone who has information about the incident which took place in Clydesdale Tower in Holloway Head around 6pm on the 16th of November, to come forward immediately.

A spokesperson for the Birmingham Central Investigation Team stat-

ed: “We want to hear from anyone who recognises the men pictured as they are people we would very much like to speak to in connection with this attack.”

Both men have been described as in their late twenties, one of Asian

origins while the other was mixed-race.

If you have info for this case or the Hussein incident, please contact the Birmingham Central Investigation Team by dialling 101 or speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Asian gold robbery A family were left distraught after hundreds of pounds in precious family jewellery went missing from their home in Solihull.

The family reported the loss of several trinkets, necklaces, jewels and cash that were not only worth their weight in gold, but had great sentimental worth. Asian gold is well-known for being 18 to 24 carat, often decorated with semi-precious stones, and for being passed down to new brides.

One of the family members said in a statement to 'The Birmingham Mail': “I am devastated – several items have been passed through my family for generations.” Thieves got away with a large quantity of ornate necklaces, earrings and jewel-

encrusted bangles after breaking into the property in Yewhurst Road while the family were out in the city. Several empty (valueless)boxes were found discarded under a bridge: “but obviously the jewellery was not found” stated Detective Constable Jon Rankin.

The West Midlands

Police have released several photos of the shiny air looms in an attempt to trace the priceless items and intercept them before they can be sold on the black market. Rankin added: “The family are understandably shocked and upset by the break-in.

They are desperate to recover the jewellery.”

Leicester professor Nilesh Samani knighted for heart disease research A Leicester professor who has dedicated his career to heart disease research has been knighted in the New Year Honours.

Professor Nilesh Samani, pictured, has been awarded the honour for services to medicine and medical research. The 58-yearold is head of cardiovascular sciences at the University of Leicester.

He said the honour was "unexpected" but said it also recognised the contribution of his colleagues.

Professor Samani,

who is also the British Heart Foundation's professor of cardiology, was

one of the lead authors of an international study into new treatments for coronary heart disease in 2012.

"I was very surprised...It was unexpected. It's a reflection of what we are trying to achieve in Leicester. We are trying to build a world class clinical and research centre to improve the treatment of heart diseases, and I receive this award also as a recognition of my colleagues in Leicester. It is as much for them as it is for me," said Professor Samani.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

The election games begin

Sunetra Senior

It is 2015, roughly 5 months before the general election, and all the major players are revving the proverbial engine.

Cameron, Miliband and Clegg will race to win votes from ‘protest’ parties such as UKIP, SNP and the Greens. The campaigning was kicked off by Labour who launched a passionate address on the 5th of January at Salford, Greater Manchester. With statistics showing that the number of people who self-identify with one of the main parties is now below 50%, our traditional party leaders will face tough resistance before the big Election Day on May 7th.

Labour pledges

Essentially, Miliband is turning his attention to ‘the people’, directing policies at the average worker. This sentiment was epitomised when he said he would hold ‘4 million’ conversations on doorways rather than spending that much on billboards.

- Better average pay: an increase of the minimum wage to £8 an hour by 2020.

Other related pledges include a 10p tax band for lower earners and the regulating of larger businesses to ensure fair competition.

- Mansion Tax and NHS Drive: These are the significant differentiating factors in Labour’s 2015 manifesto. Billions of pounds in taxes from properties worth £2 million+ will be funnelled into health-care: “the NHS is our nation's greatest treasure, to be protected and nurtured for generations to come. A guaranteed GP appointment within 48 hours. A oneweek wait for cancer tests.

And a £2.5 billion Time To Care fund to support more midwives, care workers, doctors and nurses”.

- Immigration: Miliband defends immigration, emphasising that it is good for the country but says he will change the welfare system so that people cannot claim benefits unless they have paid into the system. He will also make it illegal for businesses to undercut local wages with migrant labour.

- Pro-EU and Devolution: Miliband asserts that there will not be an EU referendum. To keep in tow Scottish voters, and potential defectors to the SNP, the Labour leader has announced “he wants to end a century of centralization in our country.”

Tories pledge

There has already been controversy with George Osborne presenting dossiers that detailed Labour’s alleged extraneous spending of £21bn, hours after Miliband’s campaign address. The Conservative Manifesto continues to debunk Labour as ‘weak’ where their pledges can be grouped into two major stringent plans: - Immigration and EU: A power play in countering UKIP losses, the Tories state they will definitely be holding an in/out EU referendum. They also boast a hard-line approach to immigration, capping benefits to immigrants and reducing non-EU immigration to the country: “so our economy delivers for people who want to work hard and play by the rules.”

- Strong Economy: The

Tories are lauding their ‘Long Term Economic Plan’. The party says they “reduced the deficit by a half since 2010” and will continue to help small businesses and cut corporation tax in a bid to “grow enterprises.”

Lib Dems Pledge

Pushing for a stronger economy that does not compromise equability, party leader Nick Clegg also gave a conference on January the 5th: - A Better Economy: Clegg undercut both Miliband and Cameron in this hotly debated area when he promised less borrowing than Labour and less cuts than the Conservatives. He called Labour ‘an ex’ who was bombarding the straying public with ‘late-night phone calls’: “A man (Ed Balls) who, as city minister, let the banks get away with utterly irresponsible behaviour.” He also criticised Cameron’s government for plotting against common interests: “They remorselessly cut the money for public services even after the deficit has been eliminated. And they have committed to £7bn of unfunded tax cuts and will not ask for a single penny more in tax from the very wealthy.”

- NHS and Mental Health support: The party have also said they will increase NHS spending to £8bn by 2020, including a separate £12m to help those suffering mental health problems to return to the workplace.

Birmingham riots tragedy father Tariq Jahan calls for public inquiry

The father of one of three men killed in the 2011 Birmingham riots has taken his call for a public inquiry to the heart of government.

Tariq Jahan, from Winson Green, is meeting police minister Mike Penning alongside local MP Shabana Mahmood (Lab, Ladywood) to explain that he was still waiting for an explanation of how his son died.

His 21-year-old son Haroon and friends Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, died after they were struck by a car in the early hours of August 10, 2011. They had been trying to defend local businesses as a wave of rioting and loot-

Tariq Jahan

ing swept the country.

Following the deaths, Mr Jahan issued a public appeal for calm – and was widely praised for reducing tensions and possibly preventing further vio-

lence. But nobody has ever been convicted as a result of the deaths. In 2012, eight men were cleared of murder in a trial which was briefly halted because of problems with the police investigation.

And last year a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission criticised elements of West Midlands Police’s inquiry into the deaths.

It ruled that one police officer had acted recklessly in offering immunity to witnesses at a public meeting.

Ms Mahmood said a public inquiry was now the only way to ensure the truth came out.

UK

Runner celebrates birthday as she takes on 100th marathon Birthdays are often celebrated with cake and candles, but one Stanmore optician will celebrate hers with a 26 mile run.

Keen runner Sunny Calitz-Patel, who works at Dave Opticians in Church Road, Stanmore, will take on her 100th marathon this weekend for charity.

The 47-year-old will put on her running shoes on Saturday as she takes part in the 26-mile run with a visually impaired woman to raise money

Keen runner Sunny Calitz-Patel

5

for the Royal National Institute for Blind People.

Dave optician owner Nawal Dave said: “She is an incredible young person and this will be the 100th marathon she has done. As an optician, it’s a cause that is very close to her heart. It would be incredible for her to get some recognition for her cause.”

So far, a total of £390 has been raised for the charity, but she hopes to reach her target of £500.

Aeroplane passengers displaying Ebola signs to be sent to Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow Air passengers who display signs of Ebola when they arrive from Africa are being sent to a Harrow hospital.

Those landing at Heathrow who require further tests and observations are transferred to Northwick Park Hospital, in Watford Road, Harrow.

The deadly virus, which causes a fever and severe internal bleeding, has become widespread in some west African countries in recent months.

Those who test positive for Ebola are being transferred to the Royal Free Hospital, in Hampstead, for treatment in a special isolation unit.

Pauline McCaffrey, a British Aid Worker, is currently in a critical condition in the hospital after returning from Sierra Leone via Glasgow.

Prime Minister David Cameron was asked whether airport screening

is failing on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday.

He said: "Her temperature was taken several times but then she was allowed to go on and travel to Scotland and what I have said very clearly is we should have a precautionary principle in place.

If you are still in doubt, if there's uncertainty, there are proper arrangements for you to go to the Northwick Park Hospital in Middlesex to be

observed and to have further tests there before going further.”

Tina Benson, director of operations at Northwick Park Hospital, said: "Patients screened at Heathrow Airport who require further tests and observation are transferred to Northwick Park Hospital. There is not a walk-in service at the hospital. Patients who are worried about symptoms should call NHS 111."

The results of a internal Liberal Democrat investigation into how a serial rapist was granted a taxi licence will remain "confidential".

Details of Nadeem Ahmed Kiani's convictions emerged in August, leading to Lib Dem Subhan Shafiq resigning as Milton Keynes mayor.

Fellow party member Stuart Burke resigned as chairman of Milton Keynes Council's licensing committee.

The decision to keep the investigation secret has been called "disrespectful".

Milton Keynes Council revoked Kiani's licence last year after it was revealed he had been given a private hire licence by the licensing committee in 2011.

A second committee lifted a suspension on his licence in 2012, despite Thames Valley Police having written to the authority giving more details of Kiani's convictions for

raping and assaulting prostitutes in London in 1994.

Mr Shafiq, who had vouched for Kiani as a friend in 2011, resigned as mayor in August. He quit as a councillor when the council released a report into the affair in November.

Mr Burke, who had been chairman of the second committee, resigned from that role along with vice-chairman and Labour councillor Gladstone McKenzie.

The completion of the internal investigation at the start of December came to light following repeated inquiries from

the BBC. Lib Dem campaign manager Jane Carr said recommendations had been "locally actioned with the respective individuals fully complying" with them. She said the report was "confidential to those involved and will not be released into the public domain".

Rosemary Smith, founder of the Milton Keynes Taxi Association, said the decision to keep the results private was "appalling".

Former council leader, Conservative Andrew Geary, said: "What a surprise - the Lib Dem stitchup strikes again."

Milton Keynes taxi scandal: Lib Dem internal investigation 'confidential'

6

UK

Muslim group hand roses to shoppers to celebrate birth of Prophet Muhammad

Roses were handed out to city centre shoppers Sunday to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

Members of the Naqshbandi Arshadi Youth Association gathered at the Clock Tower to distribute 350 red roses.

The event, the first of its kind in the city, was held to celebrate the Prophet’s birth and to counter many of the negative images about Islam reported in the mainstream media.

Association member Ahsan Ahmed said: “Together, we can represent the true character of Isalm through peace and love, building bridges in our community. The rose is the international symbol of love, compassion and peace. As Muslims we celebrate Prophet

KHICHADI

Deciphering the Modi Code

Naqshbandi Arshadi youth association hand out roses as a gesture of goodwill and harmony, to the general public.

Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) every day and we constantly seek to adorn our ways with the remembrance of his perfected example.”

He added: “At first people thought we were trying to sell them the roses, but when we explained what it

was about and why we were doing it, people thought it was a good idea.

It got a good reception.

The roses went in about half an hour.”

The event, called Mawlid - “Birth of the Prophet” - is celebrated in countries across the world.

Victim Jasmyn Chan

Killer Naseeb Ellahi

ing while unlicensed.

Members of Jasmyn’s family watched from the public gallery at Sheffield Crown Court as an emotional Ellahi entered his pleas. After he pleaded guilty some of Jasmyn’s family were in tears.

Ellahi was arrested on Thursday, May 15, nearly a week after the fatal smash.

More than 1,000 mourners attended Jasmyn’s funeral last year, while a petition signed by more than 12,000 people

called for road safety improvements at the spot where she lost her life.

The road safety campaign prompted Sheffield Council to promise to invest in improvements which will include ‘Jazzy’s Crossing’.

The family of Jasmyn, who was a Year 10 pupil at Birley Community College, have also set up a new charity foundation in her memory.

Ellahi was given bail and will be sentenced at the end of the month.

Raza, 10, scores a winner with his golden eagle design for Manchester City car A creative youngster enjoyed a dream start to 2015 when he joined his Manchester City sporting heroes on the Etihad Stadium pitch.

Promising young designer Raza Mohammed rubbed shoulders with Premier League stars after winning a contest to design a mascot for the team’s home tie against Sunderland.

Raza, 10, a pupil at Rolls Crescent primary school in Hulme, Manchester, was one of hundreds of children invited by sponsor Nissan to win the chance to lead the team out of the tunnel for the big game. He designed a striking image showing a golden eagle - which was spray-painted onto a Nissan Juke as part of the prize.

Kapil’s

by Kapil Dudakia - Email: kapil@abplgroup.com Twitter: @kdudakia

Man admits causing death of Jasmyn Chan in Sheffield road smash A man has admitted killing Sheffield teenager Jasmyn Chan who died after she was injured in a hit and run road smash.

The shock guilty plea was entered Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court by Naseeb Ellahi, aged 33, of Ash Road, Birmingham and formerly of Sheffield.

Jasmyn, aged 14, died following a collision on Normanton Hill, Intake, at around 9.20pm on Friday, May 9. She was killed after pushing a friend out of the way of the oncoming car - the other girl was also injured in the incident.

Naseeb Ellahi admitted causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene and failing to report. He pleaded not guilty to two further charges of causing death by driving while uninsured and causing death by driv-

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

It has now been six months since Shri Narendrabhai Modi became Prime Minister of India. What he has done in these few months is nothing short of remarkable. Did you know that there is a code that PM Modi has shared with all of us, but not all of us have managed to crack it thus far?

PM Modiji left clues for us even before the Indian election got started.

Even the BJP hierarchy did not seem to get it, nor understand the transformational political agenda of the PM in waiting.

Clue number one: The involvement of the NRI and PIO communities in the Indian elections. It electrified the Diaspora like no other election. ‘Chai pe Charcha’ took on a whole new meaning, engaging millions around the world as well as connecting Indians with India. What was the purpose of this exercise? After all, the number of Indians eligible to vote in the Indian elections from around the world was basically quite low.

Clue number two: PM Modiji’s engagement with world leaders took on a new meaning. Whilst some of these interactions have been more successful than others, he has however formed a unique bond with a few leaders, e.g.

Australian PM Abbot and in fact also our own PM Cameron.

Let’s jump some of these clues and get to the most recent, and the most important one. On 1st January 2015 PMO issued a Press Note regarding the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Deep within the construct of this master plan for the nation, subparagraph 6(f) reads as follows: ‘The Non-Resident Indian community, which is spread across more than 200 countries, is larger in number than the population of many countries of the world. This is a significant geoeconomic and geo-political strength.

Future national policies must incorporate this strength in order to broaden their participation in the new India beyond just their financial support.

Technology and management expertise are self-evident areas where this community can contribute significantly’.

NRI is a nomenclature used by PMO to mean all people of Indian origin. ‘Geo-economic’ strength of the NRI’s is already a well established fact, however ‘geo-political’ strength occurs only when Indians living abroad and being citizens of those countries engage in politics. That is to say, Indians living in these 200 or so countries can and should wield their political muscle in order to secure governments that are not only friendly to the NRI population, but also to India and Indians.

PM Modiji is now talking directly to you and me. He is telling us that for us NRI/PIO’s to be good friends of India, we must engage within the political

arena of the country in which we reside.

It is of no value sitting on the sidelines and declaring that we are non-political or apolitical.

The message is therefore clear, as Indians and for many of us, as Hindus, we have to wake up and understand what we do within the political arena in our country. Over the past 5 decades the Indian community has voted blindly without giving it much thought.

We have seen first-hand evidence of how during the ‘caste’ issue so many from our community either remained silent or worked actively to sell the untenable position of the Labour Party when they voted against our interest.

So far there has not been one Labour frontbencher with the confidence to face scrutiny over this by me.

During the early part of 2014 (before the Indian elections) we also witnessed two anti-Modi events taking place in the House of Commons. Both of these were supported by Labour MPs as well as some extremist groups. I have asked Ed Miliband to denounce these Labour MPs and these groups for what they did, and so far utter silence.

We also witnessed the Kashmiri Muslim separatist (pro-Pakistani) rake the issue up again. The Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society (KPCS) with the aid of the APPG (Hindu) put in a sterling fight and won the day in the end. One of the most powerful speeches made on the day was by Tory MP Bob Blackman who didn’t mix his words.

He said Jammu and Kashmir are integral to India and the rest of the world better stay out of India’s business.

However the Shadow Labour Minister, Shabana Mahmood has said she will highlight Kashmir issue within [the Labour] Party and outside in masses to defend the right of self-determination of Kashmiri people: “We will jointly struggle for giving Kashmiris a chance to exercise their internationally recognized right of self-determination with the party” and “We hope in upcoming general election there would be a good number of Friends of Kashmir Parliamentarians in British Parliament who can effectively support Kashmir cause”.

I have asked Ed Miliband to denounce his own Shadow Minister for making such a pro-Pakistani statement – however, total silence to date.

So what PM Modiji is telling ALL of us is simple. We must engage in the political arena of the country we live in and ensure that when political agents strive to undermine our community, our dharma and India, that we take appropriate action. For GE2015, do your research. Ask the hard questions and do not waste your vote. Remember who you are and what you represent. Lest you vote incorrectly and damage the chances of the generations to come.

Police seize children of ‘Mama Jihad The two runners-up were James Gordon, 11, from Priestnall High School in Heaton Mersey, Stockport, and Max Mayers-Davies, a pupil at Oakwood Avenue Primary School in Warrington.

They also got the chance to escort players onto the pitch before the game won 3-2 by City thanks to a

Frank Lampard goal.

Nissan marketing manager John Parslow said: “We couldn’t think of a more exciting way to start a new year. To walk out on to the pitch in front of 48,000 people is an experience I’m sure they will remember forever. I hope they enjoyed every second of it.”

Two young children were seized from their mother by counterterrorism officers in the first intervention of its kind involving suspected jihadists returning to Britain from Syria.

The children were taken into police protection for their own safety as the woman, 25, was arrested at Luton airport last week on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism. The youngsters,

who had accompanied their mother on a flight from Istanbul, in Turkey, could be placed in care.

The social services department at Haringey council in north London is liaising with police to determine how best to safeguard the two children in the long term.

The authorities have refused to disclose the age or sex of either child, but they are both thought to

be under 10. The action follows concern about the welfare of children being raised by extremist parents.

A number of British jihadists have travelled with their offspring to Syria and Iraq to join Isis, the terrorist group also known as Islamic State.

Some children have been pictured wielding guns in images posted on social media.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Award for owner of Coriander Restaurant, Uxbridge

A chef who owns an Indian restaurant has been given an award for his work outside the kitchen.

Salim Chowdhury, who owns Coriander, in Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, was given an award for his ‘business, politics and community relations’ by the Curry Life magazine. He was presented with his award during a ceremony at the Hilton London Heathrow Airport.

M r Chowdhury said: “To receive this award is a huge honour.

It makes me very proud and motivates me to work even harder, not only for business, also community work, which brings enormous joy and satisfaction to myself.”

Vyman Solicitors secures top accolade from national Law Society

Vyman Solicitors has secured the national Law Society’s Law Management Quality Mark, Lexcel.

Lexcel is an accreditation scheme which gives assurance that a practice meets high client care and business management standards. A practice must undergo a rigorous application and assessment process, to gain and retain Lexcel accreditation.

Whilst the company are proud to have secured Lexcel, it is the clients and staff who are the main beneficiaries. They can be assured that the way we

Salim Chowdhury with Keith Vaz MP

manage the practice has their interests at heart and runs efficiently.

There is a lot of choice in the legal services market, but being Lexcel accredited demonstrates the company’s commitment to client care and best practice. The scheme is a beacon of quality to clients and potential clients alike.

Vyman is a dynamic, progressive law practice with four offices:

A

Northwest London, Harrow; Central London, Marylebone; Kent, Gravesend and Kent, Medway and deals with commercial legal matters, commercial and residential property, commercial litigation, insolvency, employment, probate and immigration. It also deal exclusively with all aspects of criminal law for both private client and those that are funded by Legal Aid. From arrest to trial, the expert team are on hand 24 hours a day 7 days a week and can be available from all their offices.

UK

7

Murder investigation launched in Southall Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a man in Southall. Police have launched an investigation after a 41-year-old man was found injured in the street.

Police were called at 11.49pm on Sunday January 4 to Clarence Street, to reports of an injured man who had collapsed in the street.

London Ambulance Service was also called to the scene.

The man was taken to a west London hospital but was sadly pronounced dead at 1.10am on Monday, January 5. Next of kin are aware but formal identification is yet to take place. A post-mortem examination will be sched-

uled in due course.

The three men aged 29, 26 and 20 were arrested today, Monday, on suspicion of murder. They currently remain in custody pending further enquiries.

Detectives from the Homicide and Major

Crime Command are currently investigating and enquires continue.

Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on 0207 230 9375 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Illegal immigrant with forged passport worked in Commons An illegal migrant has been found working in the House of Commons in a major security breach, The Times can reveal.

The woman, believed to be from Sierra Leone, was arrested on Friday after it was discovered that her passport was forged.

She had been working in the Palace of Westminster for two months as a casual member of the catering team after being supplied by an external recruitment agency. It is believed that the agency had been responsible for performing checks on her background.

Her status as a casual worker meant that she was required to be escorted at all times on the parliamentary estate. Parliamentary authorities did not respond to a request for a comment on the allegation that the woman was using someone else’s pass.

Kieran Gajraj, 23, of St Omer Road, Oxford, admitted drink-driving in Littlehay Road, Oxford on November 8. He had

103 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, above the legal limit of 35 micrograms. He was given a 12-month com-

munity order and banned from driving for 24 months. Ordered to pay a victims’ surcharge of £60 and £85 in costs.

Asian arrested in Oxford for drink driving

breathtaking view of Wembley Stadium perfect location for your next big event

An An ideal ideal venue venue for for parties, parties, sanji, sanji, mendhi mendhi night night and and receptions. receptions.

Join us for a Desi Brunch serving delicious Dosa, Upma, Idli Sambar and more, every Sunday from 11am

Contact us now to arrange a viewing on 020 8903 3888 or info@metropoliswembley.co.uk

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Bristol driver sorry over "bad joke" about Jailed: Fraudsters who stole credit card hit and run involving a cyclist details to pay for meals, hotel rooms A Twitter user has been and a car in £25k scam forced to apologise for "a bad joke" about hitting a cyclist and driving away because he was late for work.

Rayhan Qadar, 21, from Eastville, or Ray Pew as he is known on Twitter, issued an apology four hours after his initial tweet sparked outrage.

He said: "My previous tweet about the cyclist was obviously not true. I did not hit cyclist. Not today. Not ever. A bad joke on my part it seems."

Earlier in the morning, Mr Qada, whose Facebook and Twitter profiles say he is from Bristol, caused a

furious backlash after tweeting: "Think I just hit a cyclist. But Im (sic) late for work so had to drive off lol."

Police said they were investigating the matter. Mr

Qada added: "Sorry if anyone thought i actually hit a cyclist. Anyone who follows me on Twitter know 99% of the things I tweet is nonsense."

Dozens of BA passengers stranded at Mumbai airport 'told to wait eight days'

Dozens of British Airways passengers have allegedly been told to wait eight days for a plane after a late connecting flight left them stranded at Mumbai airport.

The 38 holidaymakers, including children with special needs, had flown from Goa to Mumbai on a delayed Air India flight, and were due to fly back to London Heathrow with British Airways. But the British Airways plane did not wait for the connection, leaving the passengers stranded at the terminal and sitting on the floor.

Passengers took to social media to describe a dysfunctional state of affairs at the airport, reporting shouting matches between British Airways and Indian officials over who was to blame.

Airline representatives are also alleged to have "disappeared" at key moments in the passengers' ordeal.

"Kids and special needs passengers sleep on floor. British Airways officials have disappeared," tweeted musician Sean Read, one of the stranded

Amitab Ali

man Tariq Mohammed, 34, defrauded an insurance company out of £3,367 during a ‘crash for cash’ insurance fraud.

Ahmed claimed her Lexus had been involved in an accident, and both Ahmed and Ali, who claimed to be the person who crashed into the Lexus, contacted the insurance company and they paid her £1,710 for the damage.

Mohammed claimed that the car was being stored at his business in Rochdale and provided her with a hire car. He charged the insurance company

£1,657 for his ‘services’.

Ahmed, of Jarvis Street, Rochdale, and Ali, of Brimrod Lane, Rochdale, both near the town centre, earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and fraud by false representation. Ahmed received an 18-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to carry out 150 hours’ unpaid work, while Ali was jailed for a year.

