AV 15th October 2022

T O U G H T I M E S F O R T H E L I V I N G B R I D G E ?

Amid Home

i

t e

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n w h e n m a n y people want to visit India, to meet f a m i l i e s a n d f r i e n d s , a t t e n d weddings, and spend the holidays together. It is a difficult situation for some British Indians who have not yet procured visas because there are no appointments available Despite the attempt to salvage the situation by the Indian High Commission, it may have been already too late for some planning to travel to India

Amitabh

Landlady fined for leaving tenants in "filthy" home

off icers executing

at her

R A J DE S OU R

Raj wa s born in L eice st er in 1972, he a ttend ed loca l school s name ly Sh enton Pr ima r y & Ju nior S ch ool, th en Crown Hills Communit y Colleg e He star ted working in t he fa mily busine ss a Jewel ler’s Sh op a t a v er y young a ge le arning a ll a bout running a busine ss

Raj is the Managing Director of Armani & Bros Estate Agents in Leicester He has become well established for his intellect and expertise in both residential and com mercial estate, a career that spans over two decades He is a proud father of f ive chil dren and when he is not working, he enjoys spending time with loved ones, he also likes to attend RAF Airshows, and sporting events and tr y out world cuisine with friends

1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?

Although I have spent time travelling t h e U S A , I n d i a & p a r t s o f A f r i c a ; Leicester will always be home for me as this is where I was born and raised, and where my children grew up. All of my family reside in Leicester, and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the UK.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievements are rais ing my f ive children who have grown up to be educated, ambitious and hardwork ing I am also proud of creating an estab l i s h e d b u s i n e s s s o l e l y f r o m m y o w n determination, hard work and passion without taking a traditional educational route

3) What inspires you?

My biggest inspiration is my father He moved to the UK in the 50s from India to make a better life for himself and his family, and successfully ran two busi nesses here, which I started to work in from the age of 11 Here he taught me the fundamentals of how to run a business and instilled values into me that will stay with me for the rest of my life He was admired for his wisdom, assured leader ship, shrewd business acumen and his gentle aura

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

I would say the changes to the hous i n g m a r ke t A l t h o u g h I’ v e p e r s o n a l l y found that there’s still been a demand, there’s more reluctance and hesitation than there ever was which makes my job a little more diff icult The f inancial crisis is unfair, particularly for the younger generation I really empathise with them and hope that something is done about it

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

I h av e a lw ay s b e e n v e r y b u s i n e s s minded and feel this was influenced by my father He taught me to never turn down a customer who walks through the door, even if it isn’t worthwhile I still work by this motto today As well as my father, my late uncle was the one to push

me to set up my current business and steered me in the right direction, so I am especially grateful for that

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

It’s a privilege to meet so many like minded people, whether that be clients or professionals all with different back grounds and stories Due to the nature of our business, our clients are with us long term some are still with us since I started I have acquired some great net works during my time and have learnt many valuable things from these people 7) And the worst?

Fo r m e , i t ’ s h a r d t o d i s c o n n e c t .

There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with it and I often take the workload home with me I have a problem solver mindset so I'm constantly thinking of what needs to be done next; it doesn’t just end at 5pm 8) What are your long term goals?

I am happy to say that I have met many of my long term goals through my hard work over the years My goals now have become less business related and involve maintaining a happy and healthy lifestyle for myself and my children 9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

I w o u l d d o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h e f inancial crisis and the current cost of living to ensure families are able to live comfortably without f inancial poverty It has robbed the younger generation of the ability to build their future when they are tr ying so hard to sur vive House prices are increasing yet salaries are not I w o u l d e n s u r e t h e r e a r e a c c e s s i b l e schemes and opportunities for young people and f irst time buyers to secure a property as right now, I don’t believe enough has been done 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why I wouldn’t want to spend time with an historical f igure as such I am capti vated by Miscarriage of Justice cases and would like to hear more about their experiences of being falsely convicted, so possibly the Birmingham Six

Under the Housing Act

of

erty in Richmond Crescent

The property was found to be in a poor condition with rat droppings around t

mould in communal parts of the HMO and bedrooms, old and rotten furniture without f ire exit routes, external pad locks on bedroom doors,

more

There were no tenancy a g r e e m e n t s i n p l a c e a n d couldn't produce electricity a n d g a s s a fe t y c e r t i f i c a t e s

when asked by off icers

A fe w w e e k s b e fo r e

Januar y, Mrs Bibi said the HMO was not rented and was owner occupied, howev er, the eight housing regula tion off icers later found out that the property was con verted into seven bedrooms and was operating as an unli censed HMO

Lateef Bibi was f ined a total of £14,500 She was also ordered to pay a £190 victim s u r c h a r g e a n d f u l l c o u r t costs of £2,950 totalling £17,640

Charity report reveals families raising disabled children are struggling to survive

S tar k re s earc h f i n d i ng s , re lea se d by th e n ati o na l charity Fam ily Fund , show th a t f am i li es ra i si ng d i s abled , or seriou sly ill, chil d re n and yo u n g p e op l e across the U K now face seri ous f inancial jeopard y and ar e s tr u g g li n g to su r v iv e, du e to the scale of th e cost of liv ing crisis

“ T h e C o s t o f C a r i n g ” covers research with 4,264 families across the UK, with a d i s a b l e d c h i l d , s h o w i n g that nine in 10 families are struggling or falling behind on their regular household bills and many are forced to forego living essentials such as food, heating, basic furni t u r e l i ke b e d s , f l o o r i n g , w a s h i n g m a c h i n e s a n d fridges, to tr y to make ends meet

Over half of parents and carers (54%) report skipping or cutting the size of their meals because there wasn’t enough money for food (a 9 % i n c r e a s e s i n c e September 2021) and more than one in ten (13%) say

they have had to cut back on items that are essential for their disabled children

Fo u r i n f i v e f a m i l i e s (8 3 % ) r a i s i n g a d i s a b l e d child or young person are in debt, with rising debt levels fo r t w o i n f i v e f a m i l i e s (43%) polled, and over 40% report they can’t afford to keep accommodation warm a 13% increase since last December

O n a v e r a g e , f a m i l i e s raising a disabled child live on £17,000 a year and spend 60 hours a week caring for t h e i r d i s a b l e d c h i l d r e n , with one third caring for o v e r 1 0 0 h o u r s a w e e k Families receive only one hour a week of respite and s u p p o r t , o n a v e r a g e , a n d less than one in four par ents and carers are able to work full time, with over half not able to work at all

Fa m i l y Fu n d ’ s r e p o r t highlights the, now, unsus tainable strain on families raising disabled and seri o u s l y i l l c h i l d r e n a n d young people , as they tr y

to cover sky high costs on t o p o f s e v e r e l y r e d u c e d incomes due to intense car ing responsibilities, three times higher costs to look after a disabled child and critical levels of debt

With sustained cuts to s u p p o r t s e r v i c e s , w h i c h have not recovered post pandemic, families are now having to pay, themselves, for therapies and specialist equipment for their chil dren, such as educational and sensor y items and toys

A s t h e U K ’ s l a r g e s t g r a n t m a k i n g c h a r i t y fo r f a m i l i e s r a i s i n g d i s a b l e d and seriously ill children on the lowest incomes, Family Fu n d p r o v i d e s e s s e n t i a l goods for families includ i n g k i t c h e n a p p l i a n c e s , clothing, bedding, play and s e n s o r y e q u i p m e n t a n d m u c h n e e d e d f a m i l y breaks

Last year, it delivered over 170,919 grants and ser vices, worth over £37 mil l i o n , t o f a m i l i e s o n l o w incomes across the UK

Major change to NHS appointments, chiefs to tackle 'time wasters'

Bosses have warned that

the

Battle over £1. 5bn hotel for Liverpool Street station

health

Covid

crisis

And have warned that unless

money,

A "cost free" upgr

of L iv erp o o l St r

t s tat io n inclu ding plans for a £1 5bn h o t el an d o f f i ce bl o ck d ev e lo p m e nt w ere u nveiled

On top of the historic mainline station, Sellar, the d e v e l o p e r o f t h e S h a

, wants to build a 16 storey tower block

However, it faces a bat t l e w i t h c o n s e r v a t

i

II listed station, its “ spec tacular” glass roof and the former Great Eastern rail way hotel, now the Andaz hotel

Sellar is working with Ne t w o r k R a i l , t h e Hy a t t hotel group which owns t h e A n d a z a n d t h e E l i z a b e t h L i n e o p e r a t o r MTR on the plans

tion that was regarded as one of the best examples of Victorian restoration

T h e 2 0 t h C e n t u r y Society said it was “ con cerned” about the plans “A lot of the concourse looks like it was part of the origi nal Victorian station but it’s a more recent addition,” a spokesman said

Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said:

could

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t s who are worried about the potential impact on Grade

I n 19 9 1 , t h e s t a t i o n , which dates to 1874, was r e o p e n e d b y t h e Q u e e n after a six year modernisa

“For it to be potentially d e s t r o y e d a n d r e p l a c e d with something unsympa thetic would be alarming ”

waiting

and patients

might be

“But used poorly, they could see patients lost in the system or banished to wait ing list purgator y ”

Thought for the week

The broken bridge

The UK Government is not only making a mess of the econo my, with the IMF sending repeated reminders about it, but its foreign relationship with India is also at its lowest point, after several anti India stunts by the current government regarding the post Brexit FTA negotiations (see P1)

decrease immigrants by tens and thousands Based on false statistics, the UK parted ways with the Europe Union, a blow from which the country has still not recovered Whether its policies or workers, the UK is suffering endlessly without all the support that the EU provided for 50 years or so In the meantime, Boris Johnson thought of a better way to resolve the staff shortage and lack of skilled migrants by appointing people from low waged developing nations such as India

The UK India FTA was meant to resolve every bottleneck, with promises to invest in London and West Midlands areas, when India demanded an increased number of student and work visas to be granted

In the meantime, the party chose a new Prime Minister Liz Truss Ms Truss was the Foreign Secretary who negotiated the FTA in 26 areas as Foreign Secretary, which may see a quick visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Diwali Mr Modi, who can divide a room full of Indians, has always been a global Hindu icon due to his personal and party align ment With growing Hinduphobia in the UK, fears of more c o m m u n a l v i o l e n c e a g a i n s t h i s s u p p o r t e r s a r e s p r e a d i n g among the community With that is spreading anti India stance not only among Khalistani supporters but also in the political circle, who are looking at the UK India FTA as a potential threat and a special favour to the Indians

UK’s current Home Secretary Suella Braverman, whose father is of Goan origin from Kenya and mum Tamil from Mauritius has in the meantime sparked widespread controver sies by two of public statements, one against Indian immi grants and the other about the British Empire or Raj, that the minister has been found to be idealising as “good” A video that has been circulated widely, has Ms Braverman calling her fam ily a fan of the Empire, for setting up jobs and fighting for the allies

In the Black History month that pays homage to thousands of ethnic minorities, mainly those who were enslaved and suf fered through centuries under the ‘Raj’, it is a bit insensitive to hear a politician and Cabinet Minister of Ms Braverman’s cali bre, idealising the British Empire Feeling no obligation to stop immigrants coming to the UK as a part of her job, may whatev er be her heritage, is not entirely the same as feeling pride for the Empire that looted, impoverished, and killed thousands

The UK India FTA has demanded more student and work visas Ms Braverman has referred to 4 4% of overstayers allegedly from India, opposed to more than 96% who returned

and the 1 5mn that makes the richest strata of immigrants in the UK showing her disagreement and disapproval towards granting the visas

She reportedly highlighted how the Home Office statistics suggested that Indians were the highest visa overstayers, more than any other nationalities in 2020 Though it formed only 4 4% of 473,600 Indians visiting the UK, whose visas were to expire within 12 months in March 2020, it still amounted to an alarming figure of 20,706 overstayers from that country

Braverman’s reservations came to the light through an interview with the Spectator with the Indian government demanding an increase in work and study visas for Indian nationals

Earlier this year Boris Johnson also said the agree ment would lead to an increased immigration to the UK

Braverman referred to efforts to deport these overstayers earlier, but despite efforts made by the Indian Government, no concrete document was ever shown by the UK authorities to prove the overstayers were indeed Indians There was also no clarification given why and how they overstayed, making the process of ownership and wait to extradite longer and more complex

Let’s look at famous cases like that of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi Both are economic offenders, who ran away from India to hide in the UK, but are still here fighting extradition to India Both have been asked to be extradited by the UK courts, though nobody knows how Nirav Modi secured multiple pass ports and visas to continue living in the UK before landing in jail

Mr Mallya reportedly had made asylum petitions to Priti Patel before she resigned, and there has been no further updates on that case either

The Press Trust of India reported that the High Court in London on Tuesday began hearing evidence from two leading experts in the field of psychiatry to determine the level of sui cide risk faced by Nirav Modi if he is extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering, amounting to an esti mated USD 2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case

It is very easy to point fingers at poorer nations, just by the virtue of wealth difference The UK India relationship through complexities of colonialism, post colonialism and now mutu al cooperation have seen many ups and downs When India demands mutual respect and reciprocity, it has been targeted and called out for “lashing out by suspending e visas” It is nat ural for a country that has been a victim of a passive aggressive immigration system for years, to finally stand up to its bullies The UK can sugar coat its current relationship with India as much as it likes, but the reality remains, the scale is still lopsid ed and equal treatment of highly skilled living bridges is still an illusion

Growing optimism for early election in Jammu and Kashmir

Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent visits to the Valley have given fresh impetus to the Centre’s preparations for Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 With the Election Commission expected to complete the preparatory process by November end, there is “growing optimism” that elections could be held in the Union Territory by next summer The preparatory pro cess for the elections will be over as soon as the scrutiny of the voters list is completed Revision of the list began after the Delimitation Commission submitted its report in May The new voter list is expected to include those who migrated from PoK and erstwhile West Pakistan as well as those who had left K a s h m i r d u r i n g t h e t r o u b l e d y e a r s T h e C e n t r e a l s o announced that a person residing in J&K for at least 15 years will be eligible to be a domicile of the Union Territory The large turnout and the response of the crowd at Shah’s public rally in Baramulla, the BJP believes, are indicators of the “ nor malised” atmosphere in the region This has come five months after the PM’s visit to Samba Sources in the BJP said there have been “indicators” that the situation on the ground has changed and a conducive atmosphere is “getting prepared” for holding elections Party leaders said welfare schemes have “worked well” they pointed to the loud cheers from women at the Baramulla rally when Shah referred to schemes like the Ujjwala Yojana With the Home Minister ruling out talks with Pakistan given its continuing support to terrorism directed at India, especially in J&K, BJP sources said the party would not have ties with any party that calls for dialogue with Islamabad or has links with Jamaat e Islami Jammu and Kashmir, a banned organisation, or the Hurriyat Party leaders also said the BJP would have no truck with the Democratic Azad Party, launched recently by former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

There is a feeling among the opposition parties National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party that the BJP might delay elections till the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024 The opposition says that the BJP has not kept its promise to devel op J&K at par with the most developed states of India The BJP has taken steps to consolidate its support base in Jammu through a slew of measures It has provided reservations in jobs and education to economically weaker sections The move has benefited those belonging to the upper castes in Jammu The same has been done for people living near the

international border in Jammu, mostly Hindus Earlier, such benefits were available to only people living close to the Line of Control, mainly tribal Muslims The BJP has also strength ened its prospects among the West Pakistani refugees Hindus and Sikhs who migrated from Pakistan after the parti tion They gained citizenship and voting rights after the abro gation of Article 370 The Union government has also re estab lished 25,000 village defence groups a civilian volunteer force against militancy with volunteers getting a monthly salary of Rs 4,000 to 4,500 The biggest ‘gift’ to Jammu though is six additional seats in the assembly Political analysts say the move will benefit the BJP immensely as the seats lie in Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Doda, Kishtwar and Rajouri, where the party is either strong or has improved chances of winning because of the way the boundaries of the constituencies have been realigned While the seats in Jammu increased from 37 to 43, Kashmir got only one additional seat to take it to 47 As per the 2011 Census, Jammu had 44 per cent of the erstwhile state’s population It will now have 48 per cent of the seats (up from 44 5 per cent) Kashmir, which had 56 per cent of the popula tion, will only get 52 per cent of the seats (down from 55 4 per cent) The seats in Ladakh accounted for 0 1 per cent Major opposition parties in J&K see a communal bias in the delimita tion PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and NC president Farooq Abdullah said that the Delimitation Commission had over looked the basis of population and acted as per the BJP’s wish The Congress, in a statement, accused the commission of neglecting the fundamental principles and norms of the exer cise

Political Sketchbook

What When the India Narrative Does Not Fit the India Data?