Tariq Mohammed, of John Roberts Close, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was given a fourmonth custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work.

Jade Wasley, 25, of Thomas Street, Littleborough, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and received a 12-month community order. All four were sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday.

Mumbai UK visa service will severely inconvenience tens of thousands passengers.

Insult was added to injury after seven passengers were apparently offered seats on a Turkish Airlines flight, but no official from British Airways was around to accept the offer.

He said passengers had been offered "no hotel, no food, no flight" by either the airport or the airline.

Tia Fisher, an English teacher forced to sleep on the floor at the airport, tweeted that passengers had been the victim of a "total cock- up".

"No response from

British Airways yet and BA staff in Mumbai airport just went home.

Desperate for help and sanity here," she said.

A spokesperson for British Airways told the Independent: "We are doing all we can to assist customers who missed their connection to our flight from Mumbai to London. In order to get them on their way as quickly as possible we have booked a number of customers onto flights with other airlines, and we are working to rebook those remaining onto the next available flights."

Prince Andrew: a royal scandal

Continued from page 1 A damning complaint was filed against the Prince by a girl under the pseudonym ‘Virginia Roberts’ in which she alleged to have been exploited as his “sex-slave” at the age of seventeen.

Roberts alleged that the Prince was a client to whom she was passed as part of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s chum-building prostitution service.

American citizen Epstein, who has previously pled guilty to solicitation, is known to be close friends with the Duke where their friendship has been placed under scrutiny before. Sky Roberts, father of the teenage girl at the centre of the controversy told ‘The

Fraudsters who used other people’s credit card details to fund their lifestyle have been brought to justice.

Victoria Ahmed, 26, and Amitab Ali, 30, both from Rochdale, paid for hotel rooms and meals and even bought a car during the £25,000 scam.

Between September 2011 and March 2012, the pair used other people’s card details, which had been texted to them, to buy goods online and over the phone. They paid for car insurance and parts, and their accomplice Jade Wasley agreed to have the items delivered to her house for a fee.

Over six months, Ahmed and Ali also hired cars, bought a Honda car from a salesman, stayed in hotel rooms, bought food and drink, paid for taxi fares and Ahmed’s home phone bill. In total, over £22,000 was spent on other people’s credit cards.

In November 2011, Ahmed, Ali and a second

Virginia Robert with Prince Andrew

Sun’ in an interview: "Virginia told me a few years back that she met Prince Andrew when she went to London (…) She also said while they were there she met the Queen

(...) She had been flown to London by Jeffrey [Epstein]. He would fly her all over the world and she would give him massages on his private jet.”

Despite the heated evi-

Mumbai, one of the largest cities in the world and busiest UK visa centres is having its visa staff reduced from 70 to 20, with decision-making being centralised in New Delhi, 850 miles away, despite receiving the same volume of applications every year.

People from the Mumbai region, including the state of Gujarat, depend on its services, including the friends and families of British Indian citizens. Now only ‘priority’ services will be processed at the cost of £600 for each application.

This decision will inconvenience the many hundreds of thousands of people who apply, and lead to less effective and accurate decisions on visa applications.

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP has tabled this issue in

dence, both Buckingham Palace and Andrew’s exwife have jumped to the defence of the besieged Prince who has also denied the charges in public.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, 55, determinedly took time out of a Swiss mountain break to support her husband with whom she has a family: “I will say it was the finest moment of my life in 1986 when I married him (…)

He is a great man, the best man in the world. The York family are a tight unit, we always have been a tight unit. He is the greatest man there is.”

Buckingham Palace also insisted that there is

the parliament. He said “Whilst there is much to celebrate this New Year, we will also see illthought and backwards decisions negatively affect hundreds of thousands of visa applicants in Mumbai, and the surrounding areas.

The decision, made last year, to downsize the UK visa office in Mumbai from 70 to 20 members of staff will come into effect later in 2015. This, in a city which is one of the busiest visa application centres in the world, with as many applications each year as a fully packed Old Trafford.”

He continued: “Many people are quite rightly concerned that this decision, made to cut costs, will have a disastrous effect on the many thousands of people of Indianorigin in the United

Kingdom, whose families in India may suffer severe problems when trying to visit their friends and loved ones. We must do all we can to convince the government that this decision is short-sighted and should be reversed. I urge people to sign the epetition launched by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, and write to your local MPs requesting they sign an Early Day Motion (no. 626) I have tabled in Parliament on this issue.”

Mumbai visa service will severely inconvenience the tens of thousands of people who apply there every year.

For the 1.4 million people of Indian origin in the UK, this is simply unacceptable. To access the epetition please go online http://epetitions.direct.g ov.uk/petitions/73054

no record of a meeting with a ‘Virginia Roberts’ and said: “"It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts.

Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation.”

The Prince is one of a long list of high-standing and influential persons who Roberts has named as part of her sexual services under Epstein. The statement given in the Florida Court-room, details stories of being made to socialise and have sex with many prominent men such as high-profile U.S lawyer and Harvard Professor

Alan Dershowitz in a bid to strengthen Epstein's business ties. News of whether or not a trial will follow is yet to be announced with Dershowitz having no previous criminal charges and Roberts, father of Virginia, already detracting the claim that his daughter met with the Queen: “I want to clear up that many years ago Virginia stated to me she was to meet the Queen's son Prince Andrew and not the Queen herself. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding."

As investigations continue, Prince Andrew has chosen not to respond with legal action.

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Baroness Shreela Flather the Campaigning National Treasure Baroness Shreela Flather was raised to her crossbench life peerage as Baroness Flather of Windsor and Maidenhead in the Royal County of Berkshire in June 1990.

She was the first Asian woman to receive a peerage and is fearlessly outspoken, both in the House and outside. She often says things that others secretly agree with, as demonstrated in the Letters page of The Asian Voice. Baroness Flather is coming up to her 25th year in the House of Lords.

Among her many achievements she is known for the Memorial Gates in London, a tribute to the five million from Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent who served with the Armed Forces during the First and Second World Wars.

She talked to The Asian Voice about her new charity, Sharia Law and how it affects British women, assisted dying and the ongoing commemorations of ethnic soldiers

who fought with Britain in the World Wars.

“The Memorial Gates took up seven years of my life but once they were done, I wanted to do something else I cared about. I wrote a book called “Women- acceptable exploitation for profit. It’s about women in Africa and India; their disempowered lives, but also presents one important

solution to their problems,” she said. “My solution to the problem of women in poverty is to find ways for women to earn money. When a woman earns even a little bit of money, she changes.

She gets confident, her status in the family improves, people treat her with more respect, and she becomes more self aware.”

Shreela says that the

that’s unbearable you can pace of reform for poor make provision in advance women is slow and cannot by making a living will, or be fully entrusted to govappoint a health attorney.” ernments alone. “I want to She’s also very worried get through to business. I about the status of Muslim have decided to work women in the UK after a through corporates as peocentury when British ple need some kind of women have fought for institution, which is why the right to work, the I’m setting up a charity. equal division of assets The papers have gone to after divorce, and equal the Charity Commission. status. “All of a sudden It’s called “Women Sharia is here and is not Matter” and the strapline like that. It totally favours is “One billion women in the man. Dr Michael India and Africa need our Nazir-Ali, the former support.” She said that Bishop of even getting a One billion R o c h e s t e r, few women out of poverty women in India made a study and found means that Sharia their children and Africa need that is discrimwill be educatour support law inatory. My ed since colleague Baroness Cox women care more about has put forward a private children’s education than members bill on mediation men. and arbitration. Mediation “I don’t know whether helps women, but with rich Indians here in the arbitration, men benefit.

UK would want to support Sharia in this country it. They don’t normally does not enable women to support things that don’t access British law. A give them any exposure or Sharia marriage in awards,” she laughed.

Pakistan is recognised In the House of Lords, under Pakistani law. But it the Baroness supports is not recognised here assisted dying. “A lot of under British law.” This people are kept alive disempowers women, said beyond the need for them Baroness Flather. to live. If they are in pain, “Women are left high the pain is controlled by and dry. Men say, ‘If them being kept in a twiwomen are thrown out of light zone. That’s not a marriage they will be much of a life. I don’t given a place to live and believe in euthanasia. If benefits’ but that’s not you know you are going to right either. It comes out die from some kind of disof people’s taxes. Some ease and that at some British Muslims have up stage you’ll be in a state

to four wives.”

She rails against those who have more than two children and are on benefits. “Generally people have one or two children because they want to educate them. But a lot of British people have more children so that get more state money. I’m glad the government is doing something about it.”

The peer commented that the Pakistani women here are British women and that if laws need to be changed for their protection, then that should happen.

“The government should make sure that every bride or groom that comes to this country has to register their marriage regardless of whether it’s recognised in their region or not.” She said that men avoid it so as to not be responsible for their wives.

Baroness Flather also feels that since 30% halal meat does not use the prestunning way of killing animals, all halal meat should be labelled to differentiate the stunned from the non prestunned.

Finally, she continues to pursue ways of recognising the role of Indians in WW1.

Her plans include those Indians who fought at Gallipoli –the battle has its centenary celebrations this year- and Indians who won the Victoria Cross.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

As I See It

“PK” and Hindus’ protest”

Boon to readers

India a nation of diversity

Two items on the same page in last week’s AV took me back in time, my serene, carefree days in Dar. As my brother Vinoo Valambhia used to play cricket for Indian Gymkhana (Hindus sports club) under Premjibhai’s Captainship, we used to watch these matches on Sundays.

He was great servant to Indian community on various fronts, especially sports, social and business. I hope we will be able to send him congratulations on his 100th birthday, he richly deserves.

“Your Voice” column, so often selfopinionated, tempestuous but never pseudo is popular read. Although I only contributor occasionally, on social and health matters, I still receive emails, telephone calls from readers, perhaps as ladies’ contribution is somewhat limited.

I enjoy reading Jhala’s letters in AV/GS. Bhupendra is one of your original contributors. Besides letter writing, your encouragement by publishing his numerous short stories, poems, articles, travel briefs and interviews, gave him confidence, especially when you published his profile in AV dated 12/08/2000. He has now written several books, Ivory Tower and Olive Grove are his latest popular novels. He still writes profoundly in local papers, magazines and has his own column.

Asian Voice has been prophetic, stepping stone for young, aspiring journalists like Priya Gautama, Dhiren Katwa and now Rupanjana Dutta who have made their marks at the highest level. May you and AV/GS keep on serving Asian community for decades to come, taking us back to Memory Lane!

Film “PK” by Amir Khan has hurt Hindus’ religious sentiments, stirring violent protests in India. But ironically leading politicians and sports personalities have found nothing wrong. Note that Hindus producer/ team involved in production did not modify the abusive elements. Also note that majority ticket buying audience may have been Hindus who also enjoyed abusive material. This invalidates the complaints and ensuing violence?

Yet on the basis of more than 7 complaints on same grounds by non Hindus, fully justifies Hindus’ complaint.

Grievances by non Hindus had favourable responses whereas Hindus’ complaints in India are swept under carpet of secularism. It is noteworthy that after every complaint by non Hindus, incidents of abuse recurred after prolonged time lapse. Abuses of Hindus’ religious sentiments are repeated many times every year, in India and abroad, on celluloid and on utility items. Civil protests and complaints by NRI Hindus have got favourable results and apologies.

Therefore violence by Hindus in India is wrong, as it gives free publicity to the film.

Instead of getting caught in “hurt/complain/violence” cycle/ wasting time/ energies, Hindus must carry on with deeds of welfare/ progress; educate Hindus to hold their heads high with dignity.

Having not yet received my ABPL calendar for 2015, I was a bit worried that my copy may have gone astray. On making enquiries of ABPL Office, I was reassured that the calendars will be sent out with this week’s edition of AV and GS. What a relief! For me, they are indespensable. I am general secretary of Shree Jain Sangh East London and Essex and it falls on me to plan for various events during the year and make bookings for halls and inform the membership of the dates and venues for the functions we will be celebrating.

As halls for hire are like gold dust in the vicinity, we must plan earlier and make advance bookings before they are taken up by others. This is where the ABPL calendar comes to the rescue.

The calendar clearly shows the dates for all Hindu, Jain and Christian relogious festivals like Diwali, Paryushan, Mahavir Jayanti, Jain Varshitap, Ayambil Oli and Maha Shivratri, Holi, Makarsankratri and others.

It also gives additional information regarding India’s Republic Day and India’s Independence Day together with dates for Poonam and Amas. These are all shown with appropriate pictures or photos so that it is easy to identify them and make appropriate planning.

The calendar is free to subscribers and comes in addition to the periodical supplements which we get from time to time.

I wonder what other weekly or monthly publication provides these kind of free benefits for its readers!

Several communities exist in India which is known as a nation of diversity in race, religion, caste and language. The East Indian Catholic community is known as one of the most colourful communities in the country. The East Indian Catholics are the original inhabitants of Mumbai.

Their music, dance and cuisine are appreciated all over the world. Like the Goans and the Mangaloreans, they are a fun lot too. The name ‘East Indian’ has been derived from the East India Company of the British which converted a large section of the local Marathi-speaking people to Christianity.

The East Indian community speaks Marathi, which is a blend of pure Marathi, Portuguese and English. Like the Goans and the Mangaloreans, they are good cooks and singers too. The community was first recognised in 1896 A.D., but that was not the year of its origin.

The East Indians, comprising of Kunbis, Agris, Bhandaris and Kolis, are indigenous to the heartland of what might be said to comprise the former Salcette islands, including Bandra, Kurla, Thane and Bhayander. They are local Christians of long standing who did not want the British Colonial government to confuse them with the Goans, Mangaloreans and other Christian communities in the region. Hence, they decided to adopt a designation that would make them stand out as a separate Christian identity and adopted the name to impress upon the British that they were the earliest Christians –- Marathispeaking and very much sons and daughters of ‘Aamchi Mumbai’/’Aapli Mumbai’ (Our Mumbai).

Kumudini Valambhia By email

I read with interest your editorial and various letters on conversion controversy that is making headlines. While conversion under duress is cruel and should be outlawed, as may have happened in Delhi and especially as practiced in Pakistan and Bangladesh, the phobic fiduciary opposition who now professes to be champion of imaginary oppressed maintained undignified silence when it was a one way traffic, Hindus being converted with bribes by Christian missionaries and under duress by Islam.

The ball is now in opposition’s court, as BJP is willing to introduce anti-conversion bill, but the hallucinating Hobbesian opposition under foreign patronage would like to keep the door open for future conversion of Hindus, have their cake and eat it? Hindus believe that this is just home-coming of lineage Hindus who were converted and are now willing to come back to their roots.

I remember few decades back; Hindu and Sikh girls were openly converted in Trafalgar Square like war booty. Even some learned contributors believe two wrongs do not make it right but one wrong do! One should read Francois piece on internet.

Mercifully such rhetoric incidents are on decline here, with education and understanding, as we have much more serious problems with terrorism, economy and unemployment to tackle. Modiji

EU obesity ruling

Mr Stevenson the head of NHS, launched a programme to fight Britain's obesity, when he rightly spoke out against EU court of justice ruling that obesity is inevitable. ( so Saturday Times reported).

Under the NHS plan, doctors will be asked to identify people who have gained weight and are at risk to get diabetes which leads to very serious conditions.

Those identified as overweight, will be given help, support and advise. An excellent plan to deal with the root cause of the problem.

People must lead responsible and disciplined life style to keep healthy.

Overeating leading to obesity certainly is not inevitable. Over indulgence of any kind is harmful. Our NHS is unable to cope with emergencies, yet it is spending exorbitant amount of money for stomach surgeries to treat obesity.

EU polices leading to such judgments, including ban on Indian mangoes are senseless, waste of public money and must be discarded.

Ramesh Jhalla By email

Blot on India’s noblest traditions

Subscribe Today Ila Kapadia By email

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Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

The road to a stronger economy

The New Year saw the official start of the election campaign for all the main parties.

The message from the Conservative Party is simple. Having rescued Britain from the brink of bankruptcy, our longterm economic plan is working and delivering for hard working people. We need to stay on the road to a stronger economy for a more secure future for you and your family.

Since coming to power in 2010, the Conservative Party has; cut the deficit in half, created over 1.75 million jobs and cut income tax for 30 million people. This has made us one of the fastest growing economies in the developed world.

Britons will face a clear choice in May 2015: turning backwards or sticking to the road that has brought us so far.

Cllr Ameet Jogia Harrow Conservatives rightly condemns devious conversion, as he would like to concentrate on development, industrialization and peace and progress. Let us not be distracted or deviate from our goal of harmony and good governance.

Welcome; our NRI friends

I am a professional person based at Ahmedabad. During November and December, I had an opportunity to visit Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Anand.

Talking to business friends, those involved in real estate business as well as in healthcare facilities, I was struck by the huge number of visitors from abroad who have been a great boon to their business activities.

Besides their spending power, NRIs provide a very unique encouragement and help to various social, cultural, religious developmental projects in their ancestral villages as well as the schools or colleges which helped them in the past.

The hard work, ethics and their love for the Motherland also provide an incentive for the local relations and friends to achieve more, especially through entrepreneurship.

Finally, when NRI visitors bring with them their family members, especially their young children, it is a subtle but effective assistance for continuous connectivity with the Indians at home and with those who live overseas.

Long may this mutual cooperation continue.

Jay Hind

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Critical costs in child-care

Child-care breaking the bank

of-living crisis under David Cameron are coming under increasing pressure from soaring childcare costs” stated Alison McGovern, the Shadow Minister for children and families, as she criticised the City of London. This is a time of “falling childcare places and reduced support from this Tory-led government.”

McGovern added that

the Labour party would extend free pre-school childcare for those who are working parents.

Further data shows that spending has sky-rocketed since 2010 with some families forced to stretch 30 per cent more in childcare budgets.

A recent survey by the insurer Aviva found thousands of parents are in effect working for zero pay because of the high cost of childcare. This biannual report into family finances found that one in 10 working families with young children has an earner who brings home nothing after commuting, childcare and other work-associated expenses.

Mass migration to the countryside

Recent figures show there will be a population growth of over half a million in rural areas.

The Office for National Statistics predicted a 6% increase over the next decade as people sell their lucrative city properties and opt for less stress and more money. To make things even sunnier, the Government has added that people tend to live longer, by 2 and half years, in the countryside.

The influx of citizens to rural England counters the international migration to cities. The Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said it is a “truly exciting time for rural communities, with the countryside set to become even more of an economic powerhouse for the UK. There’s a myth out Plans for a compulsory maths course are being pushed to combat the numeracy deficiency in the UK. As of next Autumn, schools and universities will be obliged to make sure that those who are taking humanity subjects, despite receiving a good maths GCSE, are continuing to study the subject at A-level.

The course dubbed 'Core Maths' is designed to make sure that students can apply theory at a practical level and will be aimed at those who achieved a C-grade or higher. The course has been tried out in 170 schools to gain feedback on its structure and content, which focuses on problem-solving and real-

11

Osama Bin Laden documents to be used against British-based student

Documents found in the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan will be used in court against a Britishbased student. The Navy Seals, who moved in on the terrorist ring-leader's property, have reason to believe that Abid Naseer, 28, pictured, originally from Pakistan, plotted to plant bombs in international locations including Manchester, New York and Norway.

The documents indicated that Naseer worked alongside Al-Qaeda operatives. The trial began in

Adorable little Aarviv Dhanilall, pictured, has won a place on the 2014 'Baby's First Tooth' photo shortlist. Launched in association with Camilia Oral Solution, the contest has ten finalists and gives the family a chance to win a four-night adventure get-away and a VIP photo shoot.

Samantha Dhanilall, mother of the 10 monthold beauty, said in a statement: “We think that Aariv has got a winning smile and we’ve captured it in this photo, especially now that his teeth are coming through.”

A gallery of the ten shortlisted babies will be available online.

Brooklyn, New York, where it is the first time evidence from the notorious Bin Laden storming will be used in prosecutions. Although no explosives were uncovered, a series of emails was exchanged between Naseer and three already convicted men in New York who were planning to bomb the Subway. Naseer, who is representing himself in court, has denied all charges.

Cute Edgware infant makes national contest

Moving to the country

there that innovation happens in cities — that it happens in major towns.

In fact, we’re seeing lots of innovation, lots of exports, new technology start-ups, in rural areas.”

Those relocating from urban spaces tend to be wealthier and are expected to boost the local economy with more expenditure in shops and restaurants and investment in their own businesses.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Compulsory core maths

world application.

'Core maths' will be a stand-alone qualification with the status of a “level 3 certificate”, although it has been given a tariff equivalent to an AS level by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Universities will be obliged to consider this qualification along with the standard stipulated

have even suggested that productivity in the countryside could be higher than that of the city.

Migration of economically healthy dwellers into the countryside could lead to an increase in employment of more than 300,000 by 2025, according to their findings. If such forecasts materialise, it also has the potential to alter the political landscape; rural voters being able to feel the benefits of the nation's elusive economy. grades.

Though the Department of Education, who is spending roughly £20 million on the programme between 20142016, insists that it is not an official requirement then, in reality it certainly will be.

David Woolley, the assistant head teacher at Cheadle Hulme High School in Cheshire, which is currently taking part in the trial, stated that it was actually more difficult to convince parents of its value than the students.

Parents who were a little skeptical about the extra workload distracting from their children's principal studies "wanted to know what the points value was and what universities thought of it.”

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Child-care loses households over half their gross weekly wage, the latest statistics show.

The new information from local councils indicated that part-time nursery school or hiring a child-minder costs at least £100.00 in over three quarters of the United Kingdom. This is more than a quarter of one's weekly earnings.

In certain areas, the costs have been even higher. In Richmond for example, the average nursery spot comes up to £247.50 for 25 hours a week. The average childminder costs £223.23 for 25 hours of good service.

“Families facing a cost-

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12

Going into 2015, the good news is that India’s birth rate has declined dramatically over the past two decades and more, in part due to rising female literacy, according to a new report called the Sample Registration Survey, published on 23 December 2014. The total fertility rate – the number of children the average woman is likely to have in her lifetime – fell to 2.3 per cent last year from 3.6 per cent in 1991.

Improvements in female literacy were having “a direct impact on fertility,” said the survey “The new data shows India does not need to panic,” said Poonam Muttreja, Director of the Population Foundation of India. “Even the poorest and most marginalized women want no more than two children, thanks to the country’s focus on family planning in recent years.”

While the government officially abandoned targets for family planning in 1996, local authorities have continued to offer cash incentives to women who opt for sterilization. However, experts warn that there is no room for complacency on the issue of population control.

Industrial revival

The new year may well see Indian industry picking up, if the latest manufacturing figures are anything to go by. These are at a two-year high. “A steep rise

Maruti car

in new orders from the consumer sector can be seen….In our view a rise is critical for a meaningful pick-up for industrial growth,” said Prakash Bhandari, Chief India Economist at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. Profit margins (Business Line January 3).

Land Act ordinance

Seeking to strike a balance between the welfare of farmers and the strategic and developmental needs of the country, the Cabinet in New Delhi has passed an ordinance to unshackle defence, infrastructure and rural projects trapped in land acquisition procedures. These amendments have relaxed the requirements of consent and Social Impact Assessment survey for projects, which include national security and defence, rural infrastructure and electrification, affordable housing for the poor and the development of industrial corridors (Hindu December 30)

Likely results

The effect of these measures will be as follows: Faster processing of acquisitions; fast-track process for defence and defence production; no compromise on compensation or rehabilitation measures; no compulsory social impact assessment for infrastructure, social infrastructure projects; no compulsory consent from farmers for five project categories, such as affordable housing and industrial corridors.

Indian industry has welcomed the ordinance (Business Line December 30)

Ericson’s upcoming Pune plant Swedish telecom equipment major Ericson’s second Indian manufacturing plant is to be located in Pune The unit is being set up at the Indospace Industrial Park, Makan, Pune and will serve as an export hub for South East Asia, the Middle East and Sub Saharan Africa. Ericson is to invest $15 million initially, with production commencing in 2016.

Ericson already has a production facility in Jaipur, which is geared to the domestic Indian market.

Ericson is among the first multinational companies to invest in India after the BJP-led government took power and projected the Make in India plan (Business Line December 30)

Aerospace centre near Chennai

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

in India. This will also be an export hub for both countries.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who accompanied President Vladimir Putin on his recent visit to India, said the “understanding is to assemble 400 advanced Kamov-226T helicopters per year built on Russian technologies in India.”

The Indian manufacturers are expected to come from the public and private sectors.

Rugged machines

On the operational front, Russian choppers are known for their ruggedness. India’s armed forces are well experienced, over many decades, in using Russian MI-17 helicopters, which are the mainstay of the Indian Air Force in diverse roles and in varied environments.

Submarines

With India’s Parliamentary Committee expressing concern at the growing gaps in the Air Force and Navy’s operational requirements, under Project 751, Russia has said it is open to technology transfer and joint production of diesel-electric submarines. India having submitted its requirements, Russia has responded with attractive options. Russian officials said that for advanced defence systems, India and Russia should reach an agreement under an inter-governmental framework.

“We involve India in very delicate spheres – in the military, in high technology….that we have not proposed with other countries….We are making it with India because we have a certain level political trust and friendship,” said Russian Trade and Commerce Minister Denis Manturov (Hindu December 22, Mint December 15)

Intelligence fiasco

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is to set up a Rs 200 crore aerospace technology centre at Oragadam, near Chennai, according to MSME Development Institute Director, SMJ Jamkhandi. The ministry has sought 20 acres of land from the Tamil Nadu government for the site. It will be one of four centres, each with its own area of specialization.

A sensational New Times report (reproduced in The Telegraph newspaper December 22) details the activities of 30-year-old jihadi computer expert named Zarrar Shah, who together with his Lashkar-e-Toiba team used

The other centres to come up will be at Bangalore, Puducherry and Biwandi (in Maharashtra).

The Oragan facility will focus on components and electronics as there are a large number of automobile components and electronics manufacturing units in the vicinity. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation is planning an integrated aerospace park project in Sriperumbudur. The park will cover design, engineering, manufacturing, servicing and maintenance of aircraft (Business Line December 30)

Mumbai terror attack of 26/11/2008

Other centres

India-Russia finalize helicopter deal

India and Russia are working out details for the manufacture of Russian Kamov helicopters for India’s armed forces at a site

Google Earth to plot the routes for the Pakistani terror squad to enter Mumbai on 26 November 2008. “No one put together the whole picture,” said Shiv Shankar Menon, India’s then foreign secretary and later national security adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “Not the Americans, not the Brits, not the Indians…… only once the shooting started did everyone share” what they had in meetings between British and Indian officials and “then

the picture became instantly clear.”

BJP’s year, Congress anonymous

2014 has, without doubt, been the Bharatiya Janasta Party’s year. It won a momentous victory in India’s general election in May, which brought the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to power in Delhi as India’s new Prime Minister. The BJP won an absolute majority in Parliament, while the Congress Party was decimated, reduced to 44 seats from its previous tally of 206 seats. This was no flash-in-thepan for the BJP, which has gone on to win most of the State Assembly elections and may become a coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, where it came a creditable second. For the Congress Party2014 has been a veritable nightmare.

Fanaticism spurned The agitation to ban Aamir Khan’s film ‘PK,’ fomented by the Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena et al were dealt significant blows, first by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi Dal government, which not only allowed its screening in cinemas across the state, but blessed the film with a tax-waiver.

The BJP-ruled Maharashtra government of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took a a similar path minus the tax-waiver. Both Chief Ministers met the challenge well. “PK” is proving to the biggest ever box office Bollywood draw.

(Hindu, January 1 2015)

Radhakrishnan honoured

Dr K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Time for change Organization (ISRO)has been listed as one of the world’s top scientists for 2014 by the prestigious science journal ‘Nature’.

Under his stewardship India launched its Moon and Mars missions, the latter being the only one to achieve success at the first attempt.

This was followed last month by the successful launch of India’s GSAT III, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi the country’s heaviest launch, which was propelled Thrashed in the general elecinto geosynchronous orbit by an tions, thrashed again in the State elections, whither Congress? Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, perceived widely as a nincompoop, cut no ice with electorate, as he led his party’s charge to near oblivion.

Party President Sonia Gandhi has been aloof. Time for mother and son to exit for the sake of India’s democratic well-being.

India needs a strong two-part system(Hindu December 30)

Sangh hotheads

Corporate India has voiced its misgiving at the conversion antics of elements within the Sangh parivar. The mood of intolerance appears to be spreading and with it deepening social discord. The recent arson attack on an east Delhi Catholic church and attacks on churches in other parts of the country are already having a detrimental effect on India’s image in the United States, wrote K.P. Nayar, The Telegraph’s Diplomatic Correspondent (December 31). The fallout could affect Indo-US investment ties, he warns. On the previous day, business management Gurcharan Das carried a similar message in the Times of India’s editorial page.

Hindu religious sites in the US, UK and Continental Europe (all with a Christian heritage) are respected and freedom of worship is assured.

The Modi government’s foremost priority is the modernization of the Indian economy.

No distractions, please.

(Times of India December 24)

Dr K. Radhakrishnan Indian space chief

India-made cryogenic engine. Dr Radhakrishnan retired December 31. (Hindu December 25, January 1).

Mahinder Sigh Dhoni with World Cup India team.

See comment page 3

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

UK

13

Harrow United Deaf Club starts new year with 'thought provoking' talk

Election Time

2015 and with a General Election the race is very much on. Few people realise what wins and loses elections is rarely issues. Class used to be the best post-war predictor, then it became interest rates – because that determined the money in our pockets.

My politics tutor at Oxford was the leading authority on General Elections – Dr David Butler. This was a man who sat down for drinks with Churchill to discuss election strategies – and indeed with pretty much every Prime Minister since.

Dr Butler and I would sit for my tutorials, one to one, discussing modern British Government. He had been persuaded out of semi-retirement by another politics tutor to teach me over the Summer before I started work in the US Congress on a bursary I’d won.

When I remove all the nonsense on policy issues that people think wins elections and cut to just bare statistics the findings are pretty amazing. Oh, and race does not impact elections, neither does immigration.

So it is the following statistics will show exactly that; fight and argue over immigration and other ‘issues’ and ‘policies’ but none of it will be as good a predictor as I am about to give you: First, Labour’s dispersion of voters is such that they can at merely 36% of the votes still win an election – as in 2005.

Never before in the history of British elections has a party won with such a low percentage of votes. Never in the history of British elections has a party had just enough of its voters spread efficiently so that with such a low spread of voters it can win enough seats.

To understand this – think of it this way; we have a system whereby if you win a seat by 10,000 votes, you win it just as much as if you won by 1 vote.

Tory voters tend to give themselves thumping large majorities and so in a way to say the Conservatives have a poll lead is irrelevant because you are only counting a lot of people in constituencies you’ve already won not people in ones where you need to win from Labour.

Labour tend to have lower majorities, but more of them – it’s just the way their vote is spread and so they tend to win more seats per voter.

So pronounced is Labour’s advantage that in 2005 more people actually voted Conservative than Labour in England– but the Conservatives won 92 fewer seats than Labour within England (285 to 193).

Put another way Labour can get 55% of the seats with only 36% of the votes cast. Whereas everyone else combined with 64% of the votes can only manage 45% of the seats.

This ‘voter efficiency ratio’ – my own creation - is even worse for the Lib Dems: with 2/3rds as many votes as Labour they only got 1/5 as many seats as Labour.

For the Conservatives to over-turn this, they need a lot of people to have moved around the country in the past 5 years, they need SNP to win all Labour’s seats in Scotland and they need to focus on the economy (even turn immigration into an economic issue). Everything for the Tories has to be about you having more money in your pocket – that is their best option.

Slough couple rewarded with MBE for foster care efforts

A husband and wife’s team effort in looking after children with learning difficulties and disabilities, has been rewarded with them both being appointed MBEs. Shahnaz and Razaq Akhtar, both from Slough, have had their outstanding contribution of a combined 34 years of foster care which has included looking after 23 children and supporting 22 families.

Mrs Akhtar, a carer with Slough Borough Council for 20 years said: “One of the bonuses of being a carer is I have been able to do something

looking after my family.

“I didn’t envisage being in the position I am in today, being able to offer care to disabled children as a full time job, but here I am.”

Mr Akhtar is a short break foster carer with 14 years experience while continuing with his full-time job at Raztronics Services Limited.

He commented: ”We are really chuffed at the moment.

Although we feel our work is appreciated by Shahnaz and Razaq Akhtar the council, it’s really positive with my life good that our efforts have whilst still at home and been recognised publicly.”

Deaf club start new year with 'thought provoking' talk

A deaf club marked the start of the New Year with a talk on how services for disabled adults can be improved. Harrow United Deaf Club also invited its members to learn more about Harrow police’s stop and search and Age UK’s support for older people.

The event, held at The Bridge, in Harrow, on Saturday, was opened by Deputy Mayor of Harrow

Councillor Krishna Suresh.

Cllr Margaret Devine led an interactive session with members sharing their experiences on barriers in accessing to council services.

Neil Ayisi and Tom Jones, of Harrow Police, explained the process of stop and search and why it is important to co-operate with the police if you are

stopped.

Asif Iqbal, president of Harrow United Deaf Club, said: “It was a fantastic evening and a great start to the year 2015. Lots of our members found the evening very useful and thought-provoking. It was also good opportunity for our members to give feedback on how the services can be improved to meet deaf people’s needs.”

Thames Valley Police are appealing for any information after a man was mugged at knifepoint on New Year’s Eve. The 23-year-old was walking in Queens Road between about 4:30am and 4:45am on Wednesday December 31, when he became aware of two men walking behind him. He continued on his journey, only to be approached by the two men, described as being Asian, at the junction of Shackleton Road and Carrington Road, Slough.

One of the two men

produced a knife and demanded that the victim hand over his belongings.

The two men managed to steal a blue and grey Nike rucksack, cash and a red Hewlett Packard laptop during the incident.

PC Zoe Bryant of local CID based at Slough and investigating officer, said: “If you have been offered a blue and grey Nike rucksack or a red Hewlett Packard laptop since New Year’s Eve, or have any other information about the offence then please contact the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on

101. This was an extremely frightening experience for the victim, so I ask anyone with any information to contact police immediately so we can bring the perpetrators to justice.

“If you don't feel comfortable speaking to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.”

risking of lives for, asserted Cabinet member councillor Khizar Hussain: “It is pretty much impossible to tell these dolls are counterfeit, just by looking at them, but they are potentially very dangerous (…)

I would urge anyone who

thinks they may have one to keep them away from children and to get in touch with trading standards for advice.”

The dolls were originally being distributed at a pop-up stall in the area and several have already made it into residents' festive homes. Trading standards can be contacted on 0345 404 0506 if information can be given for tracing. The faulty merchandise was found to be manufactured from China.

Man robbed at knifepoint in Slough

Toxic Disney dolls

Counterfeit dolls of the characters from Disney's hit movie 'Frozen' could be circulating with deadly consequences in Walsall, council authorities have warned.

Figures of the singing princesses Anna and Elsa and their sidekick Olaf the snowman, were being sold with chemicals that have been responsible for cancer, birth defects and infertility in men.

The products are high-standard replicas but are not worth the

14

UK

Reading CCTV foils crack addict drug dealer

A crack addict spotted on CCTV in Reading town centre has been jailed for more than two years for dealing drugs.

On March 14, last year, Atif Ali, pictured, of Alan Place, Southcote, was spotted on CCTV talking to a known drug user.

Two officers stopped Ali in Hosier Street and discovered he had 20 wraps of drugs which were later identified as heroin.

The 21-year-old was sentenced at Reading Crown Court last month after admitting one count of possession with intent to supply at the same court on November 6.

Anthony Eskander, prosecuting, said the 1.58 grammes of heroin had a street value of around £200.

The court heard Ali had started dealing heroin in order to pay off his own

drug debts and fund his habit. He first used crack cocaine in November 2013 which quickly developed into a daily habit up until his arrest this year.

Alan Walker, defending, said Ali’s addiction went unnoticed by his family due to his mum having to fly back and forth to Lahore in Pakistan to care for her mother. He said: “As soon as they were aware they effectively didn’t let him out of their sight.”

Mr Walker said Ali’s

“loving and supportive” family had helped him get clean of drugs.

Since his arrest Ali has focused on work and had managed to secure a twoyear apprenticeship with a heating and gas firm.

However speaking before sentencing Judge Ian Grainger said he could not ignore the fact this was Ali’s second serious drug offence.

He continued: “November 18, 2011 for conspiracy to supply heroin you were sent to a young offender’s institution for two years. You clearly have not learnt the lesson.”

Judge Grainger credited Ali for the positive steps he has taken to turn his life around but said there was no question of suspending the sentence.

Ali was jailed for two years and six months.

Teen missing from home since New Year's Eve found safe and well

growing concern for her welfare after her family had not seen her for nearly four days.

The last reported sighting of her was on the evening of the following day in the Eastlands area of Manchester. But after a police appeal, she has now turned up.

A teenager reported missing from her home in Oldham on New Year’s Eve has now been found.

Kanis Chowdury, 15, who had last been seen in the Eastlands area of Manchester on New Year’s Day, is said to be safe and well.

There had been

SOAS holds gender focused lectures

The SOAS South Asia Institute will be holding two gender focused events on the 12th and 13th February 2015.

On Thursday 12th February at 7pm eminent feminist historian Professor Tanika Sarkar and leading feminist and left activist Kavita Krishnan will reflect on multiple forms of gender violence in India, both in the recent past and under the current government of Narendra Modi, the challenges faced by those confronting this violence, and how it has been affected by India’s neoliberal policies and the rise of the rightwing political forces of Hindutva. This lecture will take place at Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS Main Building, Russell Square.

This will then be followed on Friday with a one-day workshop focuses upon both the structural dimensions of gender injustice and emerging contestations and struggles towards achieving gender justice. Since the December 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-yearold student in Delhi through to the high profile stoning of Farzana Parveen outside of Lahore High Court in Pakistan by male members of her own family and the caste/gender-based rape and lynch-

Professor Tanika Sarkar

Kavita Krishnan

ing of two teenage girls in U.P. in India in May 2014, gender violence in South Asia has been very much in the international spotlight.

The intention of the workshop is to not once again collude in reproducing the spectacle of gender violence in South Asia, but rather to critically engage with movements, policies and processes and to further our understandings of the systemic nature of gender injustice, how it is being simultaneously deepened, transformed and extended by the interventions of the neoliberal state, and the multiple ways in which it is being resisted.

The workshop brings together leading scholars and activists addressing a number of areas, including women’s access to and safety in the public space; the politics of gender in the context of caste and communal violence; neo-

liberal notions of ‘rights’; the Indian and Pakistan states’ attempts to intervene in, regulate and control sexuality; religious supremacism and cultural conservatism; and feminist mobilization and protests.

Speakers include: Tanika Sarkar, JNU, Kavita Krishnan, CPI ML/Liberation , Shahnaz Khan, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, Kalpana Wilson, LSE, Navtej Purewal, SOAS, Sumi Madhok, LSE, Goldie Osuri, University of Warwick, Jennifer Ung Loh, SOAS, Agomoni Ganguli Mitra University of Edinburgh, Naaz Rashid, University of Manchester, Nirmala Rajasingam , South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG) Registration is free.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. To register please go to http://www.soas.ac.uk/ssa i/events/

Honest, hard working Romanians

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 3rd January 2015

While enjoying a long holiday in sunny, warm “George Cross” island of Malta, we had unusual, even unbelievable experience, especially for British people who are brainwashed by media and the self-opinionated Hobbesian politicians who are willing to blame any and every one except themselves to cover up their gross negligence and corrosive inadequacies on political, social and economic front that has ruined this once mighty nation, now no more than a tiny island nation of no significance on the world map except for self-opiated politicians who live in the past with the delusion that we have to police the world and have an empire to run!

Practically every shop we visited in Malta was managed by European migrants, from EU and far beyond but mainly Rumanians, Russians, Bulgarians, from Balkan States and the British, as English is spoken widely throughout the island and Malta was once a British colony.

As we visited these shops on a daily basis, mainly to buy British newspapers, snacks and soft drinks, we became friendly with young Rumanian shop assistants, most in their early twenties, speaking fluent English and many with University degrees in English and other European languages, accountancy and business studies.

They were highly praised by their Maltese shop owners who left managing their shops to these girls, with complete trust, as many have several shops in different parts of Malta. Corner shops thrive in Malta, as multichains and supermarkets are still in their infant stage. Perhaps they will never take off; as Malta is a tiny outpost with low population and blessed with family orientated culture we once used to have in this country but now sadly neglected, eradicated with clinical efficiency?

When we mentioned the reputation of Rumanians in England, as work-shy, dishonest people living on benefits, involved in petty crimes, they were not surprised at all. Their explanation makes sense.

“Like any country, we have fair proportion of work-shy people in Romania and largest Gypsy community in EU. You may believe it or not, these people are work-shy, seasonal migrants with little respect for law and order. But is it unfashion-

able to call spade, a spade.

After all we are ruled by out of touch, Ivory Tower politicians based in Brussels, out of sight, out of touch with reality on the ground.

In Malta we don’t get nor do we expect any benefits or hand-outs. So only people who come here are hard-working, law-abiding, highly educated church going, God fearing people from good family

touch with reality who created this benefit monster out of ignorance, stupidity and holier than thou attitude. It is up to us, the Brits to ponder, put our house in order rather than blame others. The typical example, as highlighted in British media, that a millionaire actress rented her house to her parents, at £15000 annual rent, her parents claiming it in rent allowance! This

Malta

background. Religion still plays an important role in Romanian society, although decades of Communist rule tried to turn us into atheists but without much success. It only went underground for the time being.

Fortunately work is plentiful here in Malta, although it is low paid and hours are long, some 60 hours a week, as shops are open from 9am to 7pm, even longer hours in summer, height of tourist season. But as cost of living is low, weather mild and our needs are minimal; we can manage, even save and remit money home. It is also a safe heaven, as crime is unknown. We girls can enjoy a beach barbeque at midnight in summer without fear of being molested except occasionally by British youths who may have too much to drink.

Unfortunately Britain has earned a reputation in Eastern Europe as scroungers’ paradise; benefits galore where streets are perceived to be paved with gold, even street baggers make £200 a day with ease!

No wonder Britain attracts work-shy people from throughout EU. The fault lies fairly and squarely with British plutocracy living in isolation, out of

may be perfectly illegal but could it be morally justified! Should we allow such extravaganza when bedroom tax drives many disable people from their homes!

We also met a couple of young British couples who came here for holidays and hallelujah, went home with Romanian brides, albeit after visiting Romania and meeting girls’ patriarch parents, gaining their approval and blessings!

At one time British people used to go to Thailand and especially to Philippines to find a nice, home loving, family orientated girl to marry. Now they go to Eastern Europe, even to holiday hotspots like Malta, Cyprus, Madeira, Canaries where they could find, meet Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovakian, Russian girls they could marry and spend their lives in perfect harmony! The trend is still in the infant stage but catching on fast to the detriment of British girls who are perceived, perhaps erroneously to be binge drinking and come from broken homes with low moral standard. A tiny number of British youngsters give this country a bad name throughout holiday hotspots.

- Bhupendra Gandhi

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Charity director 'flattered' to be made OBE

A charity director made an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list said she is “flattered” to receive the honour.

Sajda Mughal, director of the JAN Trust, works to combat violence against women and promote women’s rights.

Ms Mughal joined the charity after nearly being killed in the terrorist attacks in London on July 7 2005. On the morning of the attacks, she was on the Piccadilly line in the same train as Germaine Lindsay, who detonated a bomb and killed 26 people.

She said: “That was obviously a near-death experience and an incredibly traumatic experience.

But it changed my life.

Before it happened I worked in the City. It made me rethink everything.”

Ms Mughal, who lives in Haringey with her three children, has since worked at the JAN Trust’s centre in Bedford Road, Wood Green.

She said: “Every day is different. Sometimes I might be visiting schools

Sajda Mughal

to talk about female genital mutilation, sometimes I might be visiting government ministers to influence policy. I work very long hours, I start early and come home late and then continue working at home. We're underresourced and underfunded.

But I love it. Otherwise I wouldn’t do it.”

The JAN Trust focuses on preventing terrorism by helping mothers engage with their children, as well as working to stop female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriages.

Ms Mughal said that although the number of prosecutions for FGM in the UK was low, the practice is still a problem in

Haringey.

She said: “It’s happening where young women are being taken abroad. At JAN we work by letting young girls know that they can speak out about this and they can say no. We make sure they know that FGM is not something that’s allowed in the UK. “Both FGM and forced marriages are culturally embedded practices, you need to go and speak to people and try to change their minds. We’re the only charity in the UK where we work with the perpetrators.”

Ms Mughal’s work has been commended by the Prime Minister David Cameron.

Recently, she was named by the Evening Standard as one of the Top 1,000 Influential Londoners in its campaigner category.

The JAN Trust has won awards, including ‘small charity big achiever’ in the Third Centre Awards for Excellence 2013 as well as The Centre for Social Justice Award 2013.

Ebola: New vaccine trial begins Scientists at Oxford University have begun immunising healthy volunteers with a new Ebola vaccine. In September last year a separate trial of another Ebola vaccine got under way in the city. This latest trial involves 72 volunteers aged 18-50.

Initial tests in monkeys showed the vaccine, developed by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson, gave complete protection against Ebola.

The volunteers in Oxford are the first humans to receive the vaccine.

Dr Matthew Snape, from the Oxford Vaccine Group, part of the University of Oxford Department of Paediatrics, said: "We aim to immunise all participants within a month.

The trial involves volunteers receiving an additional booster dose one or

Volunteers will receive two doses of the test vaccine

two months after the initial injection.

Similar small trials will also get under way in the US and three African countries unaffected by Ebola.

The first dose is designed to prime the immune system with the second booster dose to enhance the immune response.

The two doses contain different components, but both include genes for a protein from the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus.

The trial organisers stress the vaccine cannot

cause anyone to be infected with Ebola.

The immune response the vaccine generates both antibodies and T cells - will be measured over the course of a year.

Johnson and Johnson said it hoped to begin a larger Phase 2 trial in Africa and Europe within three months and then to have the vaccine available for use in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone by the middle of 2015.

The company says it could have 2m doses of the vaccine available this year.

Banned driver who used fake number plates is jailed for 15 months

A banned driver put a number plate from an identical Kawasaki on his motorbike so he could continue to use it on the roads.

The innocent owner of the identical motorcycle ended up receiving penalty notices for speeding and bus lane violations, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Hammad Sakhi, 25, the son of a Leicester solicitor, eventually crashed his motorbike on a city road – and fled leav-

ing it behind. He then falsely reported to the police that his Kawasaki had earlier been stolen, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Sakhi, of Stoughton Drive South, Oadby, was jailed for 15 months. He pleaded guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice, by using false number plates on his own vehicle, between September 14 and October 23, and making a false theft report, on October 25.

Gary Short, prosecuting, said that Sakhi was banned from driving for four years in December 2011, for driving with excess alcohol. He bought a Kawasaki bike last September and began using it having acquired false plates with the same number as an identical bike he saw advertised for sale.

Sakhi was known to have driven it illegally along bus lanes on 11 occasions, was clocked by an automatic number

UK

15

Taxpayers paid £250,000 to send Shrien Dewani to South Africa British taxpayers paid £250,000 to send Shrien Dewani to South Africa where his murder trial collapsed before he even started his defence.

The Crown Prosecution Service spent £87,908 on QCs and £48,612 on junior counsel for the extradition process.

Officials spent £23,464 on psychiatric reports after the Bristol businessman, 35, was accused of plotting bride Anni’s murder, a Freedom of Information request showed.

The CPS said its solicitors spent 496 hours on the case. Previous figures show they are paid about £69 an hour so their fees add £34,000 to the overall cost.

The care home boss fought a three-and-a-halfyear battle against extradition after Anni, 28, died in Cape Town in 2010.

J u d g e Jeanette Traverso ended his trial there before he was even called to the stand to give evidence.

None of the Hefty bills: Dewani leaving South Africa money is recoverfrom the after having his murder case thrown out able South African Police, transport, medauthorities, the Home ical and other costs are Office confirmed last likely to push the total bill week. to a quarter of a million Anni’s family has pounds. vowed to launch a civil The Home Office and case against Dewani, who Scotland Yard also racked revealed he was bisexual up costs. at his trial.

Maternity units spend millions on interpreters

Interpreters are being drafted on to labour wards at an annual cost of at least £1.5 million.

Data from 55 NHS hospitals, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that they had spent £1,536,497 on interpretation in maternity services in 2013-14, with the most commonly requested language Polish.

Although some hospitals were unable to provide figures, if the rest of the 138 NHS maternity services in England spent the same amount on average, the total cost would be almost £4 million.

Interpreters are used both in delivery suites and in antenatal and foetal medicine clinics. More than a quarter of babies born in England and Wales are born to mothers who arrived in Britain from other countries.