What’ s the poi nt of the ‘E uropean conventi on on Human Rights, when so few people litigate under it?’ That was the question my tutor asked me I replied because to the minority who do, it matters to whole world

(Sidenote; I went on two decades later to use in the High Court the Convention and Article 8 protections (Right to Privacy))

As a young politics student, I was privileged to have tutorials, one to one, with David Butler These for my ‘Modern British Government’ elective were over the s u m m e r b e c a u s e I w a s t o s p e n d a s e m e s t e r i n Washington working in the US Congress D a v i d h a d m e t a n d s

s t o

i

Churchill and at the time of our tutorial (Major was PM) every PM since Churchill

So we have a problem one or two people whose experiences can be magnified to present a narrative which neglects the data for everyone else

Take India as a political case study 1 3 billion people make for great experiments So this past week the Financial Times had the narrative “Crackdowns, law suits and intimidation: the threat to freedom of expres sion in India ”

And the BBC had “US Immigration: Why Indians are fleeing halfway around the world ”

The narrative from the few, magnified by news media is worrying But the data does not support the amplification

According to Pew Research: 96% of Indians are very proud of their country Those who are proud would not leave via Mexico presumably One not proud is too many you might argue

Indeed 90% of those polled by Pew completely or mostly agree that Indian culture is superior to others Not what you’d expect from the Western media head lines

Of course the narrative in the Western media is really about the BJP Well Pew found half of Hindus did not vote for BJP The BJP is a minority party among Hindu voters So who did vote for it? Muslims (19%) and Sikhs and Buddhists basically it is the other minori ties that give BJP governing power Data or narrative? Here’s the kicker Asked if they prefer a democracy or a leader with a strong hand more (48%) said the latter!

Maybe an Indian form of democracy then Not all democracies are identical after all A democracy with a leader with a strong hand is what the people want it seems

Whilst no democracy should be a dictatorship of the majority, it should certainly not be a dictatorship of the minority

INDIA OFFICE

strong contender in the

One of its notable recommendations of the Delimitation Commission was that two Kashmiri Pandits, including one woman, be nominated to the assembly with full voting rights This is also expected to benefit the BJP The commission also recommended nominating members from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Refugees (POJKRs) to the assembly The POJKRs comprise people who moved to Jammu from POJK because of communal riots in 1947 Under a relief and rehabil itation scheme by the Union government, each POJKR family was getting a one time financial assistance The outcome of the delimitation could make the BJP

Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt Ltd 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp Jain Derasar, Nr Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad

+91 79 2646

Alpesh Patel

about sexual violence and h

been

founder

King Charles III's first visit would be to Canada

Ministers are considering a proposal to send the King to Canada on his fi rs t over seas visit as monarch

The suggestion comes a m i d c o n c e r n f r o m President Biden’s adminis tration over the decision n o t t o a l l o w C h a r l e s t o attend an international cli

m a t e c h a n g e s u m m i t i n

Egypt next month Senior g o v e r n m e n t s o u r c e s s a i d the King was advised not to attend the COP27 summit i n S h a r m e l S h e i k h because ministers wanted h i s f i r s t t r i p o v e r s e a s a s monarch to align with the g o v e r n m e n t ’ s d i p l o m a t i c

priorities It is understood t h a t t h e K i n g h a s m a d e clear that his preference, as h e a d o f t h e C o m m o n wealth, would be for his first foreign visit to be to a C o m m o n w e a l t h c o u n t r y O n e s o u r c e s a i d C a n a d a was at the “top of the list” for potential visits

4-year-old disabled boy discriminated

A coun cil fa ile d t o int er ve ne when a pr imar y school discr iminat ed a gainst a dis able d boy , a n ombudsman foun d

The boy's father wrote to the Local Government a n d S o c i a l C a r e O m b u d s m a n a f t e r H e r t f o r d s h i r e C o u n t y Council did not act on his complaints The ombuds man made a number of rec o m m e n d a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g compensation of more than £15,500

The council said they took the findings "very seri ously" and will act on all the c o n c l u s i o n s T h e s c h o o l admitted disability discrim i n a t i o n a g a i n s t t h e b o y , known as Y, according to the ombudsman's report It acknowledged that the boy, then aged four, had been

given a limited timetable and was later excluded for behaviour associated with his disability

T h e o m b u d s m a n s a i d there were "significant con c e r n s w i t h t h e w a y t h e Council has handled this c o m p l a i n t T h e s c h o o l admitted it had discrimi nated against Y because of his disability and its actions were not compliant with t h e E q u a l i t y A c t " t h e report said It added: "[The school] said it had failed to m a k e r e a s o n a b l e a d j u s t ments to its behaviour pol icy, failed to provide auxil iary aids (including support f r o m s u i t a b l y q u a l i f i e d staff) and failed to provide interventions in the EHC plan including therapies

"It had wrongly limited Y s t i m e i n s c h o o l a n d

w r o n g l y e x c l u d e d h i m because of behaviours that arose from his disability "

The boy s parents also complained that the coun cil had failed to secure full time education and special educational provision in an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, which said he needed a range of addition al help Over the course of the 2020 2021 school year, the child missed half of the expected hours of educa tion for reception class

Among the recommen dations was compensation o f m o r e t h a n £ 1 5 , 5 0 0 t o cover private tuition costs, c a r e a n d l e g a l f e e s T h e ombudsman also found the local authority had "provid ed inaccurate information" to the boy's father and the o m b u d s m a n , i n c l u d i n g

b l a m i n g C o v i d 1 9 f o r d e l a y s a n d c l a i m s Y w a s " u n a b l e t o e n g a g e w i t h education The council has apologised to the family for t h e " f r u s t r a t i o n , d i s t r e s s and educational disruption caused"

" T h e d e p a r t m e n t s i n v o l v e d w i l l a l s o b e e m b e d d i n g t h e s e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s w i t h i n o u r working practices to ensure that all children with SEND a n d E H C P s i n Hertfordshire receive the s u p p o r t t h e y n e e d a n d deserve," a spokesman said H e s a i d t h e r e h a d b e e n " u n p r e c e d e n t e d d e m a n d " for special educational and disability needs in recent years and it was working on h o w t o b e s t m e e t t h e i n c r e a s i n g n e e d s o f c h i l dren and young people

C

T

J o g

The Bhavan, London dur ing the late ’ 70s and joined the Executive Committee during the late ’80s has s t e p p e d d o w n f r o m h i s position and making way for the next leader to guide The Bhavan’s future path

J o g i n d e r j i c o n s i d e r e d Dalalji (Mr Maneck Dalal OBE) The Bhavan’s former chairman as his guru and b e c a u s e o f D a l a l j i a n d Mathoorji, he joined the B h a r a t i y a V i d y a B h a v a n , London

He was the one who s t a r t e d T h e B h a v a n ’ s a n n u a l D i w a l i B a n q u e t , which has been going on for over thirty five years now, to raise funds for The Bhavan to meet its deficit Former treasurer Sri Indra

S e t h i a p o i n t e d o u t , T h e

B h a v a n ’ s t r e a s u r y t e a m breathed a sigh of relief ever since Joginderji took t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f f u n d r a i s i n g f o r T h e B h a v a n a s i t s V i c e

Chairman

Joginder ji took over from Dalalji after Dalalji’s retirement in 2011 and has been its chairman for 11+ years During his term as T h e B h a v a n ’ s V i c e Chairman and Chairman, The Bhavan reached new heights in the field of art and culture

He sincerely believed that we should make our c u l t u r a l e d u c a t i o n e a s i l y accessible to our children who are the future of our c u l t u r a l m o v e m e n t Joginder ji’s simplicity and accessibility made him a v e r y p o p u l a r f i g u r e amongst all communities in and around London

England and Wales police will visit every home burgled

Po l i c

and Wales have pledged to send an of

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recently, with a promise it wou

truth, and expo

to th

any wrongdo ing

culpable conduct

B r i t

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infections and more than 166,000 deaths the sev e n t h h

g h e s t f a t a l i t y t o t a l globally and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and h i s m i n i s t e r s h a v e f a c e d criticism for their handling of the crisis

L a s t y e a r , J o h n s o n ordered the inquiry to look into the preparedness of the country as well as the public h e a l t h a n d e c o n o m i c response The investigation is being led by former judge Heather Hallett, who held a m i n u t e ' s s i l e n c e a t t h e beginning of the hearing in memory of those who died

"The inquiry will analyse our state of readiness for t h e

level of loss about which we've just been reflecting was inevitable, or whether things could have been done better," she said She also said she was determined the inquiry would not drag on for decades" and her aim w a s t o p r o d u c e t i m e l y reports and recommenda tions "before another disas ter strikes"

H u g o K e i t h , t h e l e a d counsel who provides legal advice to its chair, said the i n q u i r y w o u l d b e a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d a n d v a s t u n d e r t a k i n g I t w i l l b e divided into a number of m o d u l e s , b e g i n n i n g w i t h how prepared Britain was

every s in gl e b ur g l e d h o m e T he ple dge c om mi ts f orc es to sendi ng an off icer to in ves tigate eve ry report of home burglary, regardles s of loca ti on a n d w ha t h a s b e e n stolen

All 43 forces agreed to the commitment at recent m e e t i n g o f t h e N a t i o n a l Police Chiefs' Council

I t s c h a i r m a n M a r t i n Hewitt said the move was a i m e d a t g i v i n g p e o p l e " p e a c e o f m i n d " T h e p l e d g e f o l l o w s a r e p o r t from the police watchdog i n A u g u s t w h i c h f o u n d most victims of burglary, t h e f t a n d r o b b e r y i n England and Wales were not being given the justice they deserve

a n d 4 1 % o f t h e f t s i n England and Wales result ed in charges, while recent figures found police atten d a n c e a t b u r g l a r i e s i n London had fallen to 50%

Mr Hewitt said some f o r c e s h a d s t r u g g l e d t o a t t e n d a l l b u r g l a r i e s b e c a u s e o f " l i m i t e d resources"

c a n d t h e r e s p o n s e t o i t a n d t o d

r m i n e w h e t h e r t h a t

J o h n s o n ' s o w n f o r m e r t o p a d v i s e r , D o m i n i c C u m m i n g s , h a s s a i d Britain's early plan to com bat Covid was a disaster and "awful decisions" led to t h e g o v e r n m e n t i m p o s i n g lockdowns that could have been avoided

The findings from His Majesty's Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) showed while s o m e f o r c e s t a c k l e t h e s e crimes well, many do not In the year to March, Home Office figures showed just 6 3 % o f r o b b e r y o f f e n c e s

"We want to give peo ple the peace of mind of knowing if you experience t h a t i n v a s i o n , t h e p o l i c e will come, find all possible evidence and make every e f f o r t t o c a t c h t h o s e r e s p o n s i b l e , " M r H e w i t t wrote "That's a critical part of the contract between the p o l i c e a n d p u b l i c " M r Hewitt added that burglary was "invasive" and could be "deeply traumatic" for vic tims

Tough times for the Living Bridge?

Despite the attempt to salvage the s i t u a t i o n b y t h e I n d i a n H i g h Commission, it may have been already too late for some planning to travel to India According to the UK government, over one million British nationals visited India in 2019 Most visits pre Covid were trouble free

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h o s e arriving from India to study at UK universities or completing degrees waiting for results are now facing immeasurable hardships including u n a v a i l a b i l i t y o f a f f o r d a b l e a c c o m m o d a t i o n s o r t e n a n c i e s , increasing energy prices as well as the cost of living crisis affecting their already frugal or shoestring budgets

Students at the University of G l a s g o w h a v e b e e n p l a c e d i n emergency hotel accommodations in an effort to tackle the housing crisis At least 70 students have come forward to seek help for homelessness, but the figure is f e a r e d t o b e m u c h h i g h e r O f those, 49 students say they are unhoused with 25 are sofa surfing A f u r t h e r 2 4 a t t e n d i n g t h e University of Glasgow are living in hostels, hotels, temporary spare rooms, or at home Students have now lodged a formal complaint against the institution for their handling of the accommodation shortage As a result, the universi ty told them to consider postpon i n g o r w i t h d r a w i n g f r o m t h e i r studies if they can't find a place to stay, according to a BBC report

In the meantime, as the UK India FTA is drawing close and Indian PM Modi is rumoured to visit London this Diwali, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has shown reservations against relax ing immigration rules for India under the trade deal, which is not just putting locals into trouble but is also making students feel targeted

In an offic ial stateme nt s hared w ith As ian Voice , VFS Global clar i fied that, “VFS Global manages the non judgmental and adminis trative tasks related to visa appli cations for the sovereign govern m e n t s w e w o r k w i t h , e n a b l i n g them to focus entirely on the crit ical assessment task The company operates in line with the directives of the Embassies/Consulates Visa appointments, as well as issuance timelines, are entirely at the dis cretion of the governments ”

However, when the concerns were raised, a s ourc e fr om th e I ndian High C om mi ssi on in the U K a ss ur ed th e n ew sw ee kl y by saying, “We are trying to rectify visa appointment system and help meet rising demand ”

India has suspended e visas for UK tourists/visitors, in a lack of reciprocal gesture from the UK government as well as in meeting demands amid the ongoing rela tionship between the two coun tries Asian Voice has learned that some British Indians had to cancel their plans of visiting India in the c o m i n g t h r e e m o n t h s , b e c a u s e t h e y c o u l d n o t s e c u r e a v i s a appointment on time

Sa n gee ta Wal dr on , Foun de r, Seren dipity PR & M edia will have to, unfortunately, miss the launch of her book in Mumbai Speaking

t o A s i a n V o i c e W a l d r o n s a i d ,

“Owing to the new visa applica tion rules from the UK to India, and the time it is taking to issue visas, I was not going to get my visa in time I had plans to attend the book launch event of my book, Corporate Social Responsibility Is Not Public Relations, in Mumbai, which is to be published by Jaico Publishing for the Indian market in November ”

When it came to the notice of the Indian High Commission in L o n d o n t h a t p e o p l e a r e f a c i n g issues in getting visas, the High Commission said that it is investi g a t i n g r e p o r t s o f u n a u t h o r i s e d agents illegally charging fees to get visas processed for travellers to India, amid reports of a severe visa crunch faced by tourists to the country

The HC also said that it is working on streamlining process es but dismissed claims in sections of the UK media that there had been a sudden visa rule change that had impacted British tourists It reiterated that individual visa a p p l i c a n t s h a v e a l w a y s b e e n expected to apply in person at the mission's outsourced VFS Global centres in London

“It has come to our notice that unauthorised agents and individu als are illegally charging fees and collecting India visa applications for submission at VFS Centres, misleading applicants and misrep resenting the services that they c a n l e g a l l y p r o v i d e , ” a H i g h Commission statement said UK Prim e Min ister tryi ng to s ave face ?