Of 698,512 births in 2013, 185,075 were to mothers themselves born abroad.

The proportion of births to mothers born abroad has increased every year since 1990, when it was 11.6 per cent.

The most common countries of origin were Poland, from where three per cent of mothers came, Pakistan (2.7 per cent) and India (2 per cent).

According to the responses, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spent the most on interpreters in 2013-14, at £359,433, with Polish the most commonly required language.

At Barts, in east London, Bengali and Sylheti were the most requested languages, while in Birmingham and central Manchester it was Urdu, and in east Kent and Sheffield, Slovak.

Last year, there was concern that pregnant foreign women might be coming to Britain with the intention of giving birth free on the NHS. A government report found that over a two-year period, immigration officials at Gatwick stopped more than 300 women in an “advanced stage of pregnancy”.

Alp Mehmet, the vicechairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “Clearly,

increasing demand for interpreters is the result of a growing number of nonEnglish speaking patients.

There is ample anecdotal evidence that points to foreign-born women coming to the UK to take advantage of the UK’s high quality and free maternity services. Data obtained by The Times seems to confirm this.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “The decision on whether to use interpreters is down to individual trusts . . .

Where a patient is chargeable and does not speak English as their first language, trusts can include interpretation costs as part of their administrative charges and the government would expect them to do so. We are also looking at how the NHS can recover more costs from people not entitled to free care.”

plate recognition camera and also went through a speed trap, days before he was in an road accident, on October 23.

The owner of the identical bike lived in the West Midlands and contacted his local police when he began receiving penalty notices for traffic violations he was alleged to have committed in Leicester – when he had not even been in the city.

When falsely reporting his bike as stolen the defendant claimed the gate at home had been damaged, where the

motorbike was kept.

When the police asked Sakhi what his registration number was he said he could not remember it.

The defendant had obtained the false plates to enable him to drive whilst disqualified, on a bike that he legitimately owned, the court was told.

Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Dean QC said: “You have an appalling record mainly involving driving and ignoring sentences involving disqualification from driving.

From 2011 there was a period where you

appeared to have got your life back on track, avoided further driving offences and complied with the disqualification imposed in December 2011, until such time you applied for the disqualification to be reduced – and you succeeded in one instance but failed in getting another disqualification reduced.

“You chose to buy a motorbike and disguised it so you could drive, you hoped, without being detected. It was inevitable you’d be caught. You’re now paying a heavy price for that behaviour.”

16

SPECIAL

Canada to invest Rs 60 bn in Dholera investment region

Canada has proposed to invest Rs 60 billion in the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR).

Canada Trade Commissioner and Gujarat government will sign a formal Expression of Interest (EOI) at the upcoming Vibrant Summit in this regard.

Canada's John Baird, minister of foreign affairs and two other ministers, along with senior government officials have also confirmed participation at the summit. Sources said: “The Canada trade commissioner will sign an MoU with Gujarat government on behalf of various companies, for the development of key infrastructure projects at Dholera SIR. It will invest in devel-

oping roads and other basic infrastructure. The Canada Trade high commissioner will sign MoUs for Rs 60 billion of investments. Several Canadian companies are also keen to invest in defence manufacturing and other sectors.”

Government of India's DMICDC (Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor D e v e l o p m e n t Corporation) has also committed to invest Rs 30

billion to boost the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR).

DMICDC and Gujarat government have decided to form a new SPV to expedite the project. If sources are to be believed, MoUs worth more than Rs 500 billion are expected for investment in the Dholera SIR at the upcoming summit.

At the 2009 Vibrant summit, three investors had announced investments of Rs 1,000 billion, but they didn't materialise.

Now, after DMICDC's direct involvement in the project, it is expected that the project will get a new lease of life.

A galaxy of PMs, envoys to attend Vibrant Gujarat summit

Prime ministers, foreign ministers and ministers from across the globe, along with ambassadors and high commissioners of a large number of countries, have given their consent to attend the 7th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit (VGGIS) beginning on January 11.

They include UN secretary general Ban Kimoon, US secretary of state John Kerry, Bhutan's

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Grueveski.

The Government of India will be represented by a host of ministers.

The VGGIS-2015 is scheduled to be a big

meeting ground for heads of states as well as top honchos of global corporations, banks and f i n a n c i a l institutions.The deliberations are likely to facilitate framing new industrial and related policies.

Prominent among others to participate in country seminars are UK, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, UAE, Israel, Bahrain and Afghanistan.

Customs department said that all exhibition material or consignments related to Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) and Vibrant Gujarat Summit, arriving at the air cargo complex in Ahmedabad would be cleared on priority basis.

“Customs will be proactive and clearance of items arriving for the exhibition in PBD and VGS will be faster,” said Rakesh Misra,

chief commissioner, Customs, Gujarat zone.

Customs department has also set up a facilitation desk at the passenger terminals of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport for officials of countries participating in the two events. According to officials of Gujarat State Export Cargo Ltd (GSECL) which manages

air cargo at the city airport, around 25 to 30 tonnes of material related to exhibitions during PBD and VGS is expected to arrive.

“The materials include cutting-edge technological items and machinery, among other things.

Consignments arriving for conventions or exhibitions do not attract any duty,” said a Customs official.

Nift-Gandhinagar is designing Patola silk stoles to be presented as souvenirs to delegates of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit (VGGIS). The Gujarat government also asked India's premier design institute to prepare brooches, cufflinks and brooch pins bearing a VGGIS logo. Beside this, the institute has readied other accessories for male and female foreign guests.

Nift will also set up an education pavilion near Mahatma Mandir to promote local crafts and traditional fashion from

Gujarat from January 7.

The government has alloted space to the institute to showcase ethnic handloom silk saris manufactured at Ridrol village in Gandhinagar, intricate Asawali brocade fabrics and block prints of Pethapur in Gandhinagar.

Pethapur is a hub of wood block makers, who have been in the profession for about 300 years.

The institute will also display turbans and types of kediyu, a small coat with fitted sleeves and pleated frills at the waist and embroidered shoulders. Ravi Joshi, centre coordinator for fashion

communication, Nift, said: “The government wants us to project fashion beyond ramps and glamorous outfits. It has asked us to showcase local design to the world.” He said they would also display students' documentation books on traditional crafts in the state.

Nift has also put up a `Khadi trends and forecast pavilion' at Vibrant Gujarat Khadi Utsav at Ahmedabad Education Society ground. Nift faculty and students have worked with khadi weavers to showcase the latest uses of the versatile fabric.

Cargo for mega events to be cleared on priority basis

Guests to be presented with silk patolas

Gandhinagar to host P www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is organised from 7th to 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India.

January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.

PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003.

These conventions provide a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities. These conventions are also very useful in networking among the

Around 3,000 people belonging to the Indian diaspora are expected to attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) which is being held from January 7th to 9th at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. The government's key programmes, including ‘Make in India’, will be highlighted during the event.

The annual PBD is being held in Gandhinagar to mark the centenary of the return of the “sarva sreshtha pravasi Bharatiya” or foremost Indian diaspora member, Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa, said India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who is also the minister for Overseas

overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields.

During the event, individuals of exceptional merit are honoured with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to appreciate their role in India's growth. The event also provides a forum for discussing key issues concerning the Indian Diaspora.

In 2015, the 13th PBD will be organised by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar, Gujarat at Mahatma Mandir from January 7th to 9th. PBD 2015 will mark the centenary year celebrations of the return of the greatest 'Pravasi' of all, Mahatma Gandhi, from South Africa.

The Ministry of Overseas

3,000 likely to atte

the new government led by

Indian Affairs

Indian Affairs.

The chief guest of the 13th PBD would be Guyana President Donald Ramotar.

PBD is the world's largest annual gathering of people of

Indian origin aimed at enhancing networking and reinforcing commercial linkages. There are 25 million people of Indian origin residing outside India.

and top officials of Coast Guard, Navy, and national security agencies.

Senior police officials said that the security measures taken by the police were discussed at length in the meeting. “We will conduct more mock drills in coming days to ensure that in emergency situations, the response time is reduced,” added a senior police official. “We have already prepared a lockdown plan for the city in case of any emergency,” he added. Following the meeting with the chief secretary, Ahmedabad police commissioner Shivanand Jha conducted another meeting with senior police officials.

“We have been asked to monitor each and every high risk area of the city, including the hotels,” said a crime branch official.“We are in constant touch with the Special Protection Group (SPG).

AI announces 5 additional flights For the convenience of the participants of PBD and VGGIS, Air India (AI) announced that it would operate five additional return flights on AhmedabadDelhi route. The flights will operate on five specific days during the two events. IndiGo too has announced two daily return flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Ahmedabad from Sunday.

Air India, through its official twitter handle @airindiain, tweeted, “AI is happy to announce 5 addl return flights on DEL-AMDDEL route for participants at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas & Vibrant Gujarat meet in AMD. The 122-seater A319 flight will operate on 5, 6, 10, 11 and 14 Jan 2015. Dep DEL 1035 hrs. Dep AMD 1245 hrs.“ IndiGo's daily flight on Delhi route will depart from Ahmedabad at 7.30 am and from Delhi at 7.45 pm while the Mumbai flight will leave from there at 5.50 am and depart from Ahmedabad at 9.45 pm.

Other airlines are also expected to announce additional flights from Delhi and Mumbai.

Foolproof security for dignitaries

With top world leaders, CEOs of leading companies across the globe and noted NRIs participating in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit (VGGIS) and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) events, the Gujarat Government has decided to set up a Central Control Room to ensure foolproof security to the dignitaries.

The control room, to be coordinated by ADGP-level officers, will function 24x7 till the conclusion of all programmes. “The aim is to provide full security not only to the VVIPs at Mahatma Mandir venue but to all the people in the state as we don't want disgruntled elements to create disturbances anywhere. We have alerted the state agencies to ensure coastal and other securities,” said chief secretary D J Pandian. Earlier, he met senior officials of the armed forces and state police in Gandhinagar and briefed them about the preparedness so far.

The meeting was attended by ACS (home), ADGP Promod Kumar, Major General S K Bhanot, Air Vice-Marshal A Nabh, police commissioner of Ahmedabad Shivanand Jha

ravasi Bharatiya Divas www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) is dedicated to the multitude of Indian nationals settled abroad. Driven by a mission of development through coalitions in a world without borders, MOIA seeks to connect the Indian Diaspora community with its motherland. It provides information,

partnerships and facilitations for all matters related to Overseas Indians (comprising Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). It has four functional service divisions to handle its diverse scope of services: Diaspora Services, Financial Services, Emigration Services and Management Services The Ministry focuses on developing networks with and amongst Overseas Indians with the intent of building partnerships with the Diaspora. Besides dealing with all matters relating to Overseas Indians, the Ministry is engaged in several initiatives with them for the promotion of trade and investment, emigration, education, culture, health and science & technology.

The 13th convention would be “different” from earlier PBDs, said Swaraj. It would be hosting some special events, including a special session for the diaspora youth and also four special sessions. These are to deal with the concerns of diaspora living in the Gulf countries, for those living in Francophone countries, a session for countries where the descendants of Indian indentured labour live and another session to address concerns of the associations of Indian diaspora, the minister said.

Gujarat is the partner country for the event. Asked if West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is at logger-

heads with the BJP, was invited, Swaraj said that she had sent letters of invitation to all chief ministers, and so far ten had confirmed they would be attending. Finance minister Arun Jaitey and commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be addressing the session between the 10 chief ministers and NRI businesspersons, she said.

Swaraj also denied the suggestion that the decision to host the event in Gujarat this time was taken after the new government came into power.

She added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had four years ago, while he was chief minister of Gujarat,

proposed hosting PBD in Gujarat in 2015 and had written about it to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. To another question, she said the ministry is working to merge the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards with the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards and ensure lifelong visa to the holders. On a proposal to grant voting rights to NRIs, Swaraj said that they were examining several suggestions, including having electronic voting machines placed in embassies during elections, allowing proxy voting or having the diaspora member to come home to vote.

Ahmedabad police have procured more than 25 Swissmade SIG assault rifles for security during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Senior police officials said the SIG assault rifle fires the Nato standard 5.56 mm ammunition. Police sources said both the 5.56 ammunition and the SIG assault rifles are used by NATO forces of the United Nations. "The 5.56 round is thinner, very accurate and effective when shooting at long-range targets up to 300 metres away," added a senior police official. The SIG magazine capacity is 30 rounds and can fire a single shot as well as a burst. The weapon could prove important in fighting terror. "We will organize a training session for selected policemen to acquaint them with the weapon," added a police official.

Earlier, city police had

acquired sophisticated MP5 submachine guns. "Select personnel had a training session for the use of the MP5 submachine guns," said the official.

Ahmedabad police have also, for the first time, acquired bullet and trauma proof jackets.

"The jackets are bulletproof and thrust-proof and protect the wearer from the impact and trauma of a bullet hit," said an official. This is the first time Ahmedabad police have been equipped with such modern weapons for security.

"The alert sounded by the central intelligence agencies after the Peshwar attack prompted state police to acquire modern weapons," said a senior official.

Swaraj reviews preparations: Union minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj reviewed preparations for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) celebrations. Swaraj was accompanied by minister

of state for external affairs General (Retd) V K Singh and Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel. The Union minister visited the venue, Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, where she was briefed by various state government officials about the preparations. Swaraj also visited Kanakaria Lake and Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad where cultural events are to be held on January 8 and 9.

She also held meeting with ministers and officials and gave them necessary instructions. She was also shown a presentation covering the celebrations. Swaraj said, “This is the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa. It is a big event for us. For such a big event, the preparations need to be equally grand. I have come here to review preparations for PDB.”

A large number of Indian diaspora from Saudi Arabia will participate in the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), a media report said. The PBD is held from 7th to 9th January every year to mark the contribution of overseas Indians towards the development of their country, Arab News

reported. It was on January 9, 1915, that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa to lead India's freedom struggle. "The event will be celebrated in a grand way this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the return to India of Mahatma Gandhi, the great pravasi (expat), from

South Africa," said an organiser. "All Indian nationals living in Saudi Arabia, including persons of Indian origin, working in different fields such as academia, business, politics, government, media and civil society are welcome to participate in the convention," organiser said.

So far, 12 PBDs have been held in various places of India as follows:

Year 2013 2012 2011 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003

Dates 7-9 January, 2013 7-9 January, 2012 7-9 January, 2011 7-9 January, 2009 7-9 January, 2008 7-9 January, 2007 7-9 January, 2006 7-9 January, 2005 9-11 January, 2004 9-11 January, 2003

Venue Kochi Jaipur New Delhi Chennai New Delhi New Delhi Hyderabad Mumbai New Delhi New Delhi

end the convention

Police get Swiss rifles for security

Large number of diaspora from Saudi Arabia

SPECIAL

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Online Writing Competition on Mahatma Gandhi

“Inspired by Gandhi” and in association with SAMPAD (South Asian Arts Organization) an Online Writing Competition will be organised at Kochrab Ashram, Mahatma Gandhi's first ashram established on his return to India in 1915 on the banks of river Sabaramati in Ahmedabad. Indeed the ashram was a historic place in the annals of our history.

The competition will be held on 9th January, 2015 at 9 am at Kochrab Ashram, Anand Nagar, Paldi, Opp V S Hospital, Ahmedabad – 380007.

Sushri Piali Ray OBE is the director of SAMPAD. It has been very active for several years in UK as well as abroad.

SAMPAD earlier this year organised a major event with co-operation of the Indian High Commission in London where a similar competition on the “Writings of the Tagore” was held.

We are grateful for the permission granted by Shri Rajendra Khimani (RegistrarGujarat Vidyapith) & also of Shri Ramesh Trivedi (Co-ordinator, Kochrab Ashram) to help us organize this event. We have invited a

small number of people from India, especially from Gujarat as well as few NRI friends. Prof.

Lord Bhikhu Parekh who has done enormous work on Gandhiji has also been invited. We hope that he would be able to attend and launch this project with brief address. Dr. Jayshreeben Mehta (Chairman, Indian Medical Council), Shri Krushnakant Vakhariya (President, Vishwa Gujarati Samaj), Shri Vishnubhai Pandya (Secretary, Vishwa Gujarati Samaj), Shri K.H. Patel, (Chairman, NRG Centre), Dr. Balwant Jani, Shri Tushar Joshi, Smt. Mayaben Deepak and several other prominent persons have also been invited for this event.

We would request and appreciate as this invita-

tion can be send to any admirer of Mahatmaji in your contacts. Members of Gujarat Media Club as well as Shri Bhupatrai Parekh, a senior Journalist (Bureau Chief, Hindustan Samachar) have also been invited for this programme. In view of several other programmes involved with Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, we do recognize that a large number of VIPs will be engaged elsewhere. We sincerely hope that you will be able to accept our humble invitation and attend this short but significant programme.

Sincerely yours,

C.B. Patel (Publisher/EditorGujarat Samachar UK & Asian Voice) (RSVP: Shrijit (M) +91 9879882312 eMail:shrijit.rajan@abplgroup.com )

Bank of India to organise NRI meet on Jan 10

Bank of India, a leading nationalised Bank having more than 4,800 branches all over India has 6 NRI branches in India, including 3 NRI branches in Gujarat and 56 foreign establishments. One of those NRI branches at Ahmedabad is headed by the Chief Manager V J Gianani. This branch under guidance and leadership of T Sudhakar, General Manager NBG, and Raj Kumar Mitra, Zonal Manager Ahmedabad Zone, is organising an NRI meet at Ahmedabad on 10th January 2014 where about 200 NRI customers of the Bank will participate.

A Cultural programme by famous singer Ms Maya Deepak has also been arranged on the occasion.

The bank was founded on 7th September, 1906 by a group of eminent businessmen from Mumbai.

The Bank was under private ownership and control till July 1969 when it was nationalised along with 13 other banks.

Beginning with one office in Mumbai, with a paid-up capital of Rs 5000,000 and 50 employees, the Bank has made a rapid growth over the years and

Maya Deepak, Singer and V. J. Gianani, Chief Manager, Bank of India, Ahmedabad NRI Branch most modern infrastrucblossomed into a mighty ture. The Bank has been institution with a strong the first among the nationnational presence and sizalised banks to establish a able international operafully computerised branch tions. In business volume, and ATM facility at the the Bank occupies a preMahalaxmi Branch at mier position among the Mumbai way back in nationalised 1989. The Bank is also a banks. founder member of The Bank SWIFT in India. Presently has 4,828 Bank has overseas presbranches in ence in 22 foreign counIndia spread over all tries spread over 5 contistates/ union territories nents – with 56 offices including specialized including 5 Subsidiaries, 5 branches. These branches Representative Offices are controlled through 50 and one Joint Venture, at Zonal Offices. There are key banking and financial 56 branches/ offices and 5 centres viz., Tokyo, Subsidaries and one joint Singapore, Hong Kong, venture abroad.

London, Jersey, Paris and While firmly adhering New York to a policy of prudence Smt. V. R. Iyer took and caution, the Bank has over as Chairperson & been in the forefront of Managing Director of the introducing various innoBank on 5th November, vative services and sys2012. Prior to this assigntems. Business has been ment, Smt. Iyer was conducted with the sucExecutive Director of cessful blend of traditional Central Bank of India. values and ethics and the

18

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Dear Financial Voice Reader, So how does it look for the stock market this year?

And this picture is quite clear: the US is now done with their easing programme and are biding their time before they start kicking up their interest rate policy and the UK, even though it still has to face its own domestic challenges, is on a similar path of hiking their key interest rate.

What is undoubtedly the most influential piece of news is the long-held discussion on how the European Central Bank will attempt to battle the low inflation and stagnating growth in the region. ECB President Draghi has mentioned numerous times that the ECB stands ready to initiate another round of easing measures to spur the Euro area out of this recession cycle.

So where does this leave Europe and the Single European currency? The answer is simple and yet threatening: vulnerable. If one takes further into account the political uncertainty that the upcoming Greek elections brought to the table then the outlook of the region becomes even more clouded. And unless something changes dramatically this could only mean hard times for the Euro.

But going back to what I hinted on above, one should not overlook the potential fallout that a Greek exit from the Euro-zone might bring in light of the upcoming elections at the end of the month.

What will the likes of Italy and Spain have to say if they see that the Euro-zone stood firm against the grim reality of Greece after years of austerity that could end up forcing them to leave the Euro-zone? Any political and financial union is primarily built on trust and such trust could erode pretty fast should its members start flocking away, voluntarily or not.

So what does the UK stand to gain or lose over these potential developments? We might not be a part of the Euro-zone and we should be thankful to have an economy that can stand on its own two feet however the Euro-zone is the UK’s prime trading partner. The British banks and business have tremendous exposure on the European economies so we stand to lose quite much. With voices now discussing whether the UK should remain part of the European Union in the years to come this issue becomes even more important.

It is my view that the UK has more to gain if it remains an ally of the Euro-zone member states and it will be to our own benefit if the Euro-zone manages to pick itself up during the present year. However I have my doubts about it and this could mean that the domestic stock market might take a hit in the months to come if the Euro-zone encounters more trouble so money is to be made or lost out of it.

My intention is to follow the price swings on the FTSE 100 for this year as I believe it will be very sensitive to the geopolitical developments overseas and at the same time I have my attention fixed on the British Pound. I am of the opinion that the Pound will battle fiercely with the US Dollar now that both economies are ready to hike their domestic interest rates so I advise that you look for reversal opportunities and play the ranges on the GBP/USD rates.

As for the Rupee – I would expect it to remain around 100 to the Pound or weaker.

Re 1 notes make a comeback After two decades, one rupee notes are set to make a comeback, although in a different colour.

Instead of the familiar indigo, the new Re 1 notes will be predominantly pink-green on the front and back in combination with others, a finance ministry notification said.

Unlike other currency notes, the Re 1 notes will be issued by the government. As was the norm earlier, the Re 1 note will be signed by the finance secretary, while the Reserve Bank of India governor will continue to

sign notes of all other denominations. “It contains the words `Bharat Sarkar' above the words `Government of India' with the year 2015 on the representation of the Re 1 coin with the rupee symbol having floral design and the surrounding design has a picture of `Sagar Samrat', the oil exploration platform.

Niti Aayog replaces India's Planning Commission

The Modi government has replaced the 65-year-old Planning Commission, a leftover from the Socialist era, with a Niti Aayog or National Institution for Transforming India, marking a major shift in policymaking by involving states.

To be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the new body will have a governing council comprising chief ministers of all states and Lt Governors of Union Territories and will work towards fostering "cooperative federalism" for providing a "national agenda" to the Centre and states. The membership of states has rendered the National Development Council, a body of CMs that would approve FiveYear Plans, defunct.

The new body, which would remain at its predecessor's address in Lutyen's Delhi will have a vice chairperson and chief executive officer.

Economist Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as the first vicechairman of Niti Aayog, which will have two fulltime members - economist

Narendra Modi

Bibek Debroy and former DRDO chief VK Saraswat.

The PMO also nominated home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, railways minister Suresh Prabhu and agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh as ex officio members.

Transport minister Nitin Gadkari, HRD minister Smriti Irani and social empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot will be special invitees. However, two elected chief ministers - of Delhi and Puducherry - will not be members of the new Niti Aayog. The Article 239 of the Constitution defines both Delhi and Puducherry as Union

Territories and therefore, their administrators - lieutenant governors - will be members of the panel. The two parttime members would be from leading universities and research organisations, the number of full time members has not been specified as yet.

Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge would also be part of Niti Aayog as "special invitees nominated by the PM".

Prime Minister Modi who announced the dismantling of Planning Commission in his maiden Independence Day speech last year, hailed the replacement in a series of tweets, saying that the inclusion of of CMs and LGs will "foster a spirit of cooperative federalism".

"Through Niti Aayog, we bid farewell to a 'one size fits all' approach towards development. The body celebrates India's diversity and plurality," Modi tweeted.

The scrapping of Planning Commission

addresses the long-held view that the body which was conceived at a time when the Centre was supposed to occupy "commanding heights of economy" had outlived its relevance because of diminished role of the State and the emergence of the private sector and because of the foci of economic activities shifting to states.

Beginning with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's dismissing the body as "bunch of jokers," the Commission's utility had been increasingly called into question, with state governments protesting against their limited role in the planning process despite Congress' protests against what it has called the assault on Nehruvian policies.

In its statement, Modi government focused on the lament of states about the "top-down" approach and how the new body would be the remedy. An important evolutionary change from the past will be replacing a centre-tostate one-way flow of policy by a genuine and continuing partnership with the states.

India’s Manufacturing activity surges in Dec

There is good news for policy makers as manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in two years in December boosted by new businesses and overseas orders. The HSBC India Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which provides an overview of manufacturing operating conditions climbed to two-year high of 54.5 in December, up from 53.3 in the previous month. The PMI is an advance indicator and augurs well for the industrial output data in the months ahead. Recent core sector data has shown some improvement in industrial activity after a 4.2% contraction in October.

If the momentum is sustained, it bodes well for overall growth, which

the government expects to pick up in the quarters ahead on the back of improving sentiment and investments. The latest data also painted a brighter picture in terms of prices, as inflationary pressures eased during the month. This should provide some headroom for the Reserve Bank of India to ease interest rates and help boost growth. Sharp moderation in inflation

has raised the pitch for interest rate cuts.

“A steep rise in new orders from the consumer sector more than offset a slowdown in new order growth from investment goods. In our view, a rise in the latter is critical for a meaningful pick-up in economic growth,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. “In line with falling commodity prices over the

last few months, input price inflation was modest, and this trend was also mirrored in output prices. With the disinflationary trend gaining ground, RBI is expected to find space for some rate cuts in 2015,” he said.

According to a number of survey participants, the latest rise in production was supported by stronger order books. Data reflected improving demand in December, as new orders increased for the 14th consecutive month. The rate of expansion was marked overall and the fastest since the end of 2012. Similarly, manufacturing companies registered a rise in new export business in December.

New work from abroad expanded at the quickest pace since April 2011.

In a bid to encourage investments in domestic manufacturing, the government of India allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under automatic route in the medical devices sector.

Such investments would also be exempted from other caveats such as the `non-compete clause', which is applicable for FDI in existing pharma-

ceutical manufacturing units.

“Easing of norms for medical devices industry by creating a special carve-out in the existing FDI policy in the pharma sector will encourage FDI inflows,” said an official statement issued after the Union Cabinet meeting.

While the move is expected to attract several big ticket investments in

the sector, many of them are already lined up in Gujarat, industry sources said. Companies such as Siemens, Philips, GE and Vygon, which already have a presence in the sector, are likely to pour in more money for expansion in the country.

The idea is to bring down imports, while tapping the global market for medical devices by pro-

moting local manufacturing. At present, India imports over 70% of medical devices and the global market for medical devices is estimated to reach over $400 billion next year. The government is set to finalize a proposal for creating a special manufacturing hub for medical devices near Gandhinagar in Gujarat, one source said.

Govt okays 100% FDI in medical devices

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

REAL ESTATE VOICE

The Ganesh Baba

19

A very unassuming gentleman came to see me last year, he was from Kenya and said he wanted to start investing in the UK. He had some funds which were going to become available soon. I of course said we could help, as that’s what we do day in day out.

During the course of the conversation he asked for my date and time of birth. I gave it. There are many clients we deal with who are into the occult arts of numerology and astrology, so I thought nothing much of his interest and lumped him in with this group.

We try and accommodate such clients when doing their deals, they like certain numbers on property and they don’t like others, they want to exchange on certain dates and avoid others.

He mentioned he had a deity of Lord Ganesh he worshipped in his home and that I should come over and see it. I liked the man, and so decided I would take the time out to visit him.

So a few months later I arranged to go and see him, he asked me to come on a Saturday morning. It was an ordinary house I visited, however on entering the front room there was an undeniable charge of energy in the room where his large deity of Lord Ganesh sits, in the bay windows occupying a primary position in the room.

He then proceeded to tell me how special this deity was.

I wasn’ t re ally buying into it, everyone thin ks whic hever form of God they worship is the most special and their c hil dren are so mehow the best in the world. So I po litely l isten ed, he ment io ned to me this form of Lord Gan esh wit h the trun k g oing on the right side is very ve ry rare an d not many de vo tees of Lord Gan esh worship t his form d ue to the tigh t regul ation s o f worsh ip involved , this form is kno wn as Sid hi Vinayak . There is a temple in Mumbai which has a deity l ike this one and it attracts c ro wds of thousands daily, it is on e o f th e richest templ es in In dia.

they started digging in the location specified; lo and behold a deity appeared.

Work promptly stopped and a temple was built around this deity, it is visited by many devotees daily. This was interesting and coincidental.

On the way back from this trip we stopped off in Mumbai, where I visited a shop selling murtis, the whole of the third floor was devoted to only Lord Ganesh murtis, since the population of this city is obsessed with Lord Ganesh, even many Muslims.

Still not totally convinced regarding the special form with the right handed trunk I interrogated the salesman to see if he was selling a right handed trunked Lord Ganesh, he stepped back and said there is no way they could sell this form or even convince someone to have it made.

Being a complete ignoramus in regards to this subject I still boxed this conversation as a man’s rambling in religious fervor, and politely nodded through the conversation.

Then he changed his subject and started speaking about me, as I’m interested in myself that got my attention. He proceeded to tell me various things about me which no one knew, my faults and attributes and whom I should do business with, which days were lucky for me etc. And at the end he definitely had my attention.

Normally astrologers tell you certain things and then ask you for money, and then even more money to neutralize something which isn’t right in your charts.

B ut t his wasn’ t his game, as he wasn’t an astrolo ger, he was a businessman and a succ essfu l one , an d fu rthe rmore he wasn ’t asking for o r expect in g anyt hing.

Somet ime later I broug ht an It alian frien d o f mine do wn to the house alo ng with his f iancé e, the y to o were g ob smacked with what was said in re sponse to their e nqu iries; t hey nick named the Indian man Gane sh Baba.

OK - maybe th is was a rare and special dei ty and th e i n f o r m a t i o n d i d n ’ t j u s t c o m e f ro m G a n e s h B a b a ’ s re l i g i o u s f e rv o r. T h e re w a s s o m e t h i n g m o re t o t h i s b e yo n d th e emoti on the baba felt.

A few months down the line we had a company trip arranged in Goa, the resort was owned interestingly by an English musician from Harrow, Middlesex. He advised us to go and see a temple of Lord Ganesh – no less. But this deity was in the middle of a stone quarry. Apparently when they were digging for stone, one of the workers had a dream that a deity of Lord Ganesh was buried so

The baba said to me a couple of months ago he would visit any properties we have and would advise on which ones were having issues from the vibrations they gave. He also claimed he could help to neutralise these issues.

Given the experience I had I took him to see a few properties which for various reasons were stuck, and were not selling with the speed they should be. The blockages were manifested in various ways, one had a joint freeholder who had become a pain in the rear and was purposefully causing issues every step of the way.

He visited the properties and said two of the three properties had blockages to them and the third one although it wasn’t selling was the best and had a good vibration too it. He advised me to light incense sticks in each property every time I visited to neutralise any bad vibrations.

The Real Deal

Old Church Lane, Wembley, NW9 Purchase Price: £875k l l l l l

I h a v e a l s o b e e n re a d i n g u p o n l a y l i n e s a n d h o w i n a n c i e n t t i m e s p l a c e s o f wo r s h i p s w o u l d o n l y b e b u i l t o n certain lines and po ints o n th ese lines. Even c urrent i m p o r t a n t b u i l d i n g s w h i c h a re h o u s e s o f p o w e r a r e b u i l t a c c o rd i n g t o t h e s e l a y l i n e s .

A large house in the heart of Wembley Freehold Large garden Huge garage We believe the value of this property is currently £1m l Can be converted into three flats subject to planning permission l We expect the value of this property, after conversion, to be in excess of £1.5m l Very good development opportunity

When looking at investments you generally use logic, past prices, location etc. But the ancient sciences of Astrology and Vastu can be powerful indicators too. The issue is many who practice these arts have incomplete knowledge and often vested interest and therefore their opinions cannot be relied upon.

I am a novice when it comes to these matters but am aware there is something worth looking at these aspects when considering investments. Most investment decisions rely on the past but this science can give you the tools to peer into the future.

Call us now to secure this deal!

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Tips of the Week l Property funds are a good solution for people looking to invest in London property but don’t have enough spare time or don’t have deep pockets. l Investors investing in property funds get the returns in two forms – dividends and capital growth.

20

BUSINESS

Arun Jaitley promises more autonomy to PSU banks

India's finance minister Arun Jaitley promised more autonomy to staterun banks to run business with a “commercial mindset” while terming the level of bad assets in the system as "unacceptable."

"There are unacceptable levels of NPAs (nonperforming assets) in some cases and the banks have to be given a sufficient amount of leeway ... to deal with commercial issues with a commercial mindset," Jaitley told reporters on the sidelines of a twoday bankers' retreat at Pune.

The finance minister said there was need to bring about changes in many areas in state-run banks, including giving "far greater autonomy" and allowing them to hire the best talent. The two-day banking conclave was held last week at a crucial time when India was moving towards accelerating the pace of growth, he said.

The government, which a majority owner in 27 public sector banks, that control over 70 per cent of the system, wants to hear the problems plaguing the sector from the bankers and external experts as "they know the best where

Jaitley promises more reforms

The Narendra Modi government has undertaken several reform initiatives since assuming power but there are still challenges which the Indian economy faces and the government is committed to resolve them in the new year, finance minister Arun Jaitley has said.

“Investment needs to be enhanced and encouraged.

Infrastructural spending has to be stepped up.

Manufacturing sector has to be given a major push.

This has to be done both through encouraging public and private investment.

This is our resolve for the upcoming year,” Jaitley said. The government has unveiled a series of reform initiatives since it came to power after its stunning election victory in May. “In the past seven months, the government has undertaken more reform oriented measures than any government in recent memory,” Jaitley said. Some of the steps include outlining the vision of cooperative federalism through the creation of successor to the Planning Commission.

The new structure would provide an alternative to the command and control economy.

He said the government cleared the mess in the coal and power sector, a law has been introduced to facilitate a transparent and non-discretionary method of allocation of coal blocks.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

PM asks banks to embrace Swachh Bharat project While speaking at the 60th year celebrations of ICICI in Mumbai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the banking sector to embrace his pet Swachh Bharat project and asked them to finance young entrepreneurs willing to float ideas with hygiene, sanitation and cleanliness as the main themes. Modi said that ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank, could think of funding at least 100,000 young entrepreneurs who are willing to work in areas like waste management, power generation from waste materials, public sanitation, etc over the next one year as it adds one more area of finance to its bouquet of offerings.

Modi also said that the top management of the bank should engage its people working at the grass roots level and decide how it can try to change the banking space in the country over the next 15 years, when it turns 75. “Decide what changes you can bring in for the nation...set a target for achieving those targets by the time India turns 75 in 2022 and also

when the bank turns 75 in 2025,” he told the gathering.

The PM also dedicated to the nation Akodara, a village in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district, which was adopted by ICICI Bank and transformed into a fully digital village complete with technology-enabled banking, audio-visual teaching programmes in schools and vocational training for youths ready to join the workforce.

Complimenting the bank for their initiative, Modi said that there should be competition among banks to provide digital banking to people across the country . He also said that a cashless banking system has the potential to address the problem of black money in the country. The PM said that although we are a nation of savers, but the same is concentrated in gold. He asked banks to take financial security to a level which could eventually prompt people to shift from their habit of buying gold as their future security to keeping money in banks.

“Banks could act as the agents for social transformation” the PM said.

The BSE Sensex fell as much as 3.06 per cent and the broader NSE index lost as much as 2.2 per cent, heading for their biggest fall since September 3, 2013, when the rupee was still reeling from its worst market turmoil since the 1991 balance of payment crisis. According to the latest update, Sensex had plummeted down to 26,990.35 points, marking a fall of over 850 points, on Tuesday.

"Markets are reading the slide in crude oil prices as a symptom of potential recession in the world economy. Some more fall will actually make India further attractive for investment," said G

Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a research and fund advisory firm.

Earlier in the day, the Nifty January futures contract fell as much as 5 per cent to 8,000 points, which multiple dealers attributed to an unusual trade relative to where the contracts were trading at.

The quarterly earnings season kick-starting with Infosys' results on Jan. 9,

the RBI's rate decision and the budget in February are seen as next key triggers.

Blue-chips led losses.

ICICI Bank lost 3.3 per cent, while Infosys fell 1.8 per cent Tokyo's Nikkei led an Asian share slump following painful losses in New York and Europe, with fears sparked by the global slump in oil prices and the Greek political crisis.

The euro sat near nineyear lows as the uncertainty in Greece raised the prospect it could leave the eurozone.

Investor fears intensified after oil prices fell below the psychological $50 a barrel mark in US trade.

Over 40 Indians and people of Indian-origin, including technology wizards, inventors and policymakers, have been named

by Forbes in its annual list of "young game changers, movers and makers" under the age of 30 from around the globe.

The fourth annual compilation by Forbes includes 600 millennials in 20 fields, including consumer technology, retail, entertainment, science, finance, media, social entrepreneurs, law and policy and enterprise technology.

The list includes big

names like Harry Potter actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, actor Zac Efron, basketball player James Harden and NBA star Chris Paul.

There are 44 Indians and people of Indian-origin in the list, who are doing exemplary work like inventing an inexpensive method of purifying water, working on international food security initiatives and developing crutches that don't hurt armpits.

In the venture capital category is Nitesh Banta, 28, who co-foundeded Rough Draft Ventures that

helps student entrepreneurs receive up to USD 25,000 to start a company.

In the consumer technology category is Ankur Jain, 24, who co-founded 'Humin', an app that organises contacts, social networks and calendars into a neat, searchable interface.

Avinash Gandhi, 26, is making waves in Hollywood as an agent for talent agency William Morris Endeavour. Partha Unnava, 22, is the CEO of Better Walk which develop a better set of crutches that don't hurt people's armpits.

the shoe pinches", he said.

"I am certain this conference is going to pave a way for a new roadmap," he added.

The meeting comes at a time when the gross NPA in the system has touched 4.5 per cent in September 2014, and days after strong commentary from RBI about state-run lenders lagging behind their private sector rivals on asset quality management.

The finance minister said there was a need for the banking sector to fund infrastructure and manufacturing sectors to support the ambitions of higher growth.

"There is a need now for the banking system in India in a big way to finance infrastructure, manufacturing and infuse liquidity. There is also a need to conceive several reforms in the banking sector," he added.

Sensex, Asian stocks sink; euro near nine-year low

Microsoft sues Indian company for fraud

Technology giant Microsoft has taken several companies, including an Indian one, to court alleging that they falsely claimed to be Microsoftaffliated technical support.

"In its first big strike against technical support scamming companies, Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in California against Omnitech Support and related entities for unfair and deceptive business practices and trademark infringement," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

One of the companies named in the case filed recently is C-Cubed Solutions Private Limited, which the court papers said is "a private business company formed under the laws of India" that operates the mail server through which "fraudulent technical support businesses communicate with customers".

Microsoft's suit said that 3.3 million Americans fall victim to technical support scams every year and lose $1.5 billion. Describing the fraud, senior Microsoft attorney Courtney Gregoire wrote in a company blog, "These scammers claim to find nonexistent computer viruses and infections then con people out of their hardearned money for bogus tech support, in addition to stealing personal and financial information or even installing new malicious software." Microsoft has received over 65,000 complaints about such scams since May, she wrote.

The court papers specifically mention alleged frauds using websites and phone numbers from the sites leading to scammers that Microsoft said it had investigated.

Many people in the US have reported receiving telephone calls - in several instances from persons speaking with an Indian accent and using Indian

names - claiming to be from Microsoft or a related organisations and saying a problem has been discovered in their computer.

In a typical call a person identifying himself as "Raj" from Microsoft called from a number with a Washington, DC, telephone area code and claimed that the company had identified a problem with the computer. Asked in one instance how he knew about the problem and if he had hacked the computer, "Raj" said he had. When he was told that hacking was a crime, he hung up.

Unwary computer users who take the bait are asked to visit a website or to download a program, which will introduce a malware that can collect information like logins and financial data or their machine is used to spread malware. The information collected can be used for identity theft.

In other cases, they ask for remote access to the computer and demand credit card numbers to collect their fees.

According to Snopes, a website that tracks internet misinformation and fraud, people in several countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and England, have received such calls.

Microsoft's lawsuit filed December 18 names three companies, besides C-Cubed Solutions, and two individuals. It said that Marc Haberman, Rachel Eilat Haberman, and Jay Wurzberger were among C-Cubed Solutions' directors.

The main reason for the alleged scammers' success, the suit said, "is that they create an impression that they represent or have an association with Microsoft".

Through this they divert "consumers from identifying and contacting a legitimate technical service provider for their service needs", the complaint added.

Over 40 Indians in Forbes annual list of global prodigies The retail category features Aman Advani, 26, who co-founded 'Ministry of Supply', a men's fashion company that has developed shirts that use Nasa-developed technology to manage heat and moisture. In the sports category, 29-yearold Ishveen Anand founded OpenSponsorship, which is the first online platform to facilitate sponsorship agreements by connecting brands with pro-sports rights holders like leagues and teams. The group currently includes Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni and

F1 team Force India.

Vijay Chudasama, 28, is working in one of the hottest areas for new biotechnology drugs of combining antibodies with other medicines.

Vinith Misra, 27 is working on the Chef Watson machine, which applies artificial intelligence to create new recipes. Vivek Ravisankar, 27, co-founded HackerRank, a service company that can use coding challenges to find new engineering talent.

Its paying customers include Facebook, Amazon, Zynga, Walmart, and the White House.

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

21

Foreign Exchange

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

Pound looses ground against Euro It was a quiet news week over the festive period for the pound.

However the pace of annual house price growth continued to soften as 2014 drew to a close, slowing from 8.5% in November to 7.2% in December. This marked the fourth consecutive month in which annual growth has moderated, despite house prices increasing by 0.2% month on month in December. The slowdown in housing market activity is surprising given further steady gains in employment, a pickup in wage growth and the continued low level of mortgage rates.

The Pound lost ground on Friday and fell from annual highs against the Euro after UK manufacturing unexpectedly slowed to a three-month low in December as weak growth in overseas markets such as the euro area undermined demand. The report showed overseas orders stagnated in December, highlighting the economy’s dependency on domestic demand to sustain growth.

The Bank of England also said that consumer credit rose

1.3 billion pounds ($2 billion) in November, the most since February 2008. It also said mortgage approvals declined in November, though by less than economists forecast.

In the US initial Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 280,000 in the week ending Dec. 20, the fewest since early November, from 289,000 in the prior period.

Rising demand is encouraging businesses to take on more workers.

Better job prospects and cheaper fuel costs signal increased consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, will provide another boost to the expansion this quarter following growth from July through September that was the strongest in more than a decade.

Consumer confidence rose in December, according to the latest Conference Board report, but not by quite as much as expected. The board’s index climbed to 92.6 from 91 in November

(revised up from 88.7). This was slightly below forecasts of 93.9. Consumers’ view of current conditions was more favourable in December, with those saying business conditions were good unchanged at 24.8% but those saying they were bad

falling from 21.8% to 19.6%.

The Dollar took full advantage of the UK’s figures on Friday, strengthening over two cents against the Pound despite disappointing manufacturing figures from the US. In Europe Greece faces snap elections this month that risk

severing the international lifeline that has supported the country since it sparked Europe’s sovereign debt crisis in 2010. Yields on the 10-year Greek bond jumped after the result of the vote was announced in parliament. The benchmark Athens Stock Exchange dropped 4 percent after falling more than 11 percent earlier in the day, the biggest slump among 18 western-European markets.

The value of the euro fell to its lowest level since the middle of 2010, following comments from Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB).He hinted again that the bank might soon start a policy of quantitative easing to try to stimulate the Euro zone economy. The aim would be to stop the continued fall in the general level of prices.

The euro fell 0.4% after Mr Draghi's comments were made public.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 6th January 2015 @ 4pm

GBP - INR = 96.14

USD - INR = 63.34 EUR - INR = 75.46 GBP - USD = 1.52 GBP - EUR = 1.27

EUR - USD = 1.19 GBP - AED = 5.57

GBP - CAD = 1.79

GBP - NZD = 1.95

GBP - AUD = 1.87

GBP - ZAR = 17.73

GBP - HUF = 405.51

www.rationalfx.com

Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

Monday January 5th

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22

WORLD

US 'certifies' Pak govt's action against Lashkar

New Delhi: US secretary of state John Kerry has signed off on a certification that makes Pakistan eligible for an aid package under the Kerry-Lugar Bill.

The US authorization has created outrage in India.

The Kerry-Lugar Bill, also known as the "Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009", requires the US administration to certify that the Pakistan government has taken action to prevent "alQaida, Taliban and associated terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba from operating in the territory of Pakistan".

The US is set to grant $532 million aid package to Pakistan under KerryLugar Bill to spur economic growth, community

Lakhvi challenges his detention

Islamabad: Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who has been remanded to police custody in an abduction case, challenged his detention on charges of kidnapping in a Pakistani court. "Lakhvi has filed an application in the district and sessions court against implicating him in a false and fabricated FIR," Lakhvi's counsel Raja Rizwan Abbasi said.

"The FIR has (a) ghost character (abducted person) as well as carrying a concocted story to keep my client behind the bars," he said, alleging that the government had done so under India's pressure. ust before Lakhvi was to be released last week, he was arrested on charges of kidnapping a man named Muhammad Anwar Khan, an Afghan national. In a FIR registered at a police station in Islamabad, Anwar said he was kidnapped by Lakhvi six years ago. The police also got Lakhvi's two-day physical remand from a judicial magistrate.

Lakhvi, 54, was granted bail on December 18 in the Mumbai attack case but was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO). He challenged his detention under MPO in the Islamabad high court which suspended the government order, evoking a strong reaction from India.

Lakhvi is being kept under high security at the Shalimar Police Station here. He will be produced before the court in the kidnapping case.

A Pakistan interior ministry official said that the police would seek his further physical remand. “The police will seek extension to his remand for at least one week," the official said.

John Kerry

building and counter-terrorism efforts, American envoy to Pakistan Richard Olson said. Olson said the fund would be given for energy, counter-terrorism, economic growth, community building, education and health. US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to visit India and Pakistan in January 2015.

In fact, both Obama and John Kerry would kick-off their foreign trips of the year with India, which officials said is reflective of the serious efforts made by the administration to not only strengthen India-US relationship but also to send a message to the countries of the region and other major international players too.

Preparations would begin in full swing this week, for Obama's India visit to attend the January 26 Republic Day Parade as chief guest. His visit would be preceded by Kerry's Ahmedabad visit to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Thereafter Kerry is likely to travel to Pakistan for US-Pak strategic dialogue.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Experts have questioned Pakistan's intention to fight terrorism given its reluctance to take action against Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hafiz Saeed. Three weeks before the mass execution of school children in Peshawar, Hafiz Saeed, the head of the Lashkar rebranded as the Jamaatud-Dawah - had convened a massive public rally in Lahore. Pakistan government had provided logistical support to two-day congregation of JuD in Lahore.

India had said Pakistan's support to UN-designated terrorist and Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed and his proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawah was "nothing short of mainstreaming of terrorism."

Bangladesh locks opposition leader Khaleda in office

Dhaka: Two activists from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party were shot dead on Monday in clashes with ruling party supporters.

"Both are from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party who joined a protest outside Natore. Both were shot dead during clashes with Awami League supporters," Mohammad Fariduddin, a police inspector in the northern town of Natore, said.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh authorities stepped up their siege of opposition leader Khaleda Zia, mounting a blockade of her office to thwart her bid to spearhead protests on the first anniversary of controversial elections.

Trucks laden with sand and bricks were wedged outside the gates of Zia's upmarket Gulshan office in Dhaka and at the mouth of the road leading to the

Khaleda Zia

building where she has been confined since Saturday night.

Riot police, flanked by armoured vehicles equipped with water cannon, prevented anyone from entering or leaving the premises, said a journalist at the scene. "The trucks have been parked in an effort to step up her security," Gulshan police chief Rafiqul Islam said amid heightened tensions in the capital.

Zia, leader of the main opposition Bangladesh

Nationalist Party (BNP), has urged activists to take to the streets in their thousands as part of a campaign to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to hold fresh multi-party polls, describing Monday as "Democracy Killing Day".

"She has urged people to join a mass rally. She would also try to join the protest," Zia's spokesman Maruf Kamal Khan told reporters. Hasina, who has been in power since 2009, was re-elected on January 5, 2014, in what was effectively a one-horse race after the BNP and around 20 other opposition parties boycotted the polls over rigging fears.

Zia's boycott was sparked by her arch rival's refusal to step down ahead of the election and allow the contest to be organised by a neutral caretaker administration which has organised previous polls.

Two-thirds of cancer cases due to bad luck: Study

Washington: The majority of cancer cases can be explained by "bad luck" rather than the result of environmental factors and inherited genes, a US study said. The study, published in the US journal Science, found that two-thirds of adult cancer incidence across tissues might be caused by random mutations that occur in dividing healthy stem cells.