PM Liz Truss is apparently ‘side lining Suella Braverman’ to ease foreign worker rules, reports have stated The Home Secretary is allegedly at loggerheads with her Cabinet colleagues over immi gration policy

U K ’ s I n d i a n o r i g i n H o m e Secretary, Suella Braverman has said that the largest group of peo ple who overstay in Britain are Indian migrants Her priority is to cut net migration into the United Kingdom and that according to her was the aim of Brexit as well

In 2020, 20,706 Indians over stayed their visas, more than any other nationality, according to UK home office records However, we don’t know if those 20,000 plus people were actually Indian and whether a thorough investigation was carried out to trace their actu a l h o m e c o u n t r y T h e y c o u l d belong to any South Asian coun try In addition, Braverman noted that a deal made with the Indian government in 2021 by her prede cessor Priti Patel to promote and enable closer cooperation on visa overstayers had not always been successful

It is questionable whether the issue of overstayers is to be blamed on India, or the UK’s fragile gover nance and complacency in acting against such people She has indi cated she would be unhappy with

a Free Trade deal with I n d i a t h a t m a k e s t o o many concessions in her opinion on visas, within which India had initially asked for 3000 visas to support its talent pool to work in Britain Not to f o r g e t t h a t t h e W e s t M i d l a n d s i s s l a t e d t o receive the lion's share of benefits from this FTA between India and UK, where little is known about India’s share of benefits

Braverm an ’ s approach towards im migrati on and UK I ndia FTA under s crutiny

M e a n w h i l e , B r a v e r m a n ’ s a p p r o a c h t o w a r d s i m m i g r a t i o n was heavily scrutinised in an inter view with Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator magazine, where he observed: “She (Suella) may face opposition from No 10 Word is that (Liz) Truss wants an ambi tious trade deal with India and is prepared to include migration as p a r t o f t h e d e a l B r a v e r m a n doesn’t sound thrilled ”

The Home Secretary said: “I have concerns about having an o p e n b o r d e r s m i g r a t i o n p o l i c y with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit ”

Braverman added: “But I do have some reservations Look at migration in this country the largest group of people who over stay are Indian migrants We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to e n c o u r a g e a n d f a c i l i t a t e b e t t e r cooperation in this regard It has not necessarily worked very well ”

It is important to note that while Braverman is in charge of immigration, the task of negotiat ing a bilateral deal with India is t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f K i m Badenoch, the international trade secretary Badenoch stated that a post Brexit trade deal with India w i l l b e s i g n e d b y e n d o f t h i s month but admitted Britain “ may not get everything” in the agree m e n t d e s p i t e h o p e s o f a h u g e boost for the whisky industry At the recent Tory party conference in Birmingham, Badenoch told a

fringe meeting hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank: “We want something comprehen sive, but it has to be right for both countries But doing a trade deal is not a simple and easy thing So, what we want to do is something that lifts both countries ”

“It may not be every t h i n g t h a t t h e s e r v i c e s s e c t o r wants,” she said “We may not get everything; we ’ re not doing a uni lateral free for all deal But just b e c a u s e w e h a v e a f r e e t r a d e a g r e e m e n t i t d o e s n ' t m e a n w e can’t do even more later, so that’s the message I would send to the services sector

“There’s a lot of good stuff I think we can get, but the focus has to be on a deal that is good for the UK and India not any specific, particular sector alone it’s got to be a good deal for the country in the round ”

Reportedly, Liz Truss said she wants to sign a trade agreement with India by Diwali at the end of this month The Indian govern ment is demanding an increase in work and study visas for Indian n a t i o n a l s a n d e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r Boris Johnson said the agreement would lead to increased immigra tion This is coinciding with the s p e c u l a t i o n s o f t h e a r r i v a l o f Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is likely to visit London this Diwali to close the FTA nego t i a t i o n s I t h a s b e e n a l l e g e d l y feared that the arrival of Modi in the present day scenario may end up triggering the ongoing com munal violence in Birmingham L e i c e s t e r a n d o t h e r p a r t s o f Britain

M e a n w h i l e , L a b o u r P a r t y Chief Sir Keir Starmer has said that his party is ‘determined to fight Hinduphobia’ (See P18 for full interview)

T h e U K i s k n o w n t o h a v e never intervened in the internal matters of India The criticism t h a t M o d i u n d e r g o e s b a c k i n I n d i a , i s n o t B r i t a i n ’ s b u s i n e s s after all It seems like unreason a b l e s p e c u l a t i o n a h e a d o f t h e

potential visit of Modi to scape goat him for riots that in fact have no direct relation with India per s e T h e r e ’ s e n o u g h e v i d e n c e , appeals by officials and chatter that such riots were triggered by social media menace and not by members of a particular commu nity

Critiquing Braverman’s atti tude towards the deal and visas, Bh a r a t V a s w a n i , a H i g h e r Ed uca ti on p ro fe ssi ona l told us, “The targeting of international students to meet net migration targets, the Home Secretary very much like her predecessor and subsequent UK PM overlooks the facts that in the vast majority of cases international students are t e m p o r a r y i m m i g r a n t s T h e O x f o r d M i g r a t i o n O b s e r v a t o r y finds that at least 98 per cent of n o n E U i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t s leave the country before their visa expires ”

According to Vaswani, inter national students in the UK con tribute fee revenue to the higher e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n a n d a l s o contribute to the UK economy t h r o u g h o n a n d o f f c a m p u s s p e n d i n g T h e y a s s i s t i n t h e much desired push for economic growth The London Economics a n a l y s i s s h o w s t h a t a 2 0 1 8 / 1 9 cohort of international students studying in the UK contributed a net economic benefit of £25 9 bil lion to the UK’s economy up 19% from the last time a similar a n a l y s i s w a s u n d e r t a k e n i n 2015/16

He added, “International post graduate students, who are most o f t e n a l l o w e d t o b r i n g d e p e n d e n t s , a r e e s s e n t i a l t o k e e p i n g i m p o r t a n t b u t l o w e r d e m a n d courses open for domestic stu d e n t s i n k e y s u b j e c t a r e a s International education is becom ing very competitive with non English countries offering a range of English courses and if we don’t make international students wel come to the UK, we are bound to lose market share and hence our c o m p e t i t i v e a d v a n t a g e Ultimately, international students bring more to the UK than they are supposedly taking ”

Students ‘feel’ targeted by UK’s hostile immigration system

Indian students come to the U K after fighting many monetary and emotional battles to arrange fo r the tuition fee and liv ing costs, as w ell as break g enerational curses to stud y abroad and dream o f a better future th an their ancestors

R e p o r t e d l y , H o m e S e c r e t a r y Suella Braverman has refused to set an immigration target for the next election, expected in 2024 as s h e p l e d g e d t o “ s u b s t a n t i a l l y reduce” the number of foreign stu dents, workers, dependants and low skilled workers coming to the UK

She told a Conservative Party fringe event hosted by Chopper’s Politics podcast: “Poor universities are being bankrolled by foreign students ”

M s B r a v e r m a n h a s f u r t h e r stated that in the 12 months to June, 240,000 more people came to the UK than left, 486,000 for eign students arrived, and 330,000 w o r k v i s a s w e r e i s s u e d S h e claimed that on average, each indi vidual arriving on a study or work

visa brings one depen d a n t T h e n u m b e r o f dependents that foreign students can bring into the UK could be capped under plans being con sidered by ministers to tackle “bad migration ”

An Indian student in th e U K ano n ym o u s ly ag ree d t o s h a r e t h e i r story with Asian Voice Sharing their struggle, the student s a i d t h a t t h e y c o m p l e t e d t h e i r c o u r s e i n S e p t e m b e r , a n d t h e c o u r s e p r o g r a m m e a d m i n w i l l only confirm the degree towards the end of October

T h e s t u d e n t t o l d t h e newsweekly, “My student accom m o d a t i o n c o n t r a c t e n d e d i n August, and I have been looking for housing since I found a place, but it was after paying the non refundable holding deposit that I was made aware of the right to rent My right to rent ends in November 2022, because my leave on my student visa ends on the

same date My universi ty will only confirm my d e g r e e a t e n d o f October, so I can't even apply for a graduate visa currently ”

As most accommo d a t i o n s h a v e a m i n i mum required tenancy o f s i x m o n t h s m i n i m u m , t h e s t u d e n t i s locked out of the mar ket without a possibility of a home from the date of visa expiry and the arrival of subsequent graduate scheme visa

D r P a r t h a K a r , C o n s u l t a n t Diabetes and Endocrinology and Director Equality wrote a moving account of his arrival in the UK in his blog in the British Medical Journal recently He wrote about how he would scrounge for every penny and do mental maths of currency conversion “My first few weeks in the UK were, frankly, awful Not many people would talk to me, which heightened an inherent shyness,” Dr Kar wrote

Home Secretary Suella Braverman

Sangeeta Waldron

Dr Partha Kar

, c e r t i fi ca t e s o f e xcelle nce we re a ward ed to pr omine nt people from var i ous sectors

At the award ceremony in the House of Commons, C h i e f G u e s t V i r e n d r a Sharma MP said, “It’s a his torical event These awards will inspire more talents I feel proud that the organis ers are not only inspiring people but also strengthen i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h India Diaspora is the living bridge between both coun tries ”

O r g a n i s e r D r D i w a k a r Sukul welcomed the guest of H o n o u r R a m e s h A r o r a , r e n o w n e d H o t e l i e r ; D r L i n d a S p e d d i n g , I n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w y e r a n d a d v i s o r ; S a n d e e p M a r w a h , founder of Noida film city; Dr Ajay Desai, VP India WBR and Rahul Shah, Chairman Gajali Group India

T h e W o r l d B o o k o f R e c o r d s h o n o u r e d Rahulbhai Shah, Chairman Gajali Group for being a pio

to

Rahul Shah

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and Urea

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neer in revolutionising the agriculture industry through the invention of organic fer t i l i z e r s a n d p r o v i d i n g a r e p l a c e m e n t f o r D A P a n d Urea to the world In the introductory speech about B i o O r g a n i c f e r t i l i z e r , M r Shah said, “The Mission of my Bio Organic fertilizer is to strengthen the roots of o u r M o t h e r N a t u r e a n d bring revolution in the agri culture sector all over the globe If we want to develop green life on earth, chemi cal free fertilizer is the only option and my product is the answer to the replacement of DAP and Urea ”

W h i l e t a l k i n g w i t h

A s i a n V o i c e , R a h u l b h a i Shah explained, “With the u s e o f 1 0 0 % O r g a n i c Fertilizer one can bring out more yield with enhanced food value of the end prod u c t o f A g r i c u l t u r e T h i s enhanced food value of the products will add on to the life of people all over the

globe to make each individ ual healthier to enjoy the full life span Due to the non utilization of chemical fertilizers, the possibility of o u r h e a l t h h a z a r d s w i l l come down to zero levels Thus, good health and the full span of life of every cit izen will be assured ” What are the b enefits of Bio Organic fertilizer?

R a h u l b h a i s a i d , “ M y innovation ‘Gandharvest’ is 100% organic, no chemicals a r e t h e r e N o t o n l y i t increases land fertility and yield but also enhances the t a s t e o f f r u i t s , v e g e t a b l e s and foodgrains Reduction of the overall cost of pro d u c t i o n c o m p a r e d t o t h e other commercial agricul t u r e p r o d u c t s O r g a n i c products get good returns in the market Regular use o f ‘ G r a n d h a r v e s t ’ l i q u i d organic fertilizer will make p l a n t s s o h e a l t h y t h a t i t shall resist many diseases to the plant

“Bio Organic fertilizer increases agricultural pro ductivity while maintaining s o i l h e a l t h a n d e n v i r o n mental safety Also, it pre v e n t s p o l l u t i o n a n d t h e environment Its results are very promising and its study shows a substantial increase in the yield of crops unlike after using ordinary fertiliz e r T h e ‘ G r a n d h a r v e s t ’ Activator successfully con verted distillery spent wash into Organic fertilizer and thus converted fertilizer is more economical, environ m e n t a l l y f r i e n d l y a n d farmer friendly ”

He further added, “The product was used and trials were taken in several Indian states and several countries After a successful trial in the United Kingdom, The W o r l d B o o k o f R e c o r d s appreciated our innovative work and honoured us by recommending our nomi nation to the World Book of Records

“The Grandharvest Bio Organic Liquid Fertilizer is a l r e a d y i n u s e a t v a r i o u s places in Maharashtra and G u j a r a t U s i n g t h e l a t e s t t e c h n o l o g i c a l a d v a n c e m e n t s , w e p r o d u c e t h e finest fertilizers and farm ing pesticides The shelf life o f o u r p r o d u c t s h o l d s l o n g e r t h a n a n y o t h e r , which is our main USP ”

Conservative Friends of India hosts reception at annual party conference

M P , C F P a t r o n L o r d R a n g e r ,

T h e r e s a V i l l i e r s

M P , H e a t h e r

W h e e l e r M P ,

Dean Russell MP, Gagan Mohindra MP, Greg Hands

M P , P a m G o s a l

MSP, Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, Bangladesh

H i g h C o m m i s s i o n i n

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long standing member

Former Trade Minister a n d n o w E n v i r o n m e n t a l

Secretary Ranil Jayawardena MP was also present Ranil is renowned for championing the UK India FTA and sow i n g t h e s e e d s f o r t h e arrangement

O t h e r g u e s t s i n c l u d e d

James Cleverly

the

India and the

The Home Secretary, Rt Hon Suella Braverman was also present Suella, also of Indian origin spoke of her family’s roots in India and her support for CF India as a

Lord Chancellor and Justice S e c r e t a r y B r a n d o n L e w i s

MP, Digital

Mayor of the West

Skills, Further and Higher Education Andrea

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Small Business Paul Scully

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India Director Nayaz

thanked guests

Hav e yo u eve r no ti ce d ho w sim ilar culture s e xis t acros s th e globe? Sometimes w e trave l to a faraw ay p la ce and be surp rise d to see many cus toms and traditions compa rable to wh at we h ave see n i n o ur pa rt o f th e w orld It may be cu isine , mu sic, dance or any oth er tra ditio ns th at is being followed th ere for hundreds o f yea rs, ju st like in ou r o wn cou ntry Fo r e xa mple, a mus ic ins trument looking like a n India n flute a nd known as dae geu m exists in th e old traditions of Kore a a s well The y also ha ve a mus ic instrument known as h ae geu m wh ich lo oks like e kta ra th at Mira bai u se d to play in R ajas tha n, the only diffe r e nce is tha t hae geu m h as two strings

The point here is that cultures across conti nents have similar but independent origins and evolution Most of them have some form of ancient dance where people gather in a circle, hold each other's hands and move around in celebration on the tune of the music It happens in various parts of India and Africa evidently Similar folk dance forms also exist in many parts of Europe The traditions related to celebrating the birth of a child, or the morning death of a relative might also resemble in most parts of the world. Talking of cuisine, most of the basic recipes are similar throughout the world Preference for food also does not change much in m o s t p l a c e s , a l t h o u g h w e f i n d v a r i a t i o n s a n d i m p r o v i s a t i o n s i n d i f f e r e n t s o c i e t i e s O f f e r i n g favourite food to the revered god is a common practice and so are donations of food to poor peo ple In most parts of the world, we also find festivals attached to the harvesting of crops

So, the question is that if our origin and evolu tion are so much similar, what divides us? If we do share common emotions and cultures, what makes our differences so stark that create conflicts? Is it really the incompatible customs or any other fac tors that create these divides? It is worth exploring the question, especially at a time when we are fac ing deadly conflicts and deep hatred in the world R a t h e r t h a n f o c u s i n g o n t h e f a c t o r s t h a t a r e unique, can we not link our societies through com monalities? Rather than lamenting our divergence, can we not pay attention to uniting features? If we genuinely try to find out, it will be evident that our dissimilarities are much more subtler than our resemblances Developing an attitude to find a uniting factor between cultures and people can help us look at others more respectfully After all, we have to coexist in this world because as of now there is no other place for us to go to So why not create more harmony among peoples and cultures than the disparities? Why not enjoy the varieties and likeness for the attainment of peace in society and in our life?