The findings, based on a statistical model that quantified how much of three factors - bad luck, the environment and heredity contribute to cancer development, might help researchers design more effective prevention strategies for different cancer types.

"Changing our lifestyle and habits will be a huge help in preventing certain cancers, but this

may not be as effective for a variety of others," Xinhua quoted co-author Cristian Tomasetti, assistant professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, as saying. "We should focus more resources on finding ways to detect such cancers at early, curable stages." It was well-known that cancer arises when tissue-specific stem cells make random mistakes, or mutations, when one chemical letter in DNA is incorrectly swapped for another during the replication process in cell division. The more these mutations accumulate, the higher the risk that cells will grow unchecked, a hallmark of cancer. The actual contribution of these random mistakes to cancer inci-

dence, in comparison to the contribution of hereditary or environmental factors, was not previously known. In the new study, researchers analysed published data on stem cell divisions in 31 different human tissues and compared the data to the lifetime incidence of cancer in those tissues. They determined the correlation between the total number of stem cell divisions and cancer risk to be 0.804.

"Our study shows, in general, that a change in the number of stem cell divisions in a tissue type is highly correlated with a change in the incidence of cancer in that same tissue," said co-author Bert Vogelstein, professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

In Brief

Pak govt may shelve Musharraf treason case

Islamabad: Pakistan is considering shelving the treason trial against former military ruler General (retd.) Pervez Musharraf in order to mend fences with the powerful Army. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had initiated the treason case against Gen Musharraf in December 2013 for abrogating the Constitution in 2007 when he had imposed emergency. The threebench special court conducted 80 hearings to dispose of some 26 petitions, which the defence filed to delay the case. The Express Tribune has reported that after surviving a wave of protests in 2015, the government wants the issue to linger on till the functioning of a special tribunal created to try Gen. Musharraf becomes irrelevant. Already, the official prosecution team has refused to prosecute abettors in this case, citing it as “unending process of trial.” “This is part of a new strategy in the changing circumstances after the Peshawar incident,” commented an Interior Ministry official, adding that “it is also part of overall scheme of the federal government to improve relations with the military establishment”.

Pak court stops execution of death row convict

Islamabad: A Pakistani court ordered the authorities to stop the execution of a death row convict involved in the killing of a soldier in 2000. Lahore High Court’s two-member bench headed by Justice Abdus Sami Khan halted the execution on the petition filed by the counsel of the convict Faiz Ahmad. Ahmad’s counsel Abdul Khaliq told the court that his client’s appeal against the death sentence had been pending in the Supreme Court since 2009 and requested to set aside the death warrant. The court ordered the jail authorities to stop Ahmad’s execution and issued a notice to the Punjab government to file a reply on January 5. The convict had killed Lance Naik Tariq Mehmood in 2000 at Nankana Sahib, some 80 km from Lahore.

2-year-old shoots, kills his mother

Hayden: A 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after he reached into her purse at a northern Idaho Walmart and her concealed gun fired, authorities said. The 29-year-old woman was shopping with her son and three other children, Kootenai County sheriff's spokesman Stu Miller said.

Her family had come to the area to visit relatives, he said. The woman, whose identity was not released, had a concealed weapons permit. Miller said the young boy was left in a shopping cart, reached into the victim's purse and grabbed a small-caliber handgun, which discharged one time. Deputies who responded to the Walmart found her dead, the sheriff's office said. The woman's husband was not in the store when the shooting happened. Miller said the man arrived shortly after the shooting. All the children were taken to a relative's house. The shooting occurred in the Walmart in Hayden, Idaho, northeast of Spokane, Washington. Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for Walmart, said in a statement the shooting was a "very sad and tragic accident."

Boko Haram seizes key military base in Nigeria

Kano: Suspected Boko Haram militants have seized a military base outside the Nigerian town of Baga near Lake Chad after engaging troops in a fierce battle that lasted several hours, witnesses said. “They (the militants) overwhelmed the troops and forced them to abandon the base which the gunmen took over,” local resident Usman Danssubdu told reporters after fleeing to neighbouring Chad following raids. The base is used by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), established in 1998 to battle cross-border crime. The force is made up of troops from Nigeria as well as Niger and Chad. Hundreds of fear-stricken Nigerians from Baga and five other towns and villages have poured into neighbouring Chad to escape Boko Haram raids, witnesses said. Residents of Kauyen Kuros, Mile 3, Mile 4, Baga, Doron-Baga and Bundaram fled across the lake in fishing boats and canoes into Chad following hours-long attacks by militants from the Islamist group.

7 more bodies recovered from AirAsia crash; total 16

Pangkalan Bun (Indonesia): The investigation into the AirAsia crash has turned to the ocean floor, with more sonar equipment and metal detectors deployed to scour the seabed for wreckage, including the plane's black boxes. Sixteen bodies have been recovered. A helicopter from the USS Sampson brought the corpses to Pangkalan Bun, the town nearest to the site.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

In Brief

Imran Khan confirms marriage to former BBC anchor

New Delhi: Former Pakistani cricketer-turned-politican Imran Khan has confirmed his marriage to a former BBC anchor, according to Pakistan media reports. "I am going to Pakistan to share the good news of my marriage with the nation. I have nothing to hide," he was quoted as saying by Pakistani media, which spoke to him at Heathrow airport late on Monday night before he caught a flight to Islamabad. Khan also told the Pakistani reporters that getting married "isn't a crime".

The 62-year-old head is the head of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party. There have been rumours doing the rounds for the last few days that Imran Khan had secretly married former BBC anchor Reham Khan in a hush hush wedding. Imran is believed to have tied the knot last weekend with Pakistani news anchor Reham, 41, who is a divorcee and mother-of-three. She lived in Britain for part of her previous marriage, when she was a weather girl and presenter on the BBC regional news programme 'South Today'.

Miss America wants to do social work in India

Washington: Nina Davuluri, who was 24 when she became the first Miss America of Indian origin last year, has come a long way since the night of her win.

Although she's been hard at work to promote cultural diversity even after her year-long reign ended, the racial slurs that stemmed from her victory are still something we remember. Davuluri says that she was prepared for the backlash, and expected it too. "Miss America is a very service-oriented job. Everyone wants to win Miss America, but no one wants to do the job. It's not as glamorous as people might think. I'm at the forefront a speaker and an advocate for my platform, which is celebrating diversity," she explains, adding, "Now that my reign is over, I'm looking forward to transitioning and doing a lot more social work in India itself.”

Philippines storm toll rises to 53

Manila: Two days after a tropical storm Jangmi hit central and southern parts of the Philippines, the toll rose to 53. The storm, known locally as Seniang, first made landfall in Surigao del Sur province. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that 26 people were injured and eight people are still missing, Xinhua reported. A total of 52,082 families or 226,883 people were affected by Jangmi which triggered landslides and flashfloods, the report said. Jangmi maintained its strength as it moved closer to Palawan island in the western part of the country, packing peak winds of 65 kms per hour. Due to inclement weather, 17,656 passengers were stranded at ports, 14 domestic flights have been cancelled, 43 roads and 22 bridges are not passable in Visayas and Mindanao regions.

UN drops Hafiz's `sahib' tag

United Nations: A UN panel has regretted the use of the salutation `sahib' for the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and issued a “revised“ letter removing the word after India objected to it. The chair of the Security Council's al Qaida Sanctions Committee issued a revised letter in which it has “regretted the mistake“ in the previous letter dated December 17. The committee's chair is Gary Quinlan, who is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN. Quinlan had made the reference to Saeed in the communication regarding banned terror outfit Lashkare-Taiba and its founder.The new letter clearly mentions the correct primary name of the Pakistani terrorist as Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. Saeed himself is a UNdesignated terrorist. The resolution entails freezing of funds and assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities, and prevention of entry into or transit through their territories by designated individuals.

Indian-origin man reappointed as top advisor to Singapore President

Singapore: Veteran Indian-origin civil servant J Y Pillay was reappointed as the top advisor to Singapore's president. The 80-year-old Pillay was sworn in and reappointed as the chairman of the Presidential Council of Advisers (CPA) for a period of four years by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Pillay, was also reappointed as a member of the CPA. Both appointments are for a further period of four years, with effect from January 2, 2015, the President's office said. As chairman of the CPA, Pillay will exercise the functions of the President's office in the absence of President. If he is unavailable, the speaker of Parliament would act as the head of state. The CPA, formed in 1992, advises the President in various areas, including safeguarding the past reserves of the Government, and key appointments in the public service.

WORLD

Pak lawmakers vote for military courts to try insurgents

Islamabad: Pakistani lawmakers on Tuesday passed legislation for military courts to try insurgents, one of a raft of measures aimed at clamping down on increasingly brutal attacks after Taliban gunmen massacred 134 children last month.

The bill secured the unanimous vote of the 242 lawmakers present, 14 more than the two-thirds majority it required.

Lawmakers from religious parties and an opposition party led by former cricketer Imran Khan abstained. The law is now expected to be passed by the upper house and signed into law by the president this week.

It will stay on the books for two years, allowing military courts to try anyone accused of terrorism offences. Most politicians in Pakistan agree

that military courts must be used to curb Taliban attacks because civilian courts are too cowed and corrupt to jail militants.

But some have raised concerns about the dramatic expansion of military powers in the coup-prone country.

The army is often accused of only targeting groups that stage attacks in Pakistan while tolerating others focused on neighbours India and Afghanistan. The courts will have a limited man-

date, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said last week.

"Military courts will not be used against any politician, seminary, businessman, media person or common citizen," he said.

"Nor is it a forum for dispensation of justice." On Monday, the Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah released a video vowing more attacks on children. The government and the military say Pakistan's Taliban insurgency amounts to a war, so

23

there is a precedent for the use of military courts.

"It is not desire of the Army but need of extraordinary times," military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said in a message on social media website Twitter last week.

"Will return to original system when normalcy returns." Senator Afrasiab Khattak, a human rights activist, said he reluctantly supported the law.

"We have always stood for the independence of judiciary, but unfortunately they cannot deal with the hard-core terrorists," he said, citing attacks on judges and prosecutors.

He urged the government to strengthen the civilian judicial system. There is no full-time law minister, police are poorly trained and underfunded and witnesses and court officials receive no protection.

US stands by plan to pull troops from Afghanistan

Washington: The United States on Monday stood by plans to halve the number of its troops in Afghanistan this year and reduce them further in 2016 despite Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's suggestion that President Barack Obama review his deadline.

But Ghani's comment adds to a growing debate over whether the White House will stick to its plans, already amended twice, of cutting US troops to about 5,000 by the end of this year and drawing down to a "normal" US embassy presence in Kabul at the end of 2016.

Ghani may have also given political cover to Obama should the president decide he needs to renege on his withdrawal pledge to preserve shaky gains made over 13 years of war and to avoid a collapse of local forces that Iraq witnessed last year.

"My guess is that he probably will re-evaluate these decisions in due course," said James Dobbins, who was Obama's special representative for

Afghanistan and Pakistan until July. Among the factors at play are the course of the war itself; reconciliation efforts between the government and Taliban; US public opinion and the 2016 US presidential debate.

If Obama decides to change course, he may find a more receptive domestic audience.

American skepticism about the Afghanistan war seems to be moderating in the face of the rise of Islamic State fighters who have seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory following the US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011.

According to a

Washington Post-ABC poll, support for the war in Afghanistan has risen since 2013. A 56 per cent majority says it has not been worth fighting, but 38 per cent said the war was worth the costs, up 10 percentage points from the record low in July 2013.

Speaking in a television interview, Ghani made his case for a greater US presence in an understated manner. "Deadlines concentrate the mind. But deadlines should not be dogmas," Ghani told the "60 Minutes" program on CBS. "If both parties, or, in this case, multiple partners, have done their best

to achieve the objectives and progress is very real, then there should be willingness to re-examine a deadline."

Asked about Ghani's comments, Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said, "The drawdown plan remains in effect and there have been no changes to the drawdown timeline."

When announcing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on May 27, Obama gave no hint of flexibility, saying the United States would have approximately 9,800 troops there at the start of 2015, roughly half that number at the end of the year, and would be down to "a normal embassy presence" when 2016 ended.

While stressing that the US combat mission in Afghanistan would end in 2014, Obama made two exceptions: targeting the remnants of al Qaeda and training Afghan security forces. However, he has already shifted his May 27 stance in two respects since making the speech last year.

Rajapaksa urges Tamils to vote for him

Colombo: The Sri Lankan President said his rival, opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, is a stranger to northerners whilst he as President had done much to serve the Tamils. Battling a flurry of defections and accused of sending troops to the Tamil-dominated northern region to prevent them from voting in the January 8, 2015 polls, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa appealed to the minority community to trust him and vote for his party. “There is a saying that the known devil is

Mahinda Rajapaksa

better than the unknown angel,” Rajapaksa said addressing a rally in Jaffna, the erstwhile stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam. Rajapaksa said his rival, the opposition unity candidate

Maithripala Sirisena, is a stranger to northerners whilst he as President had done much to serve the Tamils. “I have given you electricity and improved everything for you”, he said. His Jaffna visit came after the main Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, decided to back Sirisena. Rajapaksa also faulted the TNA-run Northern Provincial Council. “They did not use the money given to them to work for you,” he alleged.

The opposition had alleged that the govern-

ment had deployed soldiers to keep the Tamil voters away from polls. The TNA won over 85 per cent of the vote and routed Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition in the September 2013 Provincial elections.

A low Tamil turn out is expected to help the incumbent in the direct contest between him and Sirisena.

Meanwhile, Rajapaksa suffered the 26th defection of a parliamentarian from his party to the opposition ranks since his announcement of snap polls seeking a third term.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Karnataka HC starts hearing on Jaya’s plea

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court began hearing on an appeal filed by AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa challenging her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.

Justice C.R. Kumaraswamy began hearing after refusing the pleas of Jayalalithaa’s counsel, who sought adjournment for a few days stating that senior advocates from Delhi would be arguing the case. Earlier, Subramanian Swamy, on whose private complaint the initial probe began in 1996 before the anti-corruption wing took over the case in 1997, personally appeared before the court and requested the court to allow him to be an intervener.

Asking about its need, the judge told Swamy to make a

plea in writing so that it could be considered as per law.

Meanwhile, an application has been filed on behalf of DMK leader, K. Anbazhagan to allow him as an intervened as the trial court had permitted him to assist the special public prosecutor.

DMK leader seeks role in Jaya appeal: Meanwhile, DMK veteran K Anbazhagan

parts of her home country too. The report quoted Jacqueline as saying, "That was the main purpose of this visit. Salman donated 200 lenses to facilitate cataract operations in certain underprivileged areas. It bothers me that people can't see the good in any initiative. All they want to do is identify an ulterior agenda behind every good cause. Salman is an individual in his own right and knows both Rajapaksa and his son Namal well. If he wants to drum up support for Rajapaksa that's his choice and nobody can question it."

secretary and treasurer.

Chennai: DMK treasurer There was drama at the resiand heir-apparent M K dence of Stalin, as scores of Stalin denied reports that he his supporters, including was in the race for the posimany district secretaries tion of party general secredropped in. In May last year tary, a post currently held by too, there was a similar resigveteran leader K nation drama by Anbazhagan. Earlier, Stalin following the there was buzz in DMK's rout in Lok DMK circles that Sabha polls. He was Stalin would not file the face of the party's his nomination for poll campaign then. the post of treasurer, Although he owned which he holds now, up responsibility, he as a mark of protest. withdrew his resignaStalin dismissed tion following presthese as 'rumours' M K Stalin sure from his supportand accused the ers. His estranged elder media of spreading such brother M K Alagiri who has speculation. been expelled from the DMK The DMK's organisationfor anti-party activities, indial polls are underway and cated he might consider rethese reports came ahead of joining DMK. "I shall think the the filing of nominations, about returning to the DMK scheduled on January 7 for if the party mends its ways," the top three positions in the said Alagiri. party - president, general

Jayalalithaa

Tamil parties brand Salman Khan 'traitor'

Chennai: Political parties in Tamil Nadu have branded Bollywood actor Salman Khan “traitor” and “betrayer” after he campaigned for Sri Lankan president during his controversial visit to the island nation. Pictures of Salman Khan and his “Kick” leading lady, Jacqueline with Mahinda Rajapaksa went viral online. Across the border this was seen as a lastditch effort by the President to boost his prospects in the upcoming elections scheduled for January 8.

Inviting the ire of Tamil parties, DMK and MDMK, Salman was dubbed as a "betrayer" and a "traitor" following the 'special appearance.' Defending the actor, Jacqueline said it was she who insisted that Salman extend the efforts of his Being Human charity to

accepted his request to transfer the case out of Tamil Nadu, holding that an opposition party is like a watchdog on the party in power. On August 21, 2013, the SC permitted Anbazhagan to assist the prosecution and file written submissions. Accordingly, he filed a 430-page submission in May 2014, and was also represented by his counsel in trial court proceedings throughout.

Anbazhagan said Jayalalithaa and her three associates-N Sasikalaa, J Ilavarasi and V N Sudhagaran, with the help of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DV&AC) of the Tamil Nadu police, tried to close the case without allowing it to come to its logical end.

has once against sought to assist the prosecution against Jayalalithaa. He has filed a petition in the HC registry requesting to be impleaded as a party to the appeal proceedings, his counsel A Saravanan said.

In his petition, Anbazhagan underscored his relevance to the prosecution, and said since AIADMK’s return to power in 2011 in Tamil Nadu, the accused had been doing everything to derail the prosecution. He said he had intervened at all stages of the trial to ensure that justice is not derailed by powerful persons being tried for serious corruption charges.

Anbazhagan was part of the prosecution since 2003, when the Supreme Court

Ex-Punjab CM Beant Singh's killer arrested in Thailand

"We had been folBangkok: Thai lowing him for a police have arrested while, but at one a fugitive Sikh terpoint he slipped off rorist who was the radar," Prawut involved in the said. Sources here assassination of forsaid that Singh could mer Punjab chief have been travelling minister Beant on a fake passport as Singh and several the police said the others in 1995. Thai "Pakistani" terrorist National police faces extradition to spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri Beant Singh India. Singh escaped from a high-security said 37-year-old prison in 2004. The swift Gurmeet Singh entered action followed a recent Thailand in October and request by minister of state was arrested in the eastern for home Kiren Rijiju to province of Chon Buri on Thai authorities to help capMonday. ture the terrorist. Rijiju A team of Chon Buri made the request when he provincial police and solvisited Bangkok late last diers raided a house on Soi year for a UN meet.

Mabyailia in tambon Nong Last week the national Phreu in Bang Lamung dispolice chief had announced trict and arrested Singh, one that a special unit would be of six Sikh militants convictset up to target transnationed for the 1995 blast which al criminal gangs operating also killed several others. in Thailand or using the Officers also arrested country as a shelter. Some Pakistani national Ali Alat, foreign criminals and gangs 48, the owner of the house. consider Thailand to be a Alat said that he was not haven, including paeaware about Singh's crimidophiles, financial con men, nal background. The two electronic card skimmers, men were taken to Nong robbers, drug traffickers and Phreu police station for terrorists. interrogation.

Not eyeing DMK general secretary's post: Stalin

Castration case against Dera chief Ram Rahim

Chandigarh: The CBI has started preliminary investigations into the allegations of castration against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The Haryana police had handed over the documents related to incident to the agency.

Sirsa DSP Jagdish Kumar said that a team of CBI sleuths, headed by inspector Arvind Kumar, was given the documents.

"We have also assured to assist the agency as and when required," he added.

Sources in CBI confirmed that the process to register the case against Dera head was already underway. In addition, it was decided to lodge separate cases after the recording of statements of the victims it could approach or victims approaching the agency during the course of investigations.

CBI officials confirmed to have been approached by seven such alleged victims who recorded their statements before the Haryana police. They had refused to undergo the medical exami-

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

nation. Last month, while disposing off the petition moved by one Hans Raj Chaujan, a victim of castration, the Punjab and Haryana high court had ordered CBI probe into the case.

Behead me if charge is proved: Ram Rahim Rejecting allegations of forced castration inside his ashram, Ram Rahim said he should be beheaded if the charges against him are proven. “This is cent per cent false. I never asked anyone to do so. I would get my head chopped off if I ever asked anyone either in Satsang or in alone to do so...not even once since 1948,” Singh said at his Ashram. “What else I can say beyond this,” he added.

South Brief

Taxi cab, auto drivers in TN to get unique ID number

Coimbatore: Call taxi and autorickshaw drivers across Tamil Nadu will soon be allowed to run vehicles only with a licence from the state government which will contain a unique driver identity number (UDIN). The government issued an order containing draft rules and regulations for call taxis and auto drivers in the state on December 31. The GO has been sent to police and transport authorities across the state, seeking their suggestions and recommendations before January 8. As per the draft rule, a sixdigit alphanumeric UDIN will be allocated by the regional transport officer to drivers holding a valid driving license, a badge authorizing them to drive a transport vehicle, and a police verification certificate.

Andhra CM Naidu promises to stand by farmers

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu promised the farmers that he would make the VGTM region, now part of the Capital Region Development Authority as the political and cultural capital of the State and urged the farmers not to sell their lands as the future holds better things. He also told the villagers that he would ensure that they enjoy the first fruits of development. He also made several promises to farmers which included unconditional waiver of all farm loans, allotment of developed residential and commercial plots in the same zone, waiver of stamp, registration duties, Nala fees on land transactions and interest free loans up to Rs 2500,000.

Illegal explosives trade booms in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Bengaluru is sitting on a time bomb, even as police look the other way. The minor blast triggered by a detonator in a school is just more proof of the illegal explosives market thriving in the city. Illegal trade in gelatin and ammonium nitrate is rampant as they are widely used for blasting in construction work and illegal quarrying. That the city is already in the shadow of terror was witnessed only recently, when a bomb went off killing a woman. Police officers admit in private that if subversive elements begin working in cahoots with those trading in illegal explosives, the city is in deep trouble.

North Brief

Haryana to teach Gita in schools

Chandigarh: The Haryana government has decided to teach Bhagavad Gita in schools from next academic session. Education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that it would be taught from class V to XII while terming the Gita “supreme source of culture and human values in society.’’ Sharma said the scripture is not only about dialogues between Arjuna and Krishna but is accepted worldwide as a supreme source of knowledge.

Traffic violators presented with roses on New Year

Kapurthala: In a unique way to spread traffic awareness among people, the police here greeted the traffic violators with red roses on New Years day. Nearly 1,500 motorists, including those not wearing seat belts and two-wheeler riders without helmets, were offered roses by the traffic cops, a senior police official said. "It was the first day of the new year and we thought of doing something different. The idea behind the exercise was to discipline traffic violators and to create awareness about road safety and inculcate the need to follow traffic rules," Kaputhala SSP Dhanpreet Kaur said.

Income tax notice to Vadra's firm

New Delhi: The Income Tax department has issued notice to a business firm owned by Robert Vadra as part of its probe to understand the “financial structure” of the company and real estate projects undertaken by it. Sources said the notice has been issued by the I-T department to Sky Light Hospitality which has its offices in Delhi and Gurgaon and the taxmen have asked company officials to disclose details about the transactions and sale deeds executed from the financial year 2005-06 by the firm.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

Sunanda Pushkar was murdered: Delhi Police

Almost an year after Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel in New Delhi, the police have registered a case of murder. Saying that Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned and that the poison was either administered to her by mouth or injection, the police have relied on medical and forensic reports while registering a case under section 302 of the IPC. A special team led by DCP (south) Prem Nath and additonal DCP (south) Kushwah has been formed to investigate the case. The police will go for a re-investigation in the case which was being probed under 174 CrPC, treating the death as unnatural.

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel room in Delhi on January 17, 2014.

'Stunned' Tharoor offers to cooperate Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, said in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, that he was stunned to know that his wife Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned and that a murder case had now been filed. In a statement, Tharoor said: "Needless to say I am anxious to see that this case is investigated thoroughly, and (I) assure the police my full cooperation. Although we

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BJP-PDP deal to form J&K govt nearly sealed

Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor

never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and the unvarnished truth should come out," he said.

He added that he and all members of Pushkar's family wanted access to all the information on the basis of which Delhi Police had concluded that she was poisoned to death. "We have not been provided copies of the post-mortem report and other reports of the inquiry like the CFSL report till date. We repeat our request for a copy of these reports to be provided to us immediately," said Tharoor.

Left, BJP ask Tharoor to resign The Left and the BJP in Kerala have asked Shashi Tharoor to resign

from the Lok Sabha after Delhi Police said that his wife Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned to death.