The coronation of

Majesty The King

Rohit Vadhwana

The World Book of Records awarded the Certificate in the House of Commons and the invention was discussed at the Indo UK Leadership Summit

Home

Vikram

Have you ever noticed how similar cultures exist across the globe?

Dementia: Crippling illness with no cure

BBC, to their credit, tackles dementia in their news bulletin, showing different families how they cope with this crippling illness that turns human beings into vegetables! The word dementia covers many symptoms and there are many types of dementia as well The main reason is that part of the brain stop working So the type of dementia depends on which part of the brain is affected

While our government is hell bent on saving the world, r e m o v i n g p o v e r t y a n d p r o v i d i n g f i r s t c l a s s h e a l t h c a r e throughout the world, with some £15 billion in “Overseas Aid” and an ever increasing “Defence Budget”

We involve ourselves in any dispute that may be prevail ing at the time, whether it is Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, Libya or Ukraine while our own people struggle to make ends meet, especially when they have to fork out for care, when a demen tia patient is transferred to a “Nursing Home” with weekly charge, varying from £1500 to £2000, a mind boggling figure when even a quarter of million pound savings disappears within no time at all!

This is in sharp contrast to penniless, work shy people that include irresponsible, spendthrift, easygoing people who do not believe in savings for the rainy days, depending on the State to take care of them, as well as refugees, asylum seekers and such other groups that may found heaven in our country!

Watching their plight on TV, it would be difficult for any one, except harden politicians with no conscious, to remain impartial, not feeling sorry, their pain for their families and friends, as most of them have worked all their lives, paid taxes, to be abandoned in their hour of need Providing care should not depend on one ’ s bank balance but their contribu tions to the nation, how much, and how long they have worked and paid NI and IT!

I am sure my words are falling on deaf ears The situation will not improve unless our people wake up and insist that all major political parties should include care plans under NHS, in their manifesto!

Bhup endra M Gandh i

Your anti Hindu bias

In the German media outlet Deutsche Wells, you pleased your Western masters by repeating lies like the one below The Police account of the troubles nowhere brings in India or your favourite boggy Hindutva And of course, you never fail to drag in Narendra Modi

Let me tell you what your masters won't tell and that is the vast majority of British and German people know that the Hindu community is non violent and does not ter rorise anyone Your biased, hate filled comments are not worth the paper they are written in You can continue to please your masters

''Indian diaspora politics is mirroring what is happen ing back in India The same polarization, the same social media campaigns, the same political and official patronage and the same violence," Bhatia told DW Nitin Mehta Fee or free?

All our household bills are set to soar so why are we lum bered with another (totally unnecessary) bill, namely the BBC's annual licence fee? Other broadcasting organisa tions manage well on advertising revenue and I think the BBC ought to consider following their admirable example Maybe I am the only person in the country who holds this controversial view

A sh Gu pta

Restaurants and bars turning to older workers

H o sp i t a l i t y b u si n e ss e s a r e increa singl y t ur nin g to ol der w o r k e r s t o pl ug s t a ff in g shortage s that have hit the i n d us t r y i n t he wa k e o f B rexit a nd the Covid 19 pan d e m ic , a cc or d i n g t o a n industry survey

Some 19 per cent of the h o s p i t a l i t y b u s i n e s s e s s u r veyed said the proportions of over 50s in their organisa tions had increased in the past year Workers aged 50 or above account for 25 2 per c e n t o f t h e 2 2 m n s t r o n g h o s p i t a l i t y w o r k f o r c e , according to estimates com p i l e d b y r e c r u i t e r C a t e r e r c o m F i g u r e s f r o m t h e O f f i c e f o r N a t i o n a l Statistics show that before 2020, over 50s made up less t h a n

0 p e r c e n t o f t h e industry’s workforce

T h e s e c t o r ’ s s h i f t i n g demographics indicate how managers have had to look b e y o n d t h e t r a d i t i o n a l labour pool to meet staffing needs in recent years The hospitality industry has lost 121,000 EU workers 41 per c e n t o f t h e p r e p a n d e m i c total in the past two years

In August, the vacancy rate across the industry stood at 7 7 per cent at least two p e r c e n t a g e p o i n t s h i g h e r than in any other sector a l t h o u g h t h e r a t e h a s improved slightly in recent months

In July, McDonald’s UK r e s t a u r a n t s l a u n c h e d a recruitment drive targeting older workers, featuring an advert with a silver haired employee who was not “the retiring type”

Sikh Federation UK demands action against ‘racist comments’ by Ealing Southall MP

Si kh F e d e r a t i o n UK h a s que sti oned Labour Par ty’s si l e nc e o n a l l e g e d r a c i st comme nts by Eali ng South Hall MP Vi rendr a Sha rma aga inst Sikhs T he fed era tion h as de manded stri ct action a gai nst th e MP In a twee t, t he y post ed , “Th e L a bo u r l e a d e r K e i r Starme r by fa ili ng to take any action a gai nst the MP whe n vid eo e vid ence ha s be en pro vid ed to the pa rty st a n d s a cc u se d o f be i ng we ak on racism wi thi n the UK La bou r ”

On Monday 3 October a video started to be shared o f V i r e n d r a S h a r m a t h e M P f o r E a l i n g S o u t h a l l a f t e r h e w a s c h a l l e n g e d when taking part in the Gurdwara election at Sri G u r u S i n g h S a b h a , Southall the day before

A press release by the federation stated that the MP failed to properly han dle the situation when he was called out for not tak ing up issues on behalf of Sikh constituents with the I n d i a n g o v e r n m e n t H e responded to being chal lenged by becoming con frontational and stepped over the mark by making d e e p l y o f f e n s i v e c o m ments about the Sikh iden tity

T h e S i k h F e d e r a t i o n (UK) raised the matter in writing with the Labour

Party on 3 October as soon as the video was shared and followed up by warn ing the Labour Party of the reaction of the Sikh com m u n i t y t o V i r e n d r a S h a r m a ’ s c o m m e n t s O n T h u r s d a y t h e f o l l o w i n g was sent to Keir Starmer urging him to take action in the next 48 hours

Jaspal Singh National P r e s s S e c r e t a r y S i k h Federation (UK) wrote a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, raising this issue

V i r e n d r a S h a r m a M P issued a clarification in a statement saying that he was approached by a group as the local MP and the group started asking hos tile questions and filming him “I was challenged on what I had done to support the Sikh and Punjabi com munity

“ I d o n o t k n o w t h e m e n a t t a c k i n g m e , b u t what I said to them was growing a beard does not make you Sikh, it is an ide ology, and it is the values that make a Sikh As an MP I have always played a sec ular role, politics is about politics, not religion and I do not bring religion into my position as a Member of Parliament ” He said it is ridiculous to suggest he an anti Sikh because he has spent a lifetime combat ting racism

BAME renters more affected by rising rent

Ra ci al i ne qua lity is “h ard wi red into our h ousi ng sys tem”, a ch ari ty CEO ha s wa r ne d a s ne w r e se a r ch reve ale d bla ck and minori ty e thnic (BAME) renter s are more af fecte d by rising rent pr ices

A YouGov poll of 2,000 individuals conducted on behalf of the housing char i t y S h e l t e r s h o w e d t h a t one in six BAME private r e n t e r s h a s s e e n a n increase in their rent in the past month

Within this group, 31 p e r c e n t h a v e s e e n a n increase of more than £100 a month, compared to 24 per cent of private renting adults and 21 per cent of w h i t e r e n t e r s A m i d t h e cost of living crisis, nearly 3 9 p e r c e n t o f B A M E r e n t e r s i n E n g l a n d a r e spending at least half of their monthly income on rent, compared to 32 per cent of all private renting adults, and 28 per cent of white renters

Almost 32 per cent of BAME renters are behind on their rent or constantly struggling to pay their rent, compared to 28 per cent of private renting adults or 29 per cent of white renters

“Racial inequality and dis crimination are hard wired into our housing system,” Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter told

“The housing emergen c y d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y impacts people of colour, who are less likely to have a safe and secure home and m o r e l i k e l y t o b e c o m e homeless ” She cited one reason for this is due to the fact that “inequality gaps m e a n p e o p l e o f c o l o u r t e n d t o b e o n l o w e r i n c o m e s ” , l e a v i n g t h e m “ more exposed to extor tionate private rents and benefit squeezes ”

She added that racially m a r g i n a l i s e d g r o u p s a r e also more likely to “face direct discrimination and be refused a rental because of racist housing policies and housing benefit preju dice” The findings come j u s t a s t h e R u n n y m e d e Trust the UK’s race qual ity think tank published an analysis showing that BAME people in the UK a r e m o r e t h a n t w i c e a s likely as white people to experience “deep poverty”, m a k i n g t h e m m o r e exposed to the cost of liv ing crisis

D udakia

K A P I L’ S K H I C H A D I

COPs: Negligent or Incompetent?

There com es a time w hen as a British Hindu of Ind ian origin, I have to ask th e qu estio n, ‘ are the p olice neg ligent, incom petent or both?’ It’s not good reading for the police, nor is it good for our PM Truss or the Home S ecretary, the Rt Hon Su ella Braverman MP

Leicester has exposed the worst in our policing, and not for the first time There is now no doubt that the problems in Leicester stemmed from Islamists attacking Hindus Many of us told the police what the problem was, and where it was coming from We even told the police of the ramifications of not taking early action In the end, our advice fell on deaf ears, and we witnessed a series of attacks on Hindus, Hindu families and Hindu mandirs

Then in an astonishing error of utter stupidity, in a letter to Leicester Council of Faiths, Chief Inspector Paul Allen falsely claimed that a small group of people called for the death of Muslims and Pakistan He alleged that the provocative slogans were raised in Hindi, indicating that it must have been the handiwork of the Indian Hindu diaspora It later transpired that the police got it all wrong and had to make a humiliating correction say ing, “We have investigated this and can find no verifiable e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e r e w e r e a n y c h a n t s o f d e a t h t o Muslims” This single act of police negligence can be con sidered as instrumental in giving the Islamists a green light to attack Hindus Which they did of course

The police were told of specific individuals on twitter (and other SM) who were spreading fake news Some were openly advocating incitement based on hatred for Hindus These were religiously motivated crimes, com mitted by British Islamists who did not have a care in the world They knew the police would do nothing

There is precedence for such inaction by the police I am reminded of the negligence shown by the police in Rotherham and other northern towns where gangs of Pakistani men feasted on white girls The grooming gangs were, and have been, allowed to do whatever they wanted knowing that the cops were either too cowardly to do anything or some who appeared to be complicit in these hideous crimes This madness continues even today

Remember it was Islamists (mostly Pakistani’s) that attacked Indians outside the High Commission in 2019 Right in front of our police, and with no ramifications for the anarchists

Time and again we witness that Islamists can do whatever they want, and the cops will hide in their shel ter of appeasement Is it cowardice? Is it a directive from the Home Office? Is it that they have one law for all of us, and another for Islamists? What is clear is that the police are on the verge of losing the confidence of the people And that is dangerous Hindus are amongst the most law abiding citizens, yet instead of protecting them from attacks, the police appear to care more for the perpetra tors With rhetoric and platitudes used justify their inac tion, I am sorry, but I don’t care two hoots about such pathetic excuses

There now needs to be a full judicial investigation into what happened in Leicester Every aspect must be looked at, and the outcome of the inquiry should be pub lic It’s also time that Hinduphobia (anti Hindu) becomes recognised in law

It’s clear, the Government needs to allocate sufficient funding to allow the community to set up proactive mea sures to protect the safety and security of Hindus and Hindu mandirs (as they have done for the Jewish commu nity)

Islamists are the enemy of the Jews, of Hindus, of white girls and of British society Lest people forget, they are also the enemy of Muslims who face repercussions in their daily lives because of these extremists

Interestingly, not one Muslim politician has come out and denounced the Islamists Now that is telling

For there to be peace and harmony in the nation, we must be united and strong One people, one nation, one flag and one law are the cornerstone of a true democracy

If you are new, then write to Shefali at shefali

com

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit Please keep contributing as always

An

Strong at

other contributors to the book, including former Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh, and former assistant secretary general, of the United Nations and deputy executive direc t o r o f U N W O M E N

L a

P

Renowned actor, Amitabh Bachchan wrote the foreword for the book

Popularly called DU, Delhi University, or the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university that was founded in 1922 b y a n A c t o f t h e C e n t r a l L e g i s l a t i v e

Assembly Recognized as an Institute of E m i n e n c e b y t h e U n i v e r s i t y G r a n t s

Ruchi Ghanashyam

Editor of the book, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, who is himself an alumnus of Hindu College, is a career diplomat with an illustrious four decade long career in diplomacy An author of three books, he said at the launch that the university is among the most successful in the country and a leading centre of excel lence The book launch was attended by

Commission of India, it has become one of India’s largest institutions of higher learn ing and is among the largest universities in the world The university has 16 faculties and 86 departments distributed across its North and South campuses, 77 constituent colleges and five other institutes The Vice President of India serves as the university chancellor

The university initially had two faculties (Arts and Science) and approximately 750 students At that time, only four colleges e x i s t e d i n D e l h i , n a m e l y , S t S t e p h e n ' s College founded in 1881, Hindu College f o u n d e d i n 1 8 9 9 , Z a k i r H u s a i n D e l h i College (then known as The Delhi College) founded in 1792 and Ramjas College found ed 1917 They were subsequently affiliated to the university

The silver jubilee year of the university in 1947 coincided with India's indepen d e n c e T h e n P r i m e M i n i s t e r o f I n d i a Jawaharlal Nehru attended a special cere

mony held in 1948, as no convocation cere mony could be held in 1947 due to the parti tion of India The special ceremony was also a t t e n d e d b y L o r d M o u n t b a t t e n , L a d y M o u n t b a t t e n , A b u l K a l a m A z a d , Z a k i r

has written about the quality of education at DU and the academic temperament that two of its colleges instilled in him Minister Kiren Rijiju has narrated his experience of studying at Hansraj College, where he could a b s o r b t h e D U e x p e r i e n c e t h a t h e l p e d expand his horizons

D r M e e n a k s h i G o p i n a t h , f o r m e r

Principal of Lady Shri Ram College added a scholarly account of the engendering of Higher Secondary Education in India as well as DU s instrumental role in the cause A

Husain and Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar

The golden jubilee celebrations of the university in 1973 were also attended by then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi Satyajit Ray, Amrita Pritam, and M S Subbulakshmi were amongst the other eminent guests

I t i s t h i s i n t e r e s t i n g j o u r n e y t h a t inspired the book A number of India’s con s e q u e n t i a l n a t i o n b u i l d e r s a n d o p i n i o n makers have emerged from the grounds of this University Its alumni include political l e a d e r s , j u r i s t s , a r t i s t s , d i p l o m a t s , entrepreneurs, and litterateurs Ever since its inception in 1922, a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and research has made the University of Delhi a role model and a trendsetter Its rich academic tradi tion has attracted talented students, many of whom have made important contribu tions to society

The book includes 14 engaging essays that highlight the unique appeal of the U n i v e r s i t y , r e f l e c t i n g i t s g l o r i o u s p a s t , inspiring present, and progressive vision for the future In his graciously written fore word, Amitabh Bachchan gives a disarming ly humble account of his time at Kirori Mal C o l l e g e M e m b e r o f P a r l i a m e n t , S h a s h i T h a r o o r h a s w r i t t e n a n e l o q u e n t p i e c e about his time at St Stephen’s College, and the honourable Justice D Y Chandrachud

leading student of the same college, former Ambassador and UN executive, Lakshmi Puri, has written about the formative role the institution played in shaping her later work towards gender empowerment

Speaking at the event, Minister Puri said that there are far greater tributes that lie a h e a d f o r t h e e s t e e m e d i n s t i t u t i o n H e e x p r e s s e d t h e h o p e t h a t t h e a n t h o l o g y , which brings together the views and opin ions of some of the University’s alumni from various fields, would be just the beginning of a more serious and thoughtful examina tion of the legacy of the university and its indelible impact on higher education in India The anthology will provide an inside view of one of the most prestigious public universities in the country to prospective students who have hitherto only seen the u

familiar with the institution will be able to r e

through the words of some of its most famous alumni

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Mrs Lakshmi Puri and other dignitaries launching the

Union Minister HS Puri addressing the audience

A section of the audience at the book launch

SCRUTATOR’S

Jaishankar given Maori welcome in New Zealand

India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar was accorded a traditional welcome in New Zealand ahead of his official engagements in the country Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said he was given a Maori welcome, adding that he deeply appreciated “the symbolism of the convening of two energies together The respect for customs and traditions is such an important aspect of our friendship,” wrote the minister on Twitter along a video of the event. In the clip, Jaishankar can be seen watching a performance of the Maori people, followed by an Indian act The minister called on New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and held a joint presser with his counterpart of the country Nanaia Mahuta during the day With Ardern, Jaishankar discussed encouraging greater business collaboration and people to people exchanges. He also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal greetings to Ardern. (Agency)

Caller warns of blowing up Ambani, his family

Over a month after Mumbai police arrested a 56 year old jewellery designer for allegedly issuing death threats to industrialist Mukesh Ambani, the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital again received two calls from an unknown person He threatened to blow up the hospital, Ambani’s Altamount residence Antilia and said that he would take the lives of several members of the Ambani family Both calls were made from the same mobile number The police have registered a case against an unidentified person for criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication Sources said a police team has left to trace the accused who is believed to be out of Maharashtra An RIL spokesperson stated, “At 12 57 pm and again at 5 04 pm on October 5, a call was received at the call centre of Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, threatening to blow up the hospital and threatening to take the lives of Mukesh, Nita, Akash and Anant Ambani ” (Agency)

Most expensive wrist watch seized at Delhi airport

45 ‘kidnapped’ techies rescued from Myanmar

India said that it has rescued around 45 Indians trapped in fake job rackets in Myanmar The information was shared by the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi who reiterated that India has been actively pursuing the case of Indians being trapped in fake job rackets in Myanmar

"Thanks to the efforts of Indians in Myanmar and Thailand, around 32 Indians had already been rescued and another batch of 13 Indians are on way to India He said that some more Indians have been rescued from their fake employers and are in the custody of Myanmar authorities and legal formalities have been initiated for their return The spokesperson stated that the details of agents allegedly involved in this job racket have been shared with relevant authorities in various states in India for appropriate action (Agency)

Comedian Parag Kansara of Vadodara dies

Lalit to name his successor Justice Lalit retires on November 8 after completing his tenure of 74 days If appointed the next CJI, Justice Chandrachud will get a tenure of two years, till November 9, 2024 Though a routine exercise, the law ministry putout a tweet in what was seen as an unusual step It referred to the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of CJI and SC judges as the basis for the minister writing to the CJI seeking his recommendation As per the MoP, the senior most judge of SC is recommended for the next CJI (Agency)

ED attaches £154,000 of Amnesty trust

hours, the post garnered more than 4,600 likes and hundreds of comments Internet users flooded the comment section with laughing emojis "No doubt you always make us smile," wrote one user "Temjen ji you are hands down the most engaging minister from your part of India It is such a welcome step," said another Inma Along is Nagaland's Minister of Higher Education and Tribal Affairs and state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) He is truly an internet sensation

Previously, he even shared a photo in which he was seen surrounded by a group of people trying to click a selfie with him (Agency)

Selfie obsession landing kids into hospital

An Indian national trying to smuggle in 7 wrist watches, including a customised gold and diamond studded Jacob & Co watch valued at over £2 7 million, has been arrested by Customs at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, people familiar with the matter said The arrest was made when the passenger landed in Delhi from Dubai on an Emirates flight The total value of the seizure is estimated at £2 82 million Customs officials said the suspect was stopped for checking on the basis of passenger profiling and his baggage searched Inside, they found five Rolex Oyster watches, a Piaget Limelight Stella watch and a diamond studded bracelet apart from an iPhone 14 Pro Customs officials said the Rolex watches were worth Rs 15,00,000 each and the Piaget, Rs 30,00,000 But it was the hand crafted James & Co’s Billionaire III watch the company website says only 18 of the limited edition have been made that was the most expensive and bumped up the value of the customs seizure (Agency)

After comedian Raju Srivastava, his friend and fellow comedian Parag Kansara passed away in Vadodara last week The 60 year old comedian who gained limelight with the first season of ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’, passed away at his residence in Gorwa area His daughter Greeva, an actress, said that her father died suddenly and he was disturbed ever since Srivastava passed away last month Kansara had complained of cough and cold as well as breathlessness He was taken to a local hospital “My father was otherwise living a very healthy life But ever since he had returned after attending prayer meet of his friend Raju, he used to remain disturbed,” Greeva said Last week, he was feeling unwell due to cough and breathlessness and was taken to “ our family doctor who insisted that he should get hospitalized but my father refused,” said Greeva Later his condition worsened and he breathed his last (The Times of India)

Rijiju starts drill to appoint next CJI

The drill for appointing Justice DY Chandrachud, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, as the next CJI has begun with law minister

The Enforcement Directorate attached £154,000 parked in bank accounts of Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), a charitable trust of Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act With this, the total attachment so far in this case now exceeds £2 1 million IAIT has already been booked by the CBI for similar violations When the government denied FCRA permission to AIIFT to receive foreign contributions, its UK parent formed Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and AIT in 2013 14 and 2012 13, respectively allegedly to escape the FCRA route (Agency)

Nagaland minister's humour yet again wins internet

An 11 year old boy from a village near Viramgam in Ahmedabad district landed in a hospital with bleeding from his private parts When the doctors inquired about the nature of the injury, the child admitted that he had climbed on to the hood of his father’s tractor and was fiddling with phone to get himself in the frame with the farm behind In his quest for the perfect angle, he slipped, fell and landed on the sidebar of the vehicle A senior paediatric surgeon with an Ahmedabad based hospital said that the patient is still recuperating from the injuries “The incident had caused urethral injury and subsequent swelling Doctors had put a catheter as he was unable to pass urine He had to carry the tube hanging from his stomach for a year before he was operated for the narrowing of the urethral opening , ” he said Another surgeon said that they carried out at least 15 surgeries of varied nature on children who suffered injuries due to the selfie craze Dr Rakesh Joshi, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital, said that while it’s difficult to quantify the selfie related injuries among children, the number has surely increased in the past couple of years (The Times of India) Surat district has highest number of vehicle density

Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along needs no introduction anymore He has been popular on social media ever since he made cheeky remarks about having small eyes and being single Now, Imna Along has shared a photo of himself on Twitter saying that he is always "pose ready" and that he can spot a camera from a mile away even with small eyes "My eyes may be small, but I can see the camera from a mile Always pose ready Imna Along shared the photo and within just a few

Gujarat state has as of September 2022 has 151 4 vehicles for every square km, with vehicle density increasing by 22 8 or 17% since March 2019 Surat district has the highest number of vehicle density, 956, followed by Ahmedabad district at 714 According a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, vehicle density on March 2001 was just 28 4 This rose to 73 5 by March 2011, an increase of 45 or 158% in a decade From 2011 to 2019, vehicle density rose to 128 5, an increase of 55 vehicles per sq km or 75% The increase in vehicle registration would have been higher, but sales of vehicles decreased drastically after Covid hit In the 22 years between 2000 and 2022, the total number of vehicles registered in the state increased to 29 7 million from 56,00,000, a 432% increase (The Times of India)

“Sushila” becomes the fourth of 10 HS2 tunnel-boring machines to be launched

L ast week HS2 Ltd celebrat

e d t h e s t art o f th e ne xt p hase of tu nnelling on the e no rm o u s i nf ra st ru c tu re p roject, launching the first o f s ix tu nn el b o ri ng m achines (TBMs) th at will d ig ov er 26 m iles of tunnels u nd er the capital

H S 2 L t d ’ s C E O , M a r k Thurston was joined by a local teacher, Sushila Hirani, after whom one of the tun nel boring machines at the West London site is named, as it begins on its five mile journey

“Sushila” is the fourth of 1 0 H S 2 t u n n e l b o r i n g machines to be launched T h e m i l e s t o n e h i g h l i g h t s the progress being made on building Britain’s new high speed rail network, creating jobs and providing contracts for businesses now

Later this year a second TBM, named after 18th cen t u r y a s t r o n o m e r C a r o l i n e H e r s c h e l , w i l l a l s o b e l a u n c h e d f r o m t h e W e s t London site to build the sec ond of HS2’s twin bore tun n e l s t o w a r d s c e n t r a l London

E a c h w e i g h i n g o v e r 2,000 tonnes and measuring 140 metres in length, both TBMs will bore five miles n o n s t o p f o r 2 2 m o n t h s , except Christmas Day and bank holidays, to Greenpark W a y i n G r e e n f o r d , w h e r e they will be dismantled and lifted from the ground

S e p a r a t e l y , t w o o t h e r

equally massive tunnel bor i n g m a c h i n e s w i l l s e t o f f t o w a r d s G r e e n p a r k W a y from HS2’s Victoria Road site in 2023 to build a further 3 4 m i l e t w i n b o r e t u n n e l T o g e t h e r t h e q u a r t e t o f TBMs will build 8 4miles of twin bored tunnels between West Ruislip and the new high speed rail super hub s t a t i o n a t O l d O a k Common Another 4 5 mile twin bore tunnel extending from Old Oak Common to Euston will complete HS2’s journey to its London termi nus

L o c a l s c h o o l c h i l d r e n f r o m D a i r y M e a d o w Primary School in Southall a n d B r e n t s i d e P r i m a r y Academy helped name the TBMs after participating in workshops about the tun n e l l i n g w o r k T h e T B M l a u n c h e d t o d a y i s c a l l e d S u s h i l a a f t e r l o c a l s c h o o l t e a c h e r S u s h i l a Hirani, Head of Department a n d L e a d f o r S T E M a t Greenford High School The W i l l o w c l a s s a t D a i r y Meadow Primary School in Southall suggested the name

due to her inspiring work a n d p a s s i o n f o r g e t t i n g m o r e w o m e n a n d y o u n g p e o p l e f r o m B A M E b a c k g r o u n d s i n t o S T E M s u b

jects

With a background in product design, Sushila has been a teacher for nearly 30 years Her involvement in l o c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s , i n c l u d i n g t h e W a t e r s i d

h

Southall, and drive to attract girls into STEM subjects as a path towards Engineering at A L e v

, a

a n d

many in the local area

Speaking about having HS2’s first London tunnel boring machine named after her, Sushila said: “I was v e r y s u r p r i s e d t h a t t h e Willow class pupils at Dairy Meadow chose to put my name forward for this hon our When I met the pupils, I was very impressed by how much work they had already e n g a g e d i n r e l a t i n g t o design and technology and STEM, led by their teacher Prabhjot Uppal, who is the design technology lead at the school I have always had a p a s s i o n f o r i n d u s t r i a l design and engineering, and i f t h i s e v e n t h e l p s y o u n g people connect with engi neering and inspire them to pursue this path, then my small contribution here has been worthwhile ”

NHS consultant suspended for gropping

A n N HS co n su l tan t h a s b ee n su s p e nd e d a ft er squeezing the stom ach and h i p s o f a c o l lea g u e a nd telling h er that she looked “ ravishing”

After he was rebuffed, V i k r a m G a n g a i a h A a r e l l a told a junior doctor that she w a s u n p r o f e s s i o n a l w h e n she told him not to kiss her A disciplinary tribunal heard that he went on to tell his colleague: “You’re not mar

ried yet ” The woman, who h a s n o t b e e n i d e n t i f i e d , c l a i m e d t h a t t h e i n c i d e n t made her “too scared” to go to work and that she ulti m a t e l y w e n t t o c o u r t t o obtain a restraining order

T h e d i a b e t e s a n d endocrinology specialist was accused of misconduct that s p a n n e d t h r e e y e a r s a n d included sexually harassing two other junior doctors He repeatedly invited two of the

three women to his home and regularly touched them inappropriately A Medical P r a c t i t i o n e r s t r i b u n a l h a s now ruled that this miscon duct impaired his fitness to practise and has suspended him for ten months

The tribunal suspended t h e c o n s u l t a n t f o r t e n months and ordered that a r e v i e w h e a r i n g m u s t t a k e place before the suspension ends

Man jailed for attacking the innocent Sikh priest

A m an w ho left a gentle and kind Sikh priest for d ead af te r a " m in d l es s" a tta ck in M a nch e st er h a s b ee n se nte nc ed to th r ee y ea rs i n p r is o n C la ud io C am pos, of L ad ybarn L ane, knocked Av tar S ing h uncon s c i o u s in br o ad d ay li g h t after he w rongly believ ed he h ad come into contact with h i s g i rl fr ie nd ' s arm M r S ing h's family s ay his life w ill nev er be th e same as C am pos' attack left him p er m ane ntl y bra i n d a m ag ed T h e 6 2 y ear o l d f at h er rem ains in hospital and is u n ab le to w a lk a nd ta lk three month s on from the

attack

Campos pleaded guilty t o a s s a u l t a f t e r h e w a s arrested in September and w a s s e n t e n c e d a t Manchester Crown Court Mr Singh had walked the same route from his work place at a textile factory for almost four decades But on 23 June 2022, he came into c o n t a c t w i t h 2 8 y e a r o l d C a m p u s , w h o w r o n g l y believed he had brushed his girlfriend's arm

He pursued the priest on Tib Street, in the Northern Q u a r t e r , a n d w i t h t w o p u n c h e s t o t h e h e a d , knocked him unconscious

a n d w a l k e d a w a y C C T V r e l e a s e d b y p o l i c e a t t h e time of the attack shows Mr Singh lying in the middle of t h e s t r e e t , b e f o r e b e i n g taken to hospital where he has been ever since