Former Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan said the Congress should publicly apologise for "protecting" Tharoor when he was a minister in the Congress-led central government. "Now with a murder case registered, Tharoor should resign and make himself available for the probe," the CPM leader said in a statement.

State BJP president V Muraleedharan asked Tharoor to resign from the Lok Sabha. "The Congress should apologise to the people for fielding him (in the Lok Sabha polls)," said Muraleedharan.

Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy declined to comment on the case.

Get ideas from common man, Modi tells ministers

Jitendra Singh (centre) with BJP leaders after a meeting with party president Amit Shah in New Delhi

With BJP president Amit Shah set to hold a crucial meeting with the party’s Jammu and Kashmir core group in New Delhi, state BJP leaders seem hopeful about government formation in the state. Sources said the BJP’s central leadership and the Peoples Democratic Party PDP) have reached an agreement over government formation and the party core group would be informed about this consensus.

Addressing people in Jammu on Sunday, J&K BJP president and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma said people of the Jammu region came out united on a single platform this time and voted for the BJP so that real development could take place in their areas.

Many centrally sponsored schemes are waiting to come to Jammu and Kashmir and after the formation of the new government in the state, such schemes will be implemented which will benefit the common man of all three regions of the state,” Sharma said, indicating that the BJP would be part of the next government in

the state.

BJP’s Kashmir spokesperson Khalid Jehangir said talks were going on with the PDP for a stable alliance and things would get clear in the next few days. People of Jammu and Kashmir want a good chief minister and good governance. It doesn’t matter whether the chief minister is from Jammu or Kashmir. The CM’s region or religion is no issue,” he said on Sunday.

Jehangir added that in the core group meeting in Delhi, the party would deliberate upon various issues regarding government formation. Besides Jugal Kishore Sharma, three former state BJP presidents and Shamshar Singh Manhas, MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh and party leaders Kavinder Gupta, Bali Bhagat and Rajiv Jasrotia are members of the core group.

The core group is the final body to take the decision on government formation with the help of BJP president Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Sources said the BJP has accepted some conditions of the PDP on issues

such as Article 370, AFSPA and full-time chief ministership.

However, other issues are cropping up as the PDP is keen to retain portfolios of power, home and finance.

A senior BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity that if the party enters into an alliance with the PDP, both parties will focus on development. The PDP, meanwhile, says its core agenda is peace, dialogue and reconciliation.

The Mehbooba Muftiled party insists that crossLoC trade and travel have to go on and further steps need to be taken to widen the circle of trade between PoK and Jammu and Kashmir. The party further says that gradual withdrawal of the AFSPA and return of power projects to the state are some core issues on which it won’t compromise.

“If at all it comes into being, the BJP-PDP tie will be an issue-based alliance.

We are confident that we will not compromise on the issues for which the people of Kashmir have trusted us and helped us to win,” PDP spokesperson Naeem Akhtar said.

CBI may soon examine exPrime Minister Manmohan Singh in connection with allocation of Talabira II coal block to Hindalco in 2005 when he was in charge of the coal ministry too. Sources say Singh, likely to be examined in a few days, will be questioned on the eligibility of the private company for bagging the coal block after rejection by the screening committee.

The former PM is also likely to be questioned on allegations levelled by CBI earlier in its FIR in 2013.

It was alleged that the company got the coal block even after being rejected by the screening committee. Sources say that after the rejection the allotment may have been made after two letters were routed to the then coal secretary PC Parakh through the PMO. They

also allege that a personal meeting with Kumar Mangalam Birla may have also influenced the decision. Singh can be questioned on these allegations too. However, the CBI refused to tell the exact date of questioning.

Special judge Bharat Parashar had last month directed CBI to examine Singh in the case. The agency has to file its report

by January 27.

CBI , in the past, had examined TKA Nair, former principal secretary to Manmohan Singh, and two more officials.

The PMO had then defended the allocation to Hindalco, saying that Singh had approved it on the basis of merits placed before him and had taken full responsibility for it.

Hindalco has also defended the allocation and said that it was eligible for the

block since the company was the first applicant.

The company was also backed by the Odisha government.

Judge Bharat Parashar ordered CBI to examine the former PM saying “eyebrows are certainly raised” in the manner in which PMO and the coal ministry had handled Birla's plea. “If the subsequent meetings which Birla had with the PM and with PC Parakh or with Dasari Narayan Rao are seen coupled with the two letters dated May 7, 2005 and June 17, 2005 written by him to the prime minister requesting for allocation of Talabira-II coal block, then a concerted effort was being made to manipulate the entire government machinery so as to protect the interest of Hindalco,” the court had said.

CBI to question Manmohan soon

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked his Council of Ministers to ensure that the budgetary allocations for the respective ministries are spent evenly throughout the year and denounced the practice of utilising funds at the fag end of the financial year.

A month before the beginning of the budget session, Modi asked his ministers to get “out of the box” ideas from the common man through electronic means including web portals of various ministries so that they can be incorporated in the Union budget.

Addressing cabinet ministers and ministers of states at his official residence, he made a presentation on e-books being

prepared by various ministries and said transparency in governance should be achieved through e-means. He also asked the Ministers to put the seven north-eastern states as well as Sikkim on their map and asked them to spend “reasonable” duration of time in these states, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters after the meeting.

The Prime Minister’s office made a presentation on e-books and web portals on which various ministries have already started work.

Modi emphasised that more and more ideas should be taken from the people and recalled that the “Swacch Bharat” tagline was also a result of such

interactions with the common man.

He said ministries should work in such a fashion that their budgetary allocations are spread evenly throughout the year and said at least the government departments should not spend their allocations at the fag end of the financial year.

He said spending the allocations uniformly is the best way to ensure that ministries get the desired budgetary allocation in the next financial year.

This is the first meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Modi this year. He had been holding such meetings regularly with his ministerial colleagues after he assumed office in May last year.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

C B Patel, Bhupatrai hold talks with Gujarat ministers regarding Ahmedabad-London flight

C B Patel, All-Party Committee for Direct Flight UK Coordinator, and Bhupatrai Parekh, Coordinator for India, met Gujarat ministers regarding Ahmedabad-London direct flight. They met Gujarat minister for finance, energy and civil aviation Saurabh Patel and had a long discussion on resuming direct flight.

They also met education minister Bupendrasinh Chudasma, cottage industry minister of state Tarachand Chheda, cooperation and village development state minister Jayantibhai Kavadia at Gandhinagar. All the ministers assured their full cooperation for the resumption of direct flight.

C B Patel and Bhupatrai also met Waghbhakri Tea group chief Piyush Desai.

He also assured his wholehearted support for the cause. C B Patel had telephonic talk with Congress leader Shankersinh Vagela

and BJP chief whip in Rajya Sabha Mansukhbhai Mandavia. Mandavia is the convenor of Campaign Committee. They also met BJP national vice president Purushottam Rupala regarding the direct flight.

Continued from page 1 leaders, which will be followed by seminars. "This time seven countries are participating as partner countries in the Vibrant Summit. These countries are Japan, Australia, Singapore, the UK, Netherlands, Canada and South Africa. Delegates from the USA and China are also scheduled to take part in the seminars.

"We have invited CEOs of Fortune-500 companies, chief ministers of different states, union ministers, heads of academic institutions, economists and other important dignitaries from world over for the Summit," Patel said.

In order to promote the event in Gujarat as well as in other states, road shows were organised. According to Patel, the road shows were held in Surat, Bharuch, Rajkot, Gandhidham, Vapi, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar.

PBD to see more than 500 meetings The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 (PBD), the flagship event of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), is likely to see over 500 pre-scheduled business meetings during the PBD and the Vibrant Gujarat Summit between January 7 to 13 in Gandhinagar. Calling it the biggest PBD so far, Charu Mathur, chief executive officer, Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC), the economic engagement arm for the diaspora of the MOIA, said that "The B2B meeting starting during the PBD would continue

throughout the year.

There is a huge spike in the interest levels from the non-resident Indians this year, especially from the Gulf region."

The OIFC is a publicprivate partnership between the MOIA and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) formed to facilitate the economic and intellectual engagement of the Indian diaspora with India. It is working towards setting the stage for the ninth annual "Market Place Forum" from January 7 to 13, during the PBD and the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. The 'Market Place Forum', a premier business networking platform for PBD delegates would be inaugurated by the Minister of External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs, Sushma Swaraj.

Mathur added that the OIFC will be signing MoUs with various business associations for strengthening connections with the Indian diaspora.

"After our diaspora Engagement Meets in Bahrain and London in 2014, we have received multiple queries from the Indian diaspora on sectors of clean energy, education and skills, healthcare, infrastructure and real estate," she claimed adding that the diaspora is curious to know about how the new government at the Centre is working, handling things. "They want to witness what is happening on ground here in India," Mathur said.

PBD is celebrated on January 9 every year to mark the contribution of

C B Patel, Bhupatrai with Saurabh Patel

Private secretary of Shankarsinh Vaghela Raval & Journalist Jayendra Upadhyay

Piyushbhai Desai of Waghbakri Group

Minister Tarachand Chheda and Govindbhai Patel, Former MLA Chhabilbhai Patel

Modi to open Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Vibrant Summit

Saurabhbhai Patel, State Minister Jayesh Radedia and Tourism Secretary Sonal Mishra

overseas Indian community in the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever. The PBD is organised between January 7-9 every year since 2003.

As per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotions (DIPP), ministry of Commerce, the total foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows from individual non-resident Indians (NRIs) from January 2000 to April 2013 was $ 4684.25 million. Net inflows under various NRI deposit schemes of the RBI increased significantly during 2013-14 and stood at $38.9 billion while it was $14.8 billion in 201213. About seven per cent of the funds remitted by the overseas Indians are invested in land, property and equity shares. While 20 per cent of the funds are parked in bank deposits, share of remittances used to meet family expenses has come down from 61 per cent to 49 per cent, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) survey.

Around 3,000 people belonging to the Indian diaspora are expected to attend the PBD. The chief guest of the 13th PBD would be Guyana President Donald Ramotar. PBD is the world's largest annual

gathering of people of Indian origin aimed at enhancing networking and reinforcing commercial linkages. There are 25 million people of Indian origin residing outside India.

The 13th convention would be “different” from earlier PBDs, said Swaraj.

It would be hosting some special events, including a special session for the diaspora youth and also four special sessions.

These are to deal with the concerns of diaspora living in the Gulf countries, for those living in Francophone countries, a session for countries where the descendants of Indian indentured labour live and another session to address concerns of the associations of Indian diaspora, the minister said.

Security tightened With top world leaders, CEOs of leading companies across the globe and noted NRIs participating in the events, the Gujarat Government has decided to set up a Central Control Room to ensure foolproof security to the dignitaries.

The control room will function 24x7 till the conclusion of all programmes. “The aim is to provide full security not only to the VVIPs at Mahatma Mandir venue but to all the people in the state as we don't want disgruntled elements to create disturbances anywhere. We have alerted the state agencies to ensure coastal and other securities,” said chief secretary D J Pandian.

Jayantibhai Kavadia

Bupendrasinh Chudasma

Bupendrasinh Chudasma and Fromer Member of Rajya Sabha Jayantilal Barot

Tarachand Chheda

Jayendra Upadhyay

India foils possible Pak terror attack

Continued from page 1 thereafter, the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in explosion and major fire on the boat. “Due to darkness, bad weather and strong winds, the boat and persons on board could not be saved or recovered. The boat burnt and sank in the same position, in early hours of 1st January. Coast Guard and other security agencies were maintaining high vigil in maritime and coastal areas since last couple of months due to several inputs on threat from the sea.”

Gujarat coast on surveillance: After the incident, the entire Gujarat coast has been put on surveillance with at least six aircraft continuously monitoring it. "The entire Gujarat Coast has been put on surveillance. Around six to seven aircraft are continuously monitoring it. The Coast Guard is also vigilant," said Inspector General Kuldip Singh Sheoran, Commander of Coast Guard Region (North-West). "We are trying to recover something from it but haven't found anything yet. It is a matter of investigation and the intelligence agencies are looking into it," he added.

Pak boat was carrying suspected terrorists: Defence Minister: India's defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday, "I think they were suspected terrorists, as they committed suicide. A normal boat even carrying drugs can surrender.

The Coast Guard has done the right job at the right time based

on intelligence inputs. The route taken by the boat was not normal, even the smugglers normally take the busy route so that they can mingle with other boats."

Parrikar said and added that the boat was laden with explosives and could have damaged the Coast Guard vessel.

Pak seizes two Indian boats off Guj coast: Three days after the incident, Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (MSA) reportedly “apprehended” two Indian fishing vessels with 12 fishermen on board. The two boats Jhelelal and Jalaram -were seized by the MSA (Pakistan's counterpart of the Indian Coast Guard) from the notional international maritime boundary line (IMBL) off Jakhau coast on Saturday night.

Fishermen association leader from Porbandar Manish Lodhari said they had received a message from the fishermen about the seizure by MSA. In Rajkot, an Indian Coast Guard official confirmed the abduction of Gujarati fishermen but said their identity was not yet established. He said, “We would need to get in touch with the fisheries department of the state government to establish their identities.” But in New Delhi, maritime authorities said they had no confirmation of the reported seizure of the two Indian fishing boats. “Seizure of each other's boats is a normal practice since fishermen from both sides cross the IMBL for a better catch on a daily basis,” said an official.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

HEALTH WATCH

Sushma’s Health & Beauty Blog

Honey works well for weight loss

A

ccording to research, you could drop weight in about three weeks, simply by taking a spoonful of honey before bed. Here's why honey works well for weight loss.

What is the honey diet?

Founder of the honey diet, Mike McInnes, discovered that athletes who ate foods rich in fructose such as honey burnt a lot more fats and had increased stamina levels as well. Honey acts as a fuel to make the liver produce glucose. This glucose keeps the brain sugar levels high and forces it to release fat burning hormones.

To benefit from the honey diet, simply replace your sugar intake with honey, throughout the day.

In addition to that you should consume three spoonfuls of honey with hot water every night before bed. Combine this with an exercise regime

(try and exercise three times a week) and you will notice a sizeable drop in your weight. The study showed that the mechanism in the brain that caused the sugar craving could be shut down completely with this honey routine.

How it works?

According to McInnes, most of us struggle to lose weight because we con-

sume too much sugar and processed food.

When we consume honey before bed, the body begins to burn more fat during those early hours of sleep.

When you go a step further and replace all refined sugar from your diet with honey, you rebalance the brain signal that compels you to consume more sweet stuff.

The results noticed from the honey diet have been remarkable. But remember to keep these points in mind: Replace all sugar with honey: Cut out sugar from your diet. This means you will also have to give up on artificial sweeteners. Use honey in your tea, coffee and cereal instead of refined sugar.

Keep a check on what you cook too, so that you don't use sugar in there either.

Skip junk food: Junk foods are processed food that contains empty calories. To fully benefit from

the honey diet, stop eating junk food.

Opt for unrefined carbs: Refined white flour in white pasta and white rice may cause a spike in blood sugar levels. Opt for wholemeal flour instead as they are good for digestion and will keep you fuller for a longer time.

Consume Proteins: Keep your proteins lean but make sure you consume proteins with every meal as it will keep you full and also avoid a blood sugar rise that leads to cravings.

Be careful with your fruits: Fruits are a convenient option while dieting but remember that most fruits are high in sugar levels and can hamper your honey diet. Either reduce your fruit intake or opt for low-carb fruits like berries and rhubarb.

No potatoes: Any form of potato can cause your body's insulin level to rise.

The honey diet requires you to avoid eating potatoes.

f you're suffering from skin-related problems like acne, eczeme to spider veins, don't fret! You can easily cure them at home.

Nutritionist Keri Filtness has offered her expert advice on the most common skin-related problems and how one can tackle them.

Spider veins: Spider veins are tiny capillaries

Acne: Acne is a common skin condition that causes red pimples on the skin, especially the face, due to tiny holes in the skin becoming blocked.

The Sebaceous gland produces sebum, which 'oils' the skin.

Steps to take care: Eat a nutrient-dense diet, including foods such as unsalted nuts and seeds, avocado, oily fish, fruits and vegetables and wholegrain products. Try to cut down on processed foods and drink plenty of water.

Cleanse the skin thoroughly but gently as harsh cleansers can strip the skin of oil. Try to avoid choosing products that contain mineral oil as they can block your pores.

Eczema: Eczema is a condition that causes the skin to become itchy, red, dry and cracked. It often occurs in areas with folds of skin such as behind the knees or the inside of the elbows.

Steps to take care: Increase your intake of 'good' fats such as those found in nuts, seeds and oily fish. Keep a food diary to identify any potential food allergies or intolerances which make the condition worse. Always speak to your general practitioner before cutting foods from your diet. Fish oil provides a good supply of Omega 3 fatty acids which are involved in the production of compounds which reduce inflammation.

Use wooden comb for How to tackle common a healthy hair skin complaints I I n order to have a healthy hair, you have to use the wide-toothed wooden comb. It is usually ideal for all types and lengths of hair. It is really important to take a special care of your hair and the scalp. For this reason you need to follow a special hair care regime which is meant for your hair and scalp type.

Whereas the external applications type and frequency varies based on the hair and scalp type one thing that everyone should follow uniformly is to use only wooden comb rightly termed as the tricomb on their hair and scalp. They are made up of the rosemary wood and they are wide-toothed in their nature. These combs have got certain salient features in them like...

They are anti-static and are made of the best Indian Rose wood. They are completely non-toxic in their nature. Due to its property the tricomb helps one's hair and scalp in multiple ways... It speed ups the circulation of the blood of the hair follicles present on the scalp which helps in reju-

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement it. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

venation of the scalp.

These combs help in preventing the tangling of the hair to a great extent.

These also help in preventing split ends of the hair. It is a great tool to comb the hard curly hair which is otherwise very difficult to deal with. It does not pull the hair too much so there are less breakages and hair fall. It also does not scratch the scalp too harshly. The other thing that one should keep in mind is that they should comb their hair at right intervals which means it should be not too often neither too less. If you comb your hair less frequently then they will start tangling leading to hair fall and breakages. On the other hand if you comb your hair too often then it will increase the dryness of the hair and make the scalp oilier. Ideally one should comb anything between 3 to 8 times based on the need of the hair. Another important thing is that the comb which is used by you should not be shared with anyone else; also they have to be cleaned properly after every use. Your comb also needs to be replaced regularly as a part of basic hygiene. So stay away from unhealthy brushes and plastic combs and use a wide-toothed wooden comb regularly for the health of your hair and the scalp.

that run close to the surface of the skin and look like fine red, or sometimes purple, small wiggly lines.

They are most commonly found on the face or legs.

Steps to take care: Ensure that you are wellhydrated by drinking plenty of water daily as dehydration may lead to fluid retention, causing spider veins to develop. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables in a variety of colours as these will provide a wide variety of plant compounds which may be helpful as antioxidants to prevent damage to blood vessels and to support collagen production.

Secret To Keeping Your New Year Resolutions

Are you making a new year’s resolution? How is it going to be different from last year's?

Try this technique to fulfil your business or personal goals: 1. Be really clear with your goal(s). Do you want to lose weight - if so how much 2 kg or 5kg? Do you want long healthy hair - if so how long or what would it look Sushma Bhanot Pharmacist, Ayurvedic and like? If you want your busiHomeopathic Consultant, ness to improve - by how Lecturer and Author. Heads much? The clearer the goal Research and Development the better. at Coolherbals 2. Visualize the goal on waking up in the morning and last thing before going to sleep - daily. Can you see yourself doing whatever your goal is or completing the goal? How would you look or feel when you have completed your goal. Make this image colourful, large and clear. Can you imagine the goal a reality- even if this looks difficult at this stage- let your imagination go and see it as a reality.

3. Get a white board or a paper. Write or draw your goals on it. Write on it WHY this goal has to happen, the larger the WHY the greater the chance you will achieve it.

4.

Put this up on your dressing table/cupboard/fridge or wall - wherever you can see it daily. Some people find it helpful drawing the goal as a picture.

5. Plan how you are going to achieve this goal.

6. Do your plan daily - even if it only a small goal towards it. Sometimes you will find you have not gone towards your goal and perhaps the wrong direction!

Don't worry - even an air plane goes off direction.

7. Share your goals with a friend so you can support each other. If you don't have anyone to share with email them back to us. We will endeavour to support you in your business or personal goals.

If your goal is healthier hair - have a strategy on how you will achieve this. Why not join us for a free evening workshop for example. Get free tips from www.coolherbals.com or details of dates and venues.

If you want to slim as the vast majority of adults do, then have a strategy. There are many different slimming plans on the market - google to find out the right one for you. My opinion is consider a natural method. Visit our website for tips and how an ayurvedic approach such as the CoolSlim Plan or Weight Watchers - may work for you.

However in the first instance email us or telephone us for:

YOUR NEW YEAR’S FREE GUIDE ON: A. HOW TO HAVE HEALTHIER HAIR/ STOP HAIR LOSS. B. HOW TO BE SLIMMER FOR 2015GUARANTEED! C. HOW TO CHANGE YOUR CAREER-TO BECOME AN AYURVEDIC THERAPIST (TO GUIDE PEOPLE TO A HEALTHIER LIFE), SLIMMING CONSULTANT, HAIR LOSS CONSULTANT OR AN AYURVEDIC MASSAGE THERAPIST. D. HOW TO IMPROVE THE SALES AND MARKETING OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Sushma Bhanot Tel: 020 85979039 Email: sushma@coolherbals.com

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Tel: 020 8597 9039 Email: info@coolherbals.com

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It is Shruti Haasan for Karthi

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here were rumors doing the rounds that Shruthi Haasan would be paired as Karthi's lead in this film. If not Shruthi, there are also speculations as to who might be the female lead. Shruthi has already paired up with Suriya in “7aam Arivu,” Karthi's elder

brother and sources have said that the team has zeroed in on her as Karthi's lead. Shruthi has come out stating that she was extremely happy to be acting with a legendary actor like Nagarjuna and has confirmed about her being chosen for the role.

Iniya parts ways with 'Girl Gang' A

Kannada film was made by only females with an all female cast. The same film was also made again in Malayalam with the same female only cast and crew.

Now, the film is all set to be made in Tamil too.

The shoot for this film is expected to begin by the middle of this month.

The film is titled “Inivarum Naatkalil” in Tamil and will be directed by yet another female director,

Thulasi Daas. The story of the film revolves around a group of girls who take up a project for their college and the situations they are put in due to the project. Iniya was to be in a prominent role in the movie and sources now say that she has been replaced by Aparna Nair. All the characters in this version are females too. Reminds you a little of the 'Jo' film titled 'Snehithiye', does it not? The story will of course, be vastly different.

T

Amy Jackson drops out of 'Masss'

F

resh from the shoot of the upcoming movie 'I', Amy Jackson is gearing up for the movie's release this Pongal. With the completion of her portions for 'I', she had signed up for director Venkat Prabhu's ongoing 'Masss' with Suriya and Nayantara. Amy had taken part in the photo shoot for 'Masss' movie and had suddenly dropped out of the project walking away quietly without quoting any specific reason. With the shoot already commenced, director Venkat Prabhu decided to bring on board Pranitha as a replacement for Amy Jackson. Recent updates from the director has been that the talkie portions have been completed. Now, Amy Jackson has come out to state her reason as to why she decided to drop out of the project. She quoted, "Many people have been asking me why I had backed out of the project. So, I've decided to clear the air. I feel happy and privileged to have been chosen for the part in the movie. But, I feel I want to act in roles that are more relevant and have more scope for me.

Even though I'm no longer part of the movie, I wish them the best and would like to work with them in the future."

Anirudh to perform live

he success story of Anirudh is an inspiration for many youngsters.

The slim and shy boy, who was in his teens started his journey in Kollywood and became popular overnight with the viral hit of, 'Kolaveri'.

But he proved that he got more to his arsenal

'Tevar'

“ T e v a r ” (Attitude in English) is an upcoming Bollywood film directed by Amit Sharma and written by G u n a s e k h a r.

The film stars Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee in lead roles. It is a remake of 2004 Tamil blockbuster “Ghilli” starring Vijay. The shooting of the film began on 21 January 2014 at Sambhar Lake in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The film's shooting continued in different locations including Mumbai, Maheshwar, Agra, Mathura, Pandharpur at river side of Chandrabhaga and also in Haridas in Pandharpur (Solapur, Maharashtra) Akluj (Solapur,Maharashtra). The first look of the movie was released on 19th February 2014.