F o l l o w i n g i n t e l l i g e n c e r e c e i v e d f r o m t h e p u b l i c , Campos was found by police and taken into custody in September, where he admit ted the assault

Family of Sikh priest say he will never recover after 'mindless' attack Campus' vicious attack left Mr Singh with a loss of sight in one eye, partial loss of memory and unable to walk

Wh en t hes e u nfo rtu nate events took p lace, I w as out of town both times As concerned, I called and spoke to a few people from each comm uni ty, j ust to und erstand bo th sides of the story Th e crick et match is being used as an excuse We have had such m a tc h es bef o re t o o b u t L e ic es te r w a s t h e le as t affected We are creating a disg race for o ur own com mu nity, a comm unity who were so peacefu l

Today it feels like we have turned Leicester into India or Pakistan If we read the comments and posts of the English people regarding what happened in Leicester, Most of them are comment ing, “do not bring your local i s s u e s i n t o o u r c o u n t r y , keep them back home where they belong and let us live in p e a c e ” S p e a k i n g t o t h e head of our forces and lead ers it has been learned that many of the trouble makers or peace breakers had come from out of Leicester to cre ate friction between com munities

The police have made over 50 arrests and will be c o m i n g o u t w i t h r e p o r t s soon The city of Leicester has always been known as the most vibrant and peace

f u l c i t y i n B r i t a i n where people live in peace and harmony

A city which cele b r a t e s a l l f e s t i v a l s w h e r e p e o p l e o f e v e r y c o m m u n i t y attend the festivals

People have different faiths have been living as neigh b o u r s f o r d e c a d e s a n d respect each other Leicester is celebrating Navratri and Garba nights very peacefully with large numbers of peo p l e a t t e n d i n g M u s l i m s , Sikhs and Christians attend the celebrations

On Sunday the 9th of October Belgrave road and M e l t o n r o a d h a d D i w a l i l i g h t s s w i t c h e d o n w h i c h was attended by people of all communities It went very peacefully and was enjoyed by all This proves a point t h a t t h e c o m m u n i t i e s o f Leicester never have always and are united as one even to date The troublemakers and haters came from out of Leicester and also many had t a k e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t y o f s p r e a d i n g h a t e v i a s o c i a l media, WhatsApp and other means

The leaders of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh commu nities have condemned the h a t e r s w h o t a r g e t e d Leicester and have shown t h e i r u n i t y H i n d u s , Muslims, Sikhs, Jews and people of different faiths c a m e t o L e i c e s t e r f o r

Decades, where they faced many racial challenges, but united as one they fought racism Today is our time to stand together and stop the haters who are trying to d e s t r o y o u r p e a c e a n d c a u s e f r i c t i o n b e t w e e n communities through evil acts

United we Stand, divid ed we fall We are grateful to our forces for their sup port and we stand by them a t a l l t i m e s W e a r e s o blessed to be in a country w h e r e o u r L a t e H e r Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s message has always been to “Unite people of all faith by b r i n g i n g p e o p l e t o g e t h e r from around the world We are so proud of our King C h a r l e s w h o f o l l o w s t h e same thoughts, He met the leaders of all faiths and told them he was determined as a King to preserve and pro mote those principles” Our elders migrated to Britain to build a safer and better future for us and the gener ations to come

Let us keep their legacy and dreams alive, by main taining peace, love, harmo ny and community cohe sion I can assure everyone we the people of Leicester a r e s t i l l u n i t e d a n d Leicester is still the most peaceful city in Britain We are proud to be British and p r o u d o f t h e U n i t e d Kingdom God bless all

Waiting list for breast cancer patients is alarming

Ev en after getting an urg ent referral from the GP , one in three women with potential b rea st c anc er ar e w a it i ng mo re than two weeks to see a sp ecialist

B a s e d o n a n a l y s i s o f women referred to hospitals with breast symptoms, more t h a n 5 5 , 0 0 0 w o m e n i n England did not have their f i r s t c o n s u l t a n t a p p o i n t ment within 14 days in the year to March, missing a key NHS target

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e d a t a c o m p i l e d b y T h e T i m e s , since 2018, a higher propor t i o n o f p a t i e n t s w i t h a l l

potential cancer types are missing the two week wait ing target, when the nation al goal that 93 per cent of p o t e n t i a l c a s e s s h o u l d b e seen within 14 days was last met " W e a p o l o g i s e t o patients who are not being seen by a specialist as soon a s t h e y s h o u l d , ” S a r a Randall, the chief operating officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation

Trust, said “ T h e d e l a y h a s b e e n c a u s e d b y s t a f f i n g c h a l lenges for mammographers

We have undertaken target ed recruitment campaigns and have put plans in place for additional clinics, week end working and insourcing capacity ” M i c h e l l e M i t c h e l l , t h e c h i e f e x e c u t i v e o f C a n c e r R e s e a r c h U K , s a i d : “ L o n g waits for cancer diagnosis and treatment have become the norms When a matter of weeks can be enough for cancer to progress, this is unacceptable We need

Unsafe sanitiser suppliers appeals verdict

C o m p any d i re ct o rs w h o were conv icted of supplying unsafe h and sanitiser d uring the Co vid 1 9 p andemic h av e ap p ea led th ei r g u i lty v er dicts pushing the case back to su mmer 20 23 Digbeth based wh olesalers Big Living Ltd p rov ided hundred s o f c o nta i ner s w h i ch w er e adv ertised to contain 80 per cent alco hol w hen in reality so m e o f i t co ntained less th a n 3 0 p e r c en t, a tr ia l heard

The firm, along with its directors Jeewan Sagu, aged 4 1 o f B i r c h a l l S t r e e t , Digbeth, Rajika Sagu, 36 and

f r o m W a k e G r e e n R o a d , Moseley and Desktop IT Ltd a business in its own right w a s f o u n d g u i l t y o f f o u r o f f e n c e s T h e y i n c l u d e d placing an unsafe product o n t h e m a r k e t , c a u s i n g another trader to engage in a commercial practice which was a misleading action and misleading advertising The f o u r t h o f f e n c e r e l a t e d t o f a i l i n g t o a d o p t m e a s u r e s under the General Product Safety Regulations

They were due to be sen tenced but on October 6, Birmingham Crown Court heard that they had contest

e d t h e d e c i s i o n M a r k J a c k s o n , p r o s e c u t i n g o n behalf of Birmingham City Council, said: "They were convicted at the magistrates' court but have appealed the conviction

" F r o m a p r o s e c u t i o n point of view, our prefer ence would be for a sentenc i n g h e a r i n g t o t a k e p l a c e i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e f a c t a p p e a l s w i l l t a k e p l a c e However, the defence made t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t o t h e court effectively submitting that the conviction appeal s h o u l d t a k e p l a c e b e f o r e anyone is sentenced ”

'I urge women from each community to encourage the youngsters to spread harmony, peace and brotherhood' Vic Sethi, Entrepreneur and Businessman, Leicester

Diwali on the Square unites

UK celebrates its first ever Durga Parade on Thames

Rupanjana Dutta

It was a crisp Saturday afternoon in Lo nd on Desp ite the national rail strike, tube closures and crazy traffic that grind th e city to a halt, no one could beat the indo mitable spirit of U K’s Beng ali commu nity, w ho gathered to celebrate the f irst ev er Du rg a P arad e on T h a m es o rg ani s ed by He ri tag

The celebration

celebrated by

became a shining example of

city’s unity and strength in diversity

“What a beautiful day in our capital After so long it was wonderful to come together at Diwali on the Square with

Londoners of all faiths and none I wish all of London’s Sikh, Jain and Hindu com munities the very best as they prepare to celebrate the Festival of Light,” the Mayor said

The event was also attended by the newly appointed High Commissioner of India in London Mr Vikram Doraiswami

He shared photographs of the event and tweeted, “Terrific #Diwali festive spirit at #TrafalgarSquare today, with #London Mayor Sadeq Khan and leaders of Hindu, Jain, Sikh faiths, all communities as d Amb of #Nepal and HC of #Uganda @HCI London @MEAIndia @offlondon mayor ”

g al Global (HBG) C oincid ing with the Red Road C arniv

B

October, this was an effort

in Kolkata

show

and s

U

Intangible

ultural Heritage of Humanity crown recently

October

On

also participated

o m Kumortuli (a traditional potters’ quarter in north Kolkata) transforming the boats into mini tableaus of Bengal Kumortuli artisan Kaushik Ghosh flew down from Kolkata specially to help with the decors of the boats

Diwali

the

by the Mayor of London

Over 200 people participated in the parade The boat sailed from Millbank Pier to London Eye and back The Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK, Sujit Ghosh along with representatives of His Majesty’s Armed Forces and FICCI were present on board among other dignitaries

At the annual Diwali celebration at Trafalgar Square, organised by the office of M a y o r o f L o n d o n , t h e H e r i t a g e B e n g a l Global members put up a grand colourful cultural show, which entailed an ‘Adivasi’ or a tribal cultural programme commemorat ing India’s first President from the tribal community

A HBG spokesperson said, “This year ’ s the back to back events of Durga Parade on Thames and Diwali at Trafalgar Square helped us immensely in our endeavour to promote Durga puja and the traditional cul tural heritage of Bengal, which should likely put Kolkata on the global tourism map We wanted to convert the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage tag of Durga Puja to some thing more tangible to realise its full poten tial ”

Diwali lights turned on at Leicester

HC Vikram Doraiswami with Mayor Sadiq Khan and others on Diwali at the Square

famous Camden Durga puja There were cutouts of the protima (idol) from Midlands

Bengali Sanskrit Club of Peterborough

Bhowanipur

Palli

Bagbazar Sarbojanin pujas

The main boat carrying the idol was

C

a

Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK Sujit Ghosh with Param Shah from FICCI and HBG Director Anirban Mukhopadhyay

Enthusiast community members taking selfie with the Goddess in the backdrop of the Palace of Westminster

Boat Golden Sunrise at Durga Parade on Thames

HBG's performance on Sunday at Mayor’s Diwali on the Square

Photo

Liecester City Council

ICICI Bank UK PLC offers bank account in UK for Indian students

I C I CI B an k UK P LC , a wh olly owned su bsidiary of I CICI Bank Limited, offers a b a nk a c c o u n t t o I n di a n s tu dents as piring to stu dy i n

e U K c a ll ed ,

a

n t

of personal, business and corporate banking services

r

A c c o u n t’ ( H V C A) Th e acco unt comes with a VIS A d e bi t c a rd w h i c h c an b e u sed anywh ere i n the wo rld

Students can open the a c c o u n t , w h i c h i s e q u i v a l e n t t o s a v i n g s account in India, digitally and instantly while they are still in India They can do so o n l i n e o r t h r o u g h I C I C I B a n k U K i M o b i l e a p p , without visiting an ICICI B a n k b r a n c h O n c e t h e account is opened, they can activate internet banking, mobile banking and debit c a r d T h e p h y s i c a l d e b i t card is delivered to their address in India or UK

S t u d e n t s c a n a v a i l education loan, travel card, b a n k a c c o u n t s , m o n e y transfer to UK or vice versa through one touch point

Mr Pratap Singh, Head Retail Banking, ICICI Bank UK PLC said, “ICICI Bank UK has been serving the Indian diaspora for more than a decade with a range

We understand the unique b a n k i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s o f students coming to the UK for further education and endeavor to make banking e f f o r t l e s s f o r t h e m T h e d i g i t a l a c c o u n t o p e n i n g f a c i l i t y h e l p s t h e I n d i a n s t u d e n t s w i t h s m o o t h onboarding to the UK bank account while they are still i n I n d i a T h e ‘ H o m e V a n t a g e C u r r e n t A c c o u n t ’ a n d t h e V I S A debit card helps them to take care of their day to day banking requirements in the UK Students and their parents in India have a s t r o n g c o n n e c t w i t h I C I C I B a n k W e l o o k f o r w a r d t o s e r v i n g t h e needs of the students while they study in the UK, and their parents in India for facilitating their overseas b a n k i n g n e e d s i n a convenient, safe and secure manner ”

Key features of ‘HomeVantage Current Account’: u F ul l y d i g i t a l p r oc e ss :

Students can open the b a n k a c c o u n t o n l i n e

either from India or in t h e U K a n d g e t t h e a c c o u n t d e t a i l s instantly*

u F r e e d e b i t ca r d :

Students receive VISA debit card at the given address of India or the UK

u A v a i l a b l e 2 4 / 7: T h e f a c i l i t y o f d i g i t a l l y opening and accessing t h e b a n k a c c o u n t i s available 24/7

HomeVantage Current Account can be applied and activated in three easy steps:

1 Apply via mob ile app or we bsite: Applicants can download ICICI Bank UK iMobile app from India or

U K A p p s t o r e s o r a p p l y o n l i n e b y v i s i t i n g www icicibank co uk

2 S u b m i ssi o n o f app lication : Fill in online a p p l i c a t i o n f o r m , s c a n original passport (Indian or B r i t i s h ) a n d s u b m i t t h e a p p l i c a t i o n A c c o u n t w i l l be opened instantly*

3 Activa te in tern et an d mobi le b ank in g: Once the a c c o u n t i s o p e n e d , s t u d e n t s c a n i n s t a n t l y activate internet banking and mobile banking

*Subject to checks, terms and conditions apply For opening joint accounts, students can visit any of the nearest branches of ICICI Bank

NHS now reliant on foreign staff

The number of British staff le avin g the NHS has shot up ahe ad of the e xpe ct ed wint er cr i s is , a n a n a l y si s h a s r e v e a le d , w i t h t h e U K in cr e a si n g ly r e li a n t o n over seas re cr uitmen t

Global health chiefs have criticised Britain for seeking staff in countries with worse w o r k e r s h o r t a g e s T h e y warned that it risked leaving patients in those countries unable to access care The international workforce in the NHS has been growing f a s t e r t h a n t h e U K workforce, with an influx of staff from countries such as I n d i a , N i g e r i a , t h e Philippines and Ghana

S o m e 1 1 7 , 8 1 9 B r i t i s h staff left the NHS in the year to June 40 per cent higher than the 84,454 in the year to June 2020 An analysis shows that three years ago, 71 percent of net additional s t a f f , c a l c u l a t e d a s t h e number of joiners minus the n u m b e r o f l e a v e r s , w e r e British In the latest year ’ s figures only 15 per cent were from the UK

A Department of Health s p o k e s w o m a n s a i d : “ I n t e r n a t i o n a l r e c r u i t m e n t is only one part of our plans to grow the NHS workforce a n d t h e s u p p l y o f h o m e g r o w n s t a f f i s increasing ”

Staff wins employment tribunal against Harrogate firm

Fo rt y six fo r me r m e mbe r s of sta ff a t Ha rr oga t e fir m C N G ha v e wo n a n e m p lo y m e n t t r i bu n a l aga inst t he failed compa ny worth a bout £210, 000

T h e e x c o l l e a g u e s claimed CNG didn’t follow t h e c o r r e c t r e d u n d a n c y procedures when the firm w e n t i n t o a d m i n i s t r a t i o n last year A tribunal in Leeds a g r e e d w i t h t h e i r c l a i m , brought by solicitor Nuala Toner, and awarded them 9 0 d a y s ’ p a y a s

compensation

H o w e v e r , e a c h claimant’s award was capped a t e i g h t w e e k s a n d a maximum of £571 a week It

m e a n s t h e t o t a l s u m awarded to the group as a w h o l e i s a b o u t £ 2 1 0 , 0 0 0 A n y r e m a i n i n g s u m o w e d c a n b e c l a i m e d i n t h e insolvency process, although whether any funds will be left when all creditors are paid remains to be seen

The compensation will be paid by the government’s R e d u n d a n c y P a y m e n t Service because CNG is in administration The claim, heard last month, was not c o n t e s t e d b y t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f C N G C N G c e a s e d t r a d i n g l a s t y e a r d u e t o s p i r a l l i n g wholesale gas and electricity prices

Pratap Singh, Head Retail Banking, ICICI Bank UK PLC

High Street pharmacists treat

people for minor illnesses

Mo re than 1 00,000 p atients were seen by th eir h igh street ph armaci st in jus t one month according to new NHS figures, help i ng p eo ple get th e quick care th ey need as well as easing p ressure o n GP teams facing

In June, 118,123 people with minor ill nesses such as a sore throat or constipation, o r t h o s e i n n e e d o f m e d i c i n e u r g e n t l y , received a same day consultation with their local pharmacist after calling NHS 111 or their GP practice an increase of more than four fifths (83%) on the number in the same month last year (64,512)

T h e d a t a c o m e s a l o n g s i d e e x p a n d e d roles for community pharmacies ahead of winter, announced at the NHS England board meeting today

From this week, NHS 111 online can directly refer people to their high street pharmacist for a same day consultation, rather than patients needing to call the phone line

And from tomorrow, people will be able t o r e g i s t e r o r c h a n g e t h e i r G P p r a c t i c e online, as part of a pilot being rolled out to hundreds of practices

People can search online on the nhs uk website for their nearest GP and register within minutes under the new pilot of 70 practices, with plans in place to scale the service up to 600 practices in the coming months

GP teams are seeing and treating more people than ever before with 35 million more people seen in general practice a year compared to pre pandemic levels Face to face appointments are also at their highest level since before the pandemic with around two thirds of appointments carried out in person at GP practices in August

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “Our local pharmacies ensure hun dreds of thousands of people every week get the support and medication they need and today’s figures show that in just one month, over 100,000 patients have also had consul t a t i o n s w i t h t h e i r l o c a l p h a r m a c i s t f o r minor illnesses this means patients are getting the care they need quickly but also in a convenient way that can fit in with their busy lives

“We are committed to making access to NHS services as easy as possible for our patients from this week, people can be referred for a consultation with their local pharmacy through the touch of a button through NHS 111 online and from tomor row, a new pilot will mean people can regis ter for a local GP practice online within minutes

“It is likely that we will face a busy and c h a l l e n g i n g w i n t e r a n d w h i l e w e h a v e already announced plans to boost capacity across our services, I am delighted that hard working pharmacy teams are playing an even greater role

“It is vital that the public continue to use the NHS as they normally would if they are unwell so people should continue to use NHS 111 and as ever, if it is life threatening, call 999 ”

From next month, anyone can see their GP records on the NHS App including new blood test results, without the need to con tact their surgery

T h e g e n e r a l p r a c t i c e w o r k f o r c e h a s increased by 19,000 since 2019 ahead of the government target of recruiting 26,000 staff by 2024, including building multi profes sional teams who offer patients a wide range of care

Sikh community is serving up meals to more people than ever

Ev ery week on the streets of U K, aro und 60,0 00 free h ot meals are being serv ed by th e S i kh co m m u ni ty , a bi g in cr eas e com pared to previous years

Due to the cost of living crisis, Sikh p l a c e s o f w o r s h i p ( G u r d w a r a s ) , w h i c h anyone can go into to eat for free, have seen a large influx of people of non Sikh faith come in for food

Jag Singh, a committee member at Sri Guru Singh Sabha Slough (SGSSS), said: "We've never seen so many people in the Gurdwara which is great, but sadly we can tell they're really struggling

"You know the situation's bad when

people are unable to put food on the table "

He added: "Our doors will continue to stay open for all, regardless of faith, gender and status because that's exactly why langar was set up "

A s a r e s u l t o f t h e l a r g e c r o w d , t h e

Gurdwara are considering expanding their langar hall

G u r u N a n a k D e v J i , t h e f o u n d e r o f

Sikhism introduced Langar over 500 years ago, because of his belief in the oneness of humanity It is believed that 60,000 meals of langar are served just on the streets of the UK every week, almost double the number of pre pandemic figures

Coveted ARTA awards handed out to restaurants

Hampstead curry house The Rajdoot has scooped Regional Chef of the Year at the Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards Bengal Tiger in Old St reet, Islingt on won Best Rest aurant East London

The awards recognise the best of the UK's Asian cuisine with finalists selected from 2,370 nominations of South Asian takeaways, restaurants and chefs, based on a survey of 700,000 customers of the app Chefonline Quality of service, food, and value for money plus Hygiene ratings a n d T r i p a d v i s o r a n d G o o g l e r a n k i n g s were put in the mix with shortlisted r e s t a u r a n t s i n v i t e d t o a c o o k o f f f o r judges who scored dishes on flavour, appearance, texture, hygiene, and aroma T h e R a j d o o t , i n F l e e t R o a d , a n d K e n t i s h T o w n r e s t a u r a n t M o n s o o n m i s s e d o u t o n n o r t h L o n d o n s B e s t Restaurant award which went to Bayleaf in Whetstone But owner Mohammad Rahman, whose family founded their sis ter venue in Marylebone in 1964 and the Hampstead eatery in 2017, said he was d e l i g h t e d t o w i n b e s t c h e f f o r n o r t h

London "It was a lovely ceremony and we are very happy to win this award," he said " T h e c h e f A b d u r R o b i s m y y o u n g e r brother and he's very good!"

Abdur cooked Bahari Lamb a dish with tomatoes, green chilis and "chef's own spices" and "chef's own recipe" Benaroshi King Prawn for the judges, w h o i n c l u d e d C h a n d R a h m a n , M o h a m m e d M u j i b u r R a h m a n , a n d Graham Taylor

A w a r d s f o u n d e r S a l i k M o h a m m e d Munim said: "The ARTA Awards are a r e c o g n i t i o n o f B r i t a i n ’ s v i b r a n t A s i a n restaurants, takeaways, and chefs Since the inception of ARTA, we have clearly seen the phenomenal quality of entrants, and the bar set by each, and every nomi nee has been increasing each year I am truly blown away by the standards set by the competition and having been privy to exceptional quality extended by the nom inees, I can confidently assert that Asian culinary industry in Britain is in safe hands Every nominee and winner should be proud of their work "

g

Th ere are some people I know wh ose mortgage w ill d ouble because their fixed rate w as around 2 9% and th eir new offer w ill be aro und 6% How did this happen? Y ou thou ght the Bank of Eng land set interest rates and banks then set m ort g ag es based on th ose No T he bo nd markets can determ ine w hat your bank offers you A nd the bo nd m arket a vote on the confidence fund m anagers have in a Gov ernment A ctually, it’ s a vo te on w hat they think w ill make th em m oney based on what they think oth ers will do in the bond m arket

Either way a lot of people will see mortgages double Others in anticipation of that will already be cutting back unnecessary spending I recommend you cut back on unnecessary spending

How Bad C ould The Stock Market Get?

The stock market started strong in October 2022, with all three major US indices opening up well over 2 percent

I though I would share with the views of Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager who was made famous by the movie “The Big Short” as someone who saw and profited from the stock market crash of 2008

In a recent tweet, Burry said that he’s feeling greedy about the market again, just like he did in 2000 And that s not a good sign

The spikes noticed recently in the stock market might mislead investors into thinking that inflation has peaked But, according to Burry, inflationary eras last a long time, while inflation cycles don't A mild deflation might be a sign that the inflationary era is far from over

As interest rates rise and the cost of capital for business rises, so expect profit margins and profits to drop So the fast growth of recent years will take a hit Does that mean all stocks suffer? No Energy stocks are doing well They do not suffer from profit problems in this environment

Equally holding good companies like Microsoft for a longer time is a good way to go too But those trying to trade in and out need to take care That takes skill and time I am buying GBPUSD but the way I do it is to look at what would happen is it fell from 1 11 to 0 9 Could I handle the loss? Because I do not want to have to exit due to margin calls just as it turns around So I need to use less leverage and a cau tious way of doing things That’s my style I do not want a one in a hundred year event to wipe me out I don’t like gambling

You can learn more from www campaignforamillion com

Facebook employees in UK rose by 37%

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Economic policies may have caused more death than Covid in UK

The UK governmen t’s eco nomic policie s ar e “likel y ” to have caused a “ gr eat man y more deat hs” than the Covid pande mic, an academic has claimed

R e s e a r c h e r s s a i d t h e i r

“ n o t o n l y s h o c k i n g b u t

shameful” statistics showed t h a t a l m o s t 3 3 5 , 0 0 0 m o r e deaths than expected were r e c o r d e d a c r o s s S c o t l a n d , England and Wales over an eight year period Experts at Glasgow University and the G l a s g o w C e n t r e f o r Population Health (GCPH) had looked at data on deaths in the three countries over

the period 2012 to 2019

C o m m e n t i n g o n t h e findings, Ruth Dundas, a p r o f e s s o r o f s o c i a l e p i d e m i o l o g y a t t h e University of Glasgow and one of the authors of the r e p o r t , s a i d : “ T h i s s t u d y s h o w s t h a t i n t h e U K a g r e a t m a n y m o r e d e a t h s a r e l i k e l y t o h a v e b e e n caused by UK government economic policy than by the Covid 19 pandemic ”

Her comments came as the report said there was n o w a “ c l e a r a n d u r g e n t need for such harmful p o l i c i e s t o b e r e v e r s e d ” ,

Nirav Modi’s suicide risk in UK High Court

with the authors urging the government to “implement m e a s u r e s t o p r o t e c t t h e most vulnerable in society”

The study, published in the J o u r n a l o f E p i d e m i o l o g y a n d C o m m u n i t y H e a l t h , noted there were 334,327 e x c e s s d e a t h s o v e r t h e e x p e c t e d n u m b e r i n E n g l a n d , W a l e s a n d Scotland over the period T h i s i n c l u d e d 2 3 7 , 8 5 5 e x c e s s d e a t h s a m o n g s t males in England and Wales, with a further 12,735

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profits jumped 21% to £230 million, despite a 19% drop in taxes paid to £30 million F a c e b o o k s a i d t h e d i s crepancy was a result of a number of factors including a change in the rate of corpora tion tax and an increase in deferred tax credit due to its s h a r e b a s e d e m p l o y e e p a y p a c k a g e T h e f i r m s a i d i t s actual tax bill was higher, as those tax credits would crys tallise in future years

BoE’s intervention saved Britain from financial crisis

T he Bank of Eng land sai d that its intervention in the U K gov ernment debt market recently had p revented a £50 bn fire sale of gilts that w ould h a v e tak en Br it ai n to th e brink o f a financial crisis

The central bank defend ed its action, saying that had it not launched its emergency bond buying in the wake of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s “mini” Budget, pension funds would have been forced to

sell £50bn worth of long term UK government debt “in a short space of time”

This would far exceed the average daily trading volume of £12bn The BoE’s defence of the scheme, in which it said it would buy up to £65bn in gilts over a 13 day period, is the clearest sign yet of how close the UK came to a mar k e t m e l t d o w n f o l l o w i

Kwarteng’s plan for £45bn in unfunded tax cuts

On Tuesday, the High Court in London began hearing evi dence from two psychiatric experts to determine the level of suicide risk faced by 51 year old diamond merchant Nirav Modi if he is extradited to India Modi is facing charges of fraud and money laundering, amounting to an estimated USD 2 billion in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case PTI reported that the two psychiatrists weighed up Nirav’s level of depression, which could pose a substantial or elevated risk of suicide Both revealed conducting personal assessments of Nirav Modi at Wandsworth prison in south west London, where he has been lodged for over three years, and reported he “only thinks of cutting or hanging if extra dited”

The court also heard that depression is classified as a sense of “hopelessness, worthlessness and pointlessness” and that Nirav is currently on prescribed antidepressants, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), of medium grade

Statistical analysis showed previously improving mor tality trends had changed around the period 2011 to 2013 in both Scotland and England with this occur

Departments face spending cuts, admits Cleverly

Fo re i g n se c re t a ry J a m e s Cle ve rly ha s be come the first se cre ta ry of s ta te to a d m i t d e pa rtm e n t s f a ce s pe n d i n g cuts, say ing the Foreig n Office w i l l n e e d to d e l i v e r t o a

“tighte r budget”

C o n c e r n h a s m o u n t e d over potential cuts after chan c e l l o r K w a s i K w a r t e n g stressed the need for depart m e n t s t o “ w o r k m o r e e f f i c i e n t l y ” a n d h a v e a “ d i s c i plined approach to spending” in his mini budget fuelling speculation that public ser vices could shoulder the cost of his tax cuts

Treasury secretary Simon Clarke has also said depart ments would need to look for “ e f f i c i e n c i e s ” w h i c h w a s i n t e r p r e t e d b y u n i o n s a s a e u p h e m i s m f o r j o b c u t s S p e a k i n g a t a U K i n a Changing Europe event at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Cleverly reit erated the need for “efficiency

s a v i n g s ” , s a y i n g : “ M o n e y ’ s t i g h t r i g h t a c r o s s g o v e r n ment”

“When that money starts coming back through, I will be able to use that efficiently and well In the meantime, we ’ ve got to look at ways of cutting our cloth to match our purse and delivering excellence in f o r e i g n a f f a i r s o n a t i g h t e r budget,” he said

He added: “We can squeal about that all we like If you turn around to me and say, ‘James, would you like your budget doubled?’, I’d say yes We could use more money efficiently and well, but the bottom line is money ’ s too tight to mention ” During the event, Cleverly also addressed concern that development had b e e n “ d e p r i o r i t i s e d ” d u r i n g the merger of the Foreign and C o m m o n w e a l t h O f f i c e a n d t h e D e p a r t m e n t f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t two years ago

Fixed mortgage rate crosses 6% after 12 years

The a verage intere st rate on a five year fixed mor tgage sma shed through six per cen t for the first t ime since

in t he late st b low for homeowners

The symbolic breaching of the six per cent landmark came as the fallout from Kwasi Kwarteng’s botched mini B u d g e t c o n t i n u e d t o r e v e r b e r a t e through the economy Latest data from analysts Moneyfacts showed that the average rate on a five year fix one of the most popular of all mortgage prod ucts rose from 5 97 per cent to 6 02 per cent, the highest in 12 years O n t h e d a y o f t h e C h a n c e l l o r ’ s

speech, less than two weeks ago, it stood at just 4 75 per cent and a year ago they were at 2 55 per cent Average two year fixes broke through six per cent and then stood at 6 11 per cent, the highest s

means millions of homeowners face crippling mortgage bill increases when their current deals come to an end It is estimated that about 1 3 million house holds will have to remortgage next year b e

gage rates but it is essential they seek advice to assess the deals that are avail able to them right now

“The drop in product availability may be worrying but many lenders have been vocal to stress their withdrawals are temporary amid interest rate uncer tainties

The Chancellor will meet with some of the country’s biggest banks to discuss concerns about the recent impact on the mortgage market At the Tory Party c

on the Government’s plans to stimulate growth through

Those who run business from home face legal action

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ignored people violating the terms of the lease during the pandemic, Poulsom sug gests this may now change and prompt legal action Breaching the terms of the lease can have serious consequences for the resident This can start with notice being given, all the way up to court action to forfeit the lease, which effec tively means the lease is terminated and the property is lost

Nirav

Buying in Bulk Gujarat offers incentives to large, mega and MSMEs

We are currently exploring a deal which has the potential fo r a buy and resell It consists of a freeh old block of flats The property was m ad e to hold with in th e family, not to resell back on F rom the p hotos, the construction looks extrem ely go od and the prop ortions very g enerous; p er haps too g enerous Th ere is a lot o f land surrou nd ing the block The build ing o ccu pies abou t one third of the site

This then brings up the question of whether there is planning potential on the excess site From a cursory glance it looks like this is a real possibility However, on further inspection, the current seller tried and it was refused The reasons for refusal can be looked at more deeply, and potentially addressed The other point to bear in mind is the council criteria may have changed, as the planning was applied for many years ago The trend is for planning to be more relaxed, and this comes from above, not at a local level

Therefore, the main angle seems to be to purchase the block wholesale and sell the individual units as retail

The initial quoted price looks like there is about a 20% discount on the individual market prices However, the market is turning, caused by the increase in mortgage rates

So, the key to this deal is the ability to offload the units; this boils down to price and timing This is not a question which can be answered sitting behind a desk It requires local knowledge; especially, with the market being in a state of flux

The possibility of not selling all or part of them has to be addressed as well The plan would be to create separate leases from the freehold By splitting the freehold into leases you have allowed the flats to be valued individually at retail prices This will reduce the deposit required in the deal

Once we have established there is still strong local demand, we would look to sell the whole deal off prior to completion

This would mean we will need to negotiate a long completion, 6 months would be ideal, 3 months as a min imum Access to the properties would be required, this would mean the vendor and the tenants would need to be on board

My take on this deal is the agent has priced it on the basis of normal market conditions This is not where we are at, therefore there needs to be a correction in the ask ing price I’m doubtful they will take a steer from me The market will dictate It will take a few low ball offers, or perhaps a high one which fails to complete, but succeeds in wasting time and annoying the vendor, and agent This will set the scene for us to come in

On this deal I believe there are some angles to mitigate stamp duty, this would need to be confirmed by a special ist

iPhone exports from India cross $1 bn in 5 months

Ap ple s iP hone expo rts from Ind ia hav e sur passed $1 billion in fiv e m o n th s s in c e A p ri l, s h o w i ng th e te ch gi ant's exp and ing bet on the cou ntry am id New Delhi's p ush for do mestic prod uction

A c c o r d i n g t o r e p o r t s , t h e n u m b e r o f i P h o n e s e x p o r t e d f r o m India, primarily to Europe a n d t h e M i d d l e E a s t , i s expected to reach $2 55 bil lion in the year leading up to March 2023, nearly doubling from the previous year

D e s p i t e c o n t r i b u t i n g only a small portion of the world's iPhone production, P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a Modi's goal is to position India as a viable alternative to China as the world's fac t o r y i s e n c o u r a g e d b y expanding exports Due to tensions with the US gov e r n m e n t a n d n a t i o n w i d e l o c k d o w n s i m p o s e d b y X i J i n p i n g s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , which have hindered eco nomic activity, Apple, which

h a s h i s t o r i c a l l y p r o d u c e d the majority of its iPhones in China, is looking for alter natives

N a v k e n d a r S i n g h , a n a n a l y s t a t t e c h r e s e a r c h e r IDC, stated that "The strong expansion of Apple's manu f a c t u r i n g f o o t p r i n t a n d exports demonstrates how I n d i a i s p r o g r e s s i v e l y becoming a

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38 killed as ex-cop opens fire at kids in Thai day care centre

B A N G K O K :

m e n t C e n t r e U t h a i s a w a n l i t t e r e d w i t h t h e bodies of children still in their blankets, where they had been

taking an afternoon nap The images showed slashes to their faces and gunshots to their heads and pools of blood

A t e a c h e r t o l d a T h a i broadcaster that the assailant got out of a car and immediately shot a man eating lunch outside, then f i r e d m o r e s h o t s W h e n t h e

attacker paused to reload, t h e t e a c h e r h a d a n opportunity to run inside

“ I r a n t o t h e b a c k , t h e children were asleep,” said t h e y o u n g w o m a n , w h o d i d n o t g i v e h e r n a m e , choking back her words “The children were two or three years old ”

The attack took place in the rural town of Nongbua Lamphu in northeastern Thailand, in one of the country's poorest regions

Another witness said staff at the day care had locked the door, but the suspect shot his way in “The teacher who died had a child in

h e r a r m s , ” s a i d a w i t n e s s “ I d i d n ’ t t h i n k h e w o u l d k i l l children, but he shot at the door and shot right through it ”

A t l e a s t 1 0 p e o p l e w e r e wounded, including six critically, p o l i c e s p o k e s m a n A r c h a y o n Kraithong said A video taken by a first responder arriving at the scene showed rescuers rushing i n t o t h e s i n g l e s t o r y b u i l d i n g past a shattered glass front door, with drops of blood visible on the g r o u n d i n t h e e n t r y w a y I n footage posted online after the attack, frantic family members could be heard weeping outside the building

Pak PM Sharif calls Imran 'biggest liar on earth'

I S L A M A B A D : P aki s tan P ri m e M inister Shehbaz Sharif called former PM Im ran Kh an as th e " greatest liar on the face of th e e art h " an d a c h ea t w h o s e p olicies d estroyed the nation's economy In an interv iew , Sharif talked abo ut the d am ag e that w as caused to the nation under Im ran ’ s lead ership

"I had never before worried about the future of our nation Imran has infused society with a n e n d l e s s s u p p l y o f p o i s o n ,

c a u s i n g i t t o b e c o m e m o r e a l i e n a t e d t h a n e v e r H e i s spreading misinformation and hatred ”

Shehbaz asserted that Khan's reportedly taped chats about a t o p s e c r e t m e s s a g e f r o m Washington were "undeniable proof" that Imran is the world's b i g g e s t l i a r L a s t w e e k , t w o a u d i o r e c o r d i n g s o f i n f o r m a l and private discussions made by Khan in his office were exposed Khan could be heard in both

Taps run dry in Dhaka as power cuts cripple water supply

DHA K A : For large parts of the d ay, life in mu ch of Dh aka is p unctuated by a string of pow er outag es leav ing residents faced with u nrelenting heat and other h ardships in the lurch To m ake matters w orse, the rev ival of the dreaded lo ad sh ed ding regime, borne out of an escalating energy crisis globally, has h ad a cripp ling effect on the w ater supp ly to large swathes of the city, h am pering daily ch ores such as cooking , cleaning and bathing

Many pumps operated by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, or WASA, and those in the residential and commercial buildings are rendered inoperative during the hour long power cuts that now occur up to six times a day

Even if there is water in the supply line, without electricity, it cannot be pumped up to the rooftop tanks In some buildings, the owners also use their own pumps to draw water from the lines The situation has worsened since a national grid failure on Oct 4

WASA has deployed more than 900 water pumps across the city But the pumps cannot operate without electricity, becoming inactive during power outages Water production has also decreased since the introduction of power rationing amid a global energy crisis

v i d e o s d i s c u s s i n g h o w t o fabricate a story about a foreign threat and declaring that they w o u l d n o w " p l a y w i t h t h e diplomatic cable " S h a r i f s t a t e d t h a t h i s predecessor would have to be h e l d a c c o u n t a b l e f o r a l l d e l i b e r a t e c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t i e s , " a l l u d i n g t o t h e p u r p o r t e d c o n v e r s a t i o n b e t w e e n I m r a n and his ministers and principal secretary about how to utilise t h e c i p h e r f o r p o l i t i c a l

advantage "

He further said that several world leaders told him about Khan’s personality "Some called him rude and some called him a narcissist " The PM stated how K h a n ' s d e c i s i o n t o a b a n d o n t h e m u l t i b i l l i o n d o l l a r infrastructure project known as t h e C h i n a P a k i s t a n E c o n o m i c Corridor (CPEC), which is a part of China s belt and road strategy, b a d l y i m p a c t e d P a k i s t a n ' s relations with China

Pak army chief promises to keep out of politics

I S L A M A B A D : P ak is ta n a rm y c h i ef G en era l Q am a r J a v ed B aj w a g a v e th e p u bl i c th e assurance that the arm ed forces h ave kept a p olitical d istance a nd in ten d to d o s o in th e future

Bajwa, who was in the US, added that he would keep his promise to resign from office w h e n h i s s e c o n d t h r e e y e a r t e r m e n d s i n N o v e m b e r H e addressed the audience during a luncheon held at the Pakistani e m b a s s y i n W a s h i n g t o n A d d i t i o n a l l y , i t f o l l o w s accusations against the military m a d e b y t h e f o r m e r p r i m e Imran Khan Several Pakistani diplomats were present during the meeting

Bajwa has been occupying

the army's highest position for s i x y e a r s H e w a s i n i t i a l l y appointed in 2016 However, the Imran Khan government of the time extended his contract for a further three years in 2019 The prime minister alone has the power to nominate the Army c o m m a n d e r T h e a n t i c i p a t e d selection of a new Army chief h a s r e c e i v e d u n f a v o u r a b l e media attention Imran Khan claims that the coalition government intends to a p p o i n t a n a r m y c h i e f o f i t s c h o o s i n g i n o r d e r t o p r o t e c t l o o t e d a s s e t s a n d r i g g e n e r a l elections after he lost power Over half of the nation's more than 75 years of existence have been spent under the control of the strong army

Lanka among 54 countries in urgent need of debt relief: UN

GE NE V A : Cas cading global c rises

U

in brief

INDIAN TEEN STABBED TO DEATH IN ISRAEL

An Indian teenager, who hailed from the north eastern Indian Jewish community of Bnei Menashe and immigrated to Israel from India less than a year ago was stabbed to death after a fight broke out at a birthday party in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, media reports said Yoel Lehingahel, 18, who immigrated to Israel from India with his family earlier this year, travelled from his home in Nof Hagalil to visit a friend and fellow immigrant from India media reports said A brawl involving more than 20 teens broke out at the birthday party which was attended by Lehingahel

INDIAN AMERICAN KILLS DAUGHTER IN LAW

A 74 year old Indian American man has been arrested in the US state of California for fatally shooting his daughter in law at a parking lot possibly out of anger over her plans to divorce his son Sital Singh Dosanjh killed his daughter in law Gurpreet Kaur Dosanjh last week in the South San Jose parking lot of the Walmart where she worked A police investigation that led to the arrest of Sital revealed that the victim was on the phone telling her uncle about her fear that Sital was looking for her it said

MAN HELD IN US FOR ATTACKING WOMEN IN SAREE

At least 14 Hindu women in the US state of California have been attacked by a man who also ripped their jewellery in a spate of hate crimes, authorities said According to the district attorney office, Lathan Johnson (37) reportedly targeted older Hindu women and snatched necklaces off their necks before making off in a getaway vehicle since June He also hurt the women in the process, particularly those between 50 and 73 He has been apprehended If convicted, he faces a maximum jail term of 63 years All of the stolen necklaces are estimated to be worth $35,000 The DA office stated that almost all the victims were wearing a saree, bindi, or other types of ethnic attire

HINDU MAN DIES AFTER PAK COP ASSAULTS HIM

UNDP chief Achim Steiner told reporters

Geneva

and

financing

UNDP said The UN agency said debt troubles had been brewing in many of the affected countries l o n g b e f o r e t h e C o v i d 1 9 pandemic hit "The rapid build up in debt over the past decade h a s b e e n c o n s i s t e n t l y underestimated," it said T h e f r e e z e o n d e b t r e p a y m e n t d u r i n g t h e C o v i d crisis to lighten their burden has expired and negotiations under t h e G 2 0 C o m m o n F r a m e w o r k created during the pandemic to help heavily indebted countries find a path to restructure their obligations has been moving at a snail's pace

According to available data, 4 6 o f t h e 5 4 c o u n t r i e s h a d a m a s s e d p u b l i c d e b t t o t a l l i n g $782 billion in 2020, the report s a i d A r g e n t i n a , U k r a i n e a n d V e n e z u e l a a l o n e a c c o u n t f o r more than a third of that amount

A Hindu man was stripped and beaten up mercilessly by a local policeman in Pakistan and chased to the drain well from which his body was later discovered The incident took place in Sindh province last month The 35 year old man, named Alam Kohli, was beaten up by police constable Qadir, and later chased to the drain well from which his body was later discovered His family has alleged that Alam was thrown into the drain well by the official though the police have registered an FIR of death by suicide According to Dawn the victim s family claimed that Alam took the extreme step after having been subjected to violence by Qadir

IDOL OF HINDU TEMPLE IN BANGLADESH DESTROYED

Unidentified people destroyed the idol of a deity at a colonial era Hindu temple in western Bangladesh prompting police to launch a massive manhunt, officials said Authorities of the Kali temple in Dautiya village in Bangladesh s Jhenaidah found the idol smashed into pieces and dumped the idol s head on a road half a km from the temple s premises reports said The Kali temple was a place of worship for the Hindus since the colonial era The incident comes to the fore more than 24 hours after the Durga Puja festivities in Bangladesh came to an end A case has been lodged and an investigation and manhunts for the suspects are under way ” Jhenaidah police assistant superintendent Amit Burman said

in brief

MOSQUE BLAST IN KABUL KILLS 4

A suicide bomber struck at a center of Taliban power, setting off a blast at a ministry in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul At least four people were killed, a Taliban official said The explosion took place as workers and visitors were praying inside a mosque of Afghanistan’s interior ministry which is responsible for security and law enforcement in the country A Taliban spokesman for the ministry said in a tweet: Four worshippers were martyred and 25 others were wounded The incident is under investigation, we will share the details with the media when it is done Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan has been waging a campaign targeting the Taliban and minority Shiites

STUDENTS IN CANADA CAN WORK ADDITIONAL HOURS

In an effort to address the growing labour shortage, the Canadian government has decided to allow international students in the country to work off campus for an unrestricted number of hours from November 15 This relaxation is temporary and will end on December 31, 2023 Currently, international students can work off campus only for 20 hours per week while classes are in session This restriction has often forced the students to work in entry level or low paying jobs, or work on the sly From November 15, 2022, until December 31, 2023, eligible international students will not be restricted by the 20 hour per week rule

PAK MINISTER, TWO FOREIGNERS

ABDUCTED, FREED

Militants freed a senior minister and two foreigners in the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region in northern Pakistan following successful negotiations with government officials, facilitated by local clerics Colonel (retired) Abaidullah Baig, a minister in the GB government, and the two foreigners were abducted from Babusar Top a mountain pass connecting the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with Gilgit Baltistan where the militants, belonging to Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had set up road blockades They demanded the release of their jailed aides A local jirga (council of elders) comprising ulemas (clerics) and officials held talks with the militants

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE GOES TO RIGHTS CHAMPS

Jailed Belarusian activist Ales Byalyatski, Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine s Center for Civil Liberties won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, amid a war in their region that is the worst conflict in Europe since World War Two The award has echoes of the Cold War era when prominent Soviet dissidents such as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn won Nobels for peace or literature The prize will be seen by many as a condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was celebrating his 70th birthday and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko making it one of the most politically contentious in decades

US FORCES KILL SENIOR ISIS LEADER IN SYRIA

An ISIS leader was killed in a helicopter raid by US special forces in Syria The raid