The worst is over now: Vidya Balan

B

ollywood actress Vidya Balan who had witnessed a roller-coaster ride in 2014 said she was satisfied about her performance.

“The year had been wonderful. I wouldn’t say I was not disappointed that “Shaadi Ke Side Effects” and “Bobby Jasoos” didn’t do well ... but I’m sure that was how it was meant to be. And in between the two films, I went through a little bit of ill health. I had to take a few months off and opt out of a film (a Sujoy Ghosh project), so that was a tough phase, but the worst is over now and touchwood, I’m feeling very good. I’m shooting for Mohit’s (Suri) film now,” says Balan, who turns 36.

than, ‘Kolaveri’ in his first album itself and keep proving doubters with back to back hits.

So far, Anirudh is having a tremendous run regarding his albums as his success rate is 100 per cent in 7 albums. For the first time in his career, he is all set to perform in front of a massive crowd in Malaysia on 31st January. Here’s the invitation for all of you, and do take part in this carnival, if you can.

Aishwarya Rai in a new look

A

ishwarya R a i Bachchan is known to turn heads with her trendsetting looks on and off the red carpet.

For years, she has portrayed various characters across movies and television commercials with unique style statements. She was recently spotted in a never seen before avatar. The leading actress was seen flaunting a unique new cropped look for the launch of a product range. As always, Aishwarya sported this cropped look with panache.

Varun Dhawan urges his fans to respect women

B

ollywood actor Varun Dhawan has urged his fans to respect women and stressed for attainment of gender equality.

The son of director David Dhawan took to micro-blogging site Twitter to share his views. "In 2015 if you follow me or even like me make a little promise to not objectify women and disrespect them and treat them as people," he tweeted. After debuting with “Student Of The Year,” the actor has found a special place in the tinsel town. This year, Varun has mixed movies like “Badlapur” and “ABCD” in his kitty.

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Katrina is my favourite co-star: Anushka

B

ollywood actress Anushka Sharma doesn't believe in the concept of cat-fights with others and says that Katrina Kaif is her fovourite co-star. “As an actress, we need to kill those cat-fight things. I called Kangana (Ranaut) when I watched ‘Queen’, I called Deepika (Padukone) a f t e r ‘Cocktail’. I was like more than excited about it. “Katrina is my favorite costar because I had such a good relationship with her. She is a real person and not pretentious. I had a great time working with her

(in ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’). I know she feels happy for me,” she said.

Anushka, who is currently enjoying the success of ‘PK’, says she is very satisfied with her career graph as an actress and says she doesn’t like falling into brackets and categories. Asked if she is happy with whatever she has achieved so far, Anushka said: “I won’t lead my life little bit if I was not happy. I know what I want to do and I don’t like falling into brackets and categories.”

“I didn’t want to do too many films. Whatever I have done, I have done best. People give advices but I do what I feel is right.

I am very satisfied right now. I wanted to work in good films and good directors and I think my career graph is going well,” she added. ‘PK‘ also features Aamir Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjay Dutt and Boman Irani.

Freida loves to be Jane Fonda’s best friend

Salman paints an entire village on New Year H

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Sushmita Sen recalls her 20 year journey as Miss Universe

B

ollywood actress Sushmita Sen recalled her 20 year journey as Miss Universe and how life has changed for her over the course of time. "I don't realise where the time has gone. I have just been so busy living and exploring life and taking up every opportunity that life has given me. And living it like you won't believe, like age has been a number, the time that has gone. But I am very happy in the space and I think that every day I have been developing attitude, aptitude to what I want to do next. I have recently certified myself as a deep sea diver and that's the latest development in my life. I am doing very many different things at the

moment. I have planned for a trip with my daughters at the end of the year.

20 years have been a magical journey, everything that has happened has happened for a reason I believe," she said.

he villagers of Hatluni village in Karjat got a surprise gift this new year from none other than actor Salman Khan! The actor lead the entire unit of “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” to paint houses in the village, the report stated. He also gifted sarees for women and played a game of football with the village boys, the report added.

The unit was helped by a bunch of professional painters and the 30member group managed to paint every house, the village library, and even the water tank, in under five hours.

The houses, mostly made of mud and wood and with thatched or tin roofs are all now brightly coloured in pinks and blues, one of the houses even got a painting done

by Salman as a wall-hanging.

Reportedly, the idea to paint the village struck Salman when he was stationed at ND Studios, Karjat, flitting between two films, “Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo” and “Bajrangi Bhaijaan.” Just outside the studio gates, a few lanes away, is the village of Hatluni, which the actor would pass on his way to and from work. "There were about 30 of us, and led by Salman, we painted the entire village in one five-hour stretch. The results are fantastic," said Kabir Khan.

No more controversies, says Poonam Pandey

P

oonam Pandey who made her debut in the Bollywood movie “Nasha” said she had achieved whatever she wanted thorugh controversies. “At one point, I preferred controversy. After getting so much of work, I don’t need to do anything controversial now, said the actress who was making her Telugu debut in an action thriller called ‘Malini & Company’. The movie, which is a mix of fantasy and romance, with terrorism as the backdrop, has Poonam donning the lead role, movie director Veeru K said. “It’s a performance-oriented role.

Mine is a special character. You may see me in bikini, but I am doing much more. I had many

offers but this is really different. It has action, emotion and more,” Poonam said.

ollywood-based Indian actress Freida Pinto wants to be the best friend of “down-to-earth” Jane Fonda. Asked which of her fellow L’Oreal Paris models she is especially close to, Freida said: “Jane Fonda! I would love to be her best friend, you know, the kind of friend you can call up at 2 am. She’s so down-to-earth.”

Freida and Jane are brand ambassadors of the beauty brand. “I remember one day when she was suffering from back ache and was tired, so I volunteered to go and get her agent or manager. She told me that she was travelling alone and that the young female stars of today are way too spoiled,” she added.

Although Freida might have never appeared in a Bollywood movie, she credits her native Indian film industry for fuelling her love of cinema and desire to become an actress. “It happened progressively and of course, it began by watching Bollywood blockbusters. My dad showed my sister and I lots of films from the 80s. Then at university, I discovered the director Satyajit Ray’s work. My sister started watching films by Wong Kar-wai at home. I was also following a history class where we watched ‘Citizen Kane’ by Orson Welles, Jean Renoir’s films, Alfred Hitchcock … it was magical.”

Karishma Kotak to act against Rampal in 'Love Affair'

Karishma Kotak will act against Arjun Rampal in Pooja Bhatt's “Love Affair.”

There were a lot of speculations over Karishma's role and also the storyline of the film.

When asked, Karishma said the film was based on the Nanavati murder case of the 50s and 60s.

The film is set in that era, so special preparations have gone in to get a feel and look of my character, that of a top actress from those times. I play Arjun Rampal's love interest in the film. There is also Kalki Koechlin and Diandra Soares. When asked about the music director, Karishma said she did not know anything about it since it was a film by Pooja Bhatt.

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Hindus express need for temple in Oxford

The Hindu community worldwide has expressed urgent need for a Hindu temple in Oxford.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) last Saturday stressed that in addition to about 10,000 Hindus of Oxfordshire county, a Hindu temple is urgently needed for the spiritual needs of Hindu students at the world renowned University of Oxford so that they had a spiritually meaningful life in addition to material success after they graduated from here.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged the world Hindu community to come forward to help the locals who were trying to raise a temple. Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County

Council should also contribute towards it so that their Hindu citizens also had their own worship place like other major religions.

A voluntary democratic community organization registered as charity, Oxford Hindu Temple & Community Centre Project, reportedly aims to raise £500,000 for Hindu Te m p l e / C o m m u n i t y Centre to meet the spiritual, cultural and social needs of the community and it has already collected about £110,000. The Community Centre would also serve as a meeting place for seniors, activities for youth and interfaith events.

The project has been reportedly organizing prayer sessions, various festivals, Summer Mela, Shri Ram Katha,

The national airline of Saudi Arabia which flies from Manchester could be set to segregate sexes on board its flights amid claims men have lodged complaints about male strangers sitting next to their wives.

Saudia will order staff to keep men and women

seated apart on its aeroplanes unless they are close relatives, according to the news website Emirates247.

Speaking to the Saudi daily, Ajel, assistant manager for marketing Abdul Rahman Al Fahd, said: “There are solutions to this problem, we will soon

Hinduism lectures, yoga workshop, Bhagvad Katha, etc. Its Executive Committee, besides others, includes Chair Gyan Gopal, Deputy Chair Chinta Kallie, Secretary Ritesh Kapadia, Treasurers Dharam Raj Gupta and Krishan Dhiman.

Rajan Zed commended efforts of the leaders and the community involved in realizing Oxford Hindu Temple & Community Centre.

Zed pointed out that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this upcoming Temple complex would help in this direction.

Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism;

we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

Oxford, "city of dreaming spires" settled in Saxon times which appears in "Harry Potter", is home to prestigious University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was born here while authors Lewis Carroll, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Oscar Wilde, etc., are associated with it.

Mohammed Abbasi is Lord Mayor of Oxford City Council; while Anne Purse and Ian Hudspeth are Chairman and Leader respectively of Oxfordshire County Council.

Airline flying out of Manchester could be set to segregate male and female passengers

Coming Events

l Shree Jignyasu Satsang mandal are holding Shree 108 Hanuman Chalisa and mahayagna in the presence of Param Pujya Rambapa on Sunday 11th January 2015. All devotees are invited to attend the mahayagna to be held at: Social Club Hall, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow, HA1 3UJ Opposite Car Park 3 and 186 Bus Stop Time: 11am till 5pm Hanuman Chalisa.

Mahaprasadam will be served. Sponsored by: Nemaben Fatubhai Mulchandani, Sunitaben Manglani (USA) For more information please call 020 8459 5758/ 07973 550310

enforce rules that will satisfy all passengers.”

The airline carrier already complies with strict Islam practices including not serving alcohol or pork products, providing a men’s prayer area on most international flights and not employing Saudi women as cabin crew.

But the airline does employ women of other

nationalities.

The vast majority of Gulf operated airlines abide by Islamic laws but vary in their strictness.

Saudia Airlines restarted flights from Manchester Airport with a direct route to Jeddah in March.

The airline operates flights three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday from March.

l Variety Cultural Show in celebration of Republic Day of India: Sunday 25th Jan at 3.30pm.

Address: same as above, hosted by the Gujarat Hindu Society

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TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

Not only will the general pace of everyday life gather a speedier momentum but there are liable to be a few unforeseen problems along the way. It is only if you try to cram too much into the day that you will come a cropper or damage your health, so be warned. Be prepared to shoulder certain responsibilities.

Although all kinds of opportunities are coming your way, there are many obstacles between you and the fulfilment of any of these. As you clear your path you will get closer to achieving your dreams.

Relationships and romance are both under scrutiny by the presence of Saturn in your 7th house.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

Give yourself plenty of physical outlets to drain off some of the excess mental stimulation. This will have a beneficial effect on your physical and psychological well-being. Try to strike a balance between material and emotional affairs !This is a good time to get away from usual routines and seek a retreat for a few days.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 It’s an exciting, expansive time, when you should find it easier to be who you are and do what you want. This is a tremendously exciting time for you, in which you can embrace changes you might not even consider at other times. You’re likely to find yourself weighing practical considerations with long–term goals.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Don't be afraid to act forcefully if your instinct tells you it's time for change. If you know your ground and are not afraid to stick your neck out, you can create your own opportunities. Besides spending more time tending to domestic affairs, the focus can be on cultivating and nourishing your inner foundations, so to speak.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

A tremendous amount of planetary activity in your chart signals a time of mixed emotions as well as personal issues to be dealt with.

Take time out to sort out emotional differences. The decisions you make now will be important for the path you take. You should adopt a new health regime too.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 Jupiter, the planet of abundance, is transiting your solar 10th house. At work you will experience a relaxed atmosphere and this will help you to get on with everyone around you. Financially you are still not out of the woods as Saturn is transiting your solar 2nd house for some time to come.

l Sweet Sangit Geet Ghazal in honour of Sankrant Human Service Trust: 18th January from 3-5pm. Address: 67A Church Lane, N2 8DR

Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Business Development Managers: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 There’s a sparkle to your social life and much enjoyment is to be had simply from being in touch with other people. You’re likely to receive insights into where everything is going in your life. Venus, the planet of love and romance throws a pleasing light on affairs of the heart. Existing emotional differences can be easily sorted out now.

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 Saturn continues its journey through your sign, lending its support for you to re-define your sense of self-worth. You’re likely to find yourself doing a lot of thinking about both new and existing partnerships, and maybe toing and froing in one relationship in particular.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

There is an element of disruption or stress which may be hard to avoid, but it appears that there is a strong sense of purpose in the background. A certain amount of sheer hard graft will be necessary for a short while, but the final result will be extremely pleasing. An exchange of opinions ought to prove very enlivening at this time.

The prevailing cosmic pattern packs a powerful punch early this week. Having such potent energies, make you feel positive and confident in whatever you do. This is not the time to hold back or underestimate your potential if you wish to further an important aim. Some of you will try to get away from the routine chores.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

Don' t get over- anxious if you feel that you're being kept in the dark. You will probably find that worries have been unfounded. Although you may be faced with a difficult decision concerning your career or employment, this is not the time to hide. Don't waste time if you can improve matters.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

No Yuvraj; Axar, Binny in India World Cup squad

Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, still recovering from a shoulder injury, and young left-arm spinner Axar Patel were on Tuesday included in India's 15-member squad for the cricket World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand from next month.

Allrounder Stuart Binny also made the cut while there was no place for Murali Vijay and Robin Uthappa in the squad, announced by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel after a selection committee meeting.

The five-man selection panel, however, ignored Yuvraj Singh, who was not in the list of the 30-member probables but had come into reckoning after his three back-to-back centuries in the Ranji Trophy.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled in the ongoing Test series against Australia, has also been retained in the squad for the high-profile event to be held from February 14 to March 29. The squad, to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni has no major surprises with the selectors opting to go with four specialist pace bowlers -

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav - considering the pacy wickets in Australia and New Zealand.

The 20-year-old Axar Patel, who has made a reasonably good impression in the few ODIs he has played, was expectedly picked in the squad, considering that Jadeja's fitness could be an issue.

The selectors have, however, taken some risk in picking Jadeja in the squad but Patel expressed confidence that the all-rounder will be fully fit before the biggest cricket tournament.

"Jadeja at present is undergoing rehabilitation

programme. He is doing wonderfully well. We had detailed discussion with BCCI physio (on his inclusion) and we are confident that he will return to training within 10 days," Patel said on Jadeja's fitness.

Patel said Yuvraj's name was deliberated upon but they decided against selecting him. "Not only Yuvraj Singh but other names were also discussed apart from the 30 probables. There were deliberations between five selectors and captain Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher were on the conference call," Patel said.

The selectors also announced the team for the tri-series to follow the Test matches in Australia.

Hosts Australia, India and England will compete in the tri-series. Apart from the 15 selected for the World Cup, Dhawal Kulkarni and Mohit Sharma have been included.

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane can perform the role of the opener while Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rayudu and Dhoni will bat in the middle order. The squad has three spinners in R Ashwin, Patel and Jadeja though it is highly

unlikely that more than two spinners will be in the playing XI during the matches. Despite the failures of Dhawan, particularly in the Tests, the selectors have reposed faith in the left-handed opener.

About Ishant's injury, Patel said: "Ishant Sharma has a knee injury. He's doing well but has been advised by the BCCI Physio to not play the current Test. He has a knee related problem some water retention," Patel said.

India World Cup Squad: MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav.

Team for ODI Triseries: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni and Mohit Sharma.

resend a copy when he had come to know that the ministry hadn't received the original letter. "Our recommendation was sent on August 9. We also have an acknowledgment from the sports ministry for it," Dasgupta said.

The release said: "The Ministry has since received the nomination of Saina Nehwal for Padma Bhushan on 3rd January, 2015 from Badminton Association of India. In view of the achievements of Saina Nehwal, the Department of Sports has

decided to recommend her case for Padma Bhushan to the Ministry of Home Affairs as a special case although the last date for making the recommendation is long over."

The Ministry also clarified that it had not received any nomination in respect of Saina last year either. So the question of Department of Sports intimating Saina that her nomination for Padma Bhushan was not recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2013, as there has to be a gap of 5 years between two Padma Awards, does not arise.

A delighted Saina said, "I am thankful to Sonowal sir for recommending my

name.

People, who deserve these awards, should be considered."

Earlier, Saina Nehwal lambasted the sports ministry for its refusal to consider her for the award.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina, who was bestowed the Khel Ratna and Padma Shri in 2010 and also received the Arjuna award in 2009, said she was "sad" that the sports ministry felt two-time Olympic medallist Sushil deserves it more than her.

"I was really sad my name was not sent to the ministry of home affairs by the sports ministry of India. I hope sports ministry look up to this and I will be more than happy if both me and Sushil get the award as we both won medals in 2012 Olympics," Saina tweeted.

speculations about the rising influence of Kohli and Shastri in the dressing room, resulting in Dhoni losing his powers and therefore deciding to call it a day.

Shastri said: “I've heard that trash. And it is

just that – trash.

“You guys have no idea of the respect Dhoni commands, not just from Virat but every member of the squad, support staff and administration.”

He also said that the difference between the two sides in the current Test series has been the bowling attack.

The Indians have already lost the series, and it remains to be seen if they can salvage some pride by winning the final Test, at

Sydney.

Reiterating his earlier point, where he had told that this team needs some fine-tuning and given a year’s time they would again be among the best in the world, the 52-year-old admitted that India currently have an issue when it comes to bowling sides twice in a Test, but added that he is impressed by the players’ mindset.

"There's hard work ahead no doubt. Primarily, we have to get or develop bowlers who can get 20 wickets regularly. But I am

Saina's name recommended for Padma Bhushan

The Sports Ministry has recommended Saina Nehwal's name for the Padma Bhushan award, after all. The Indian badminton star had earlier expressed anger at not being nominated for the award.

In a press statement on Monday, the Ministry said Saina's recommendation was a "special case".

Earlier, Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Badminton Association of India did not apply for Saina's award on time. The BAI has contradicted this.

BAI clarified that what the minister received on Saturday was a copy of the application they had sent to the ministry last year.

BAI president Akhilesh Dasgupta said he had directed his office to

SPORT WORLD

Sangakkara breaks Sachin's record

Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara joined an elite group of cricketers when he became only the fifth to make 12,000-runs in his career. The 37-year-old Lankan legend reached the milestone in his 224th Test innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, both of whom needed 247 innings to achieve the mark. The prolific 37-year-old left-hander reached the milestone when he knocked Trent Boult square for two in Sri Lanka's first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington. Sangakkara started the two-Test New Zealand series on 11,988 runs and after scoring six and one in the first Test in Christchurch, he was determined to get the final five in Wellington. "When he fails, it's a coach's nightmare.

You have to throw (balls to Sangakkara) for hours and hours," captain Angelo Mathews said ahead of the Test. "He's been working really hard in the nets and he's desperate to go out there and get some runs," he added. Since launching his Test career in 2000, Sangakkara has made an impressive average of over 58, including 37 centuries in 130 Tests. His highest score was 319 against Bangladesh. He is now number four on the all-time scoring list, although his average is higher even than Indian great Sachin Tendulkar, who tops the ranking with 15,921 runs in 200 Tests at 53.78.

Ronaldo voted Europe’s top footballer

Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo was voted as the best football player of 2014 for the second year in a row. The results of the survey, carried out by Uruguay’s El Pais daily showed 89 of the 144 reporters queried named the Real Madrid forward as the region’s top player. German goalie Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (Barcelona) came in distant second and third places, with 19 and 16 votes, respectively. Ronaldo “was again the grand star (of Real Madrid), winning the coveted Champions League title for the tenth time,” the daily said. In other categories, the title of Europe’s best coach went to Argentina’s Diego Simeone, who coached Atletico Madrid to victory in the Spanish 2013-2014 season and the final of the UEFA Champions League.

Simeone, who garnered 68 votes, is the first nonEuropean coach to win the prize since the survey was first carried out in 1991.

Ravi Shastri rubbishes reports of rift within Indian team

Indian team director Ravi Shastri has rubbished reports of the proximity between him and Virat Kohli being the reason behind MS Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket, adding that the former Indian Test captain commands great respect from every member of the squad including the support staff and the administration.

Following the sudden retirement of Dhoni from the longer format of the game after the Boxing Day Test, which ended in a draw, there have been

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extremely bullish. The most important thing is we have got an aggressive mindset. Let's talk 12-15 months down the road," he said.

Had no idea about the decision coming Shastri admitted that everyone was “stumped”

by Dhoni’s decision to give up Test cricket. He also applauded Dhoni for being brave in taking such a decision, despite being close to his 100th Test match. "None. It came like a bolt from the blue. Not till after he returned from

the post-match presentation did I come to know when he had a quick word with me, then the players.

I understand he had not even spoken to his family about it. It was an unexpected decision no doubt, but a courageous one. In my esteem Dhoni has gone up by miles. He hasn't waited to complete 100 Tests and all such pointless statistical stuff. He didn't want any farewell fanfare. That shows his character. He's different and quite remarkable," the former India captain said.

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SPORT

David Warner

Opener David Warner continued to torment a hapless India by slamming a fluent century as Australia reached a resounding 348 for two on the opening day to take early control of the fourth and final cricket Test at Sydney. Electing to bat, the hosts rode on a 200-run opening stand between Warner (101), registering his third ton in the series, and Rogers (95) to once again expose a toothless Indian attack.

After a strong opening

Australians hammer India on Day 1

show, Shane Watson (61 batting) and captain Steven Smith (82 batting) ensured that Australia stay on the saddle by stitching a 144-run unbeaten third wicket partnership on what turned out to be a frustrating day for the Indians at the SCG. Playing their first game at the SCG after the passing away of teammate Phillip Hughes six weeks back, an emotionally charged Australia reacted by scoring runs at a fast

clip to demoralise the opposition attack. Rogers though got an early reprieve after Lokesh Rahul dropped the lefthanded batsman at second slip off Mohammed Shami (1-58). The opener was on 19 and made full use of the 'life'.

Warner, who was one of the players to witness the freak accident on November 25 at this venue, was in control from the very start and slammed his 12th Test century after

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 10th January 2015

lunch. Rogers, who always played match-up with his aggresssive partner at the other end, also batted with assurance only to be denied his century. He scored his fifth fifty of the series.

India though struck back after the first session by sending back the openers in quick succession but Smith and Watson had other ideas. Smith notched up his 10th Test half-century while Watson recorded his 24th fifty in the longest format to deny India any more celebration in the day. Ravichandran Ashwin (1-88) got Warner back in the pavilion after inducing a leading edge to gully where Murali Vijay made no mistake. Shami finally got a wicket after Rogers followed his partner in the over after, inside edging a length ball on to his stumps.

From then on it was a case of leather hunt for the Virat Kohli-led side, which stayed on the field for 43 overs without a wicket.

India though got another chance of getting a wicket but Ashwin let Watson's edge fly past him at first slip off Umesh Yadav (097) on the penultimate ball of the day.

Earlier, after lunch, it looked to be a long day in the field for the visiting side, who despite improving their bowling in the second session still conceded too many runs. WarnerRogers continued scoring as the 150-run mark came up in the 34th over of the innings and two overs later.

At 158/0, they had surpassed the highest opening stand of 157 runs they had previously put together against England at Perth in 2013.

In the 42nd over then, Warner brought up his hundred off 108 balls. It was an emotional celebration for the left-hander as he looked up at the skies and paid tribute to Hughes.

Three overs later, he brought up the 200-mark for Australia and within only three hours of play.

Ashwin then got the prized wicket of Warner and with an economy rate of 2.89, the spinner had looked the only bowler in some control against the rampaging partnership.

It became a double blow for Australia as in the very next over, Shami bowled Rogers, an inside edge robbing him of a deserved hundred.

Afterwards, Smith and

Watson batted with solidity and avoided any further losses while part-time offspinner Suresh Raina too turned his arm over.

Making just one change to their playing XI after bringing in Mitchell Starc for the injured Mitchell Johnson, the hosts were unchanged in their dominating style of play.

India though made wholesale changes with Kohli opting for Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Wriddhiman in place of Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Kumar's inclusion though did not solve the bowling woes as Warner and Rogers put on 39 runs in the first 5 overs, the scoring rate zooming past seven-an-over.

It was only with Shami's introduction into the attack that the scoring rate came down. The Bengal medium-pacer was also unlucky after Rahul dropped a sitter at slip and Rogers, rubbed salt into Indian wounds with a boundary off the very next delivery, bringing up the 50-run mark came up in the 8th over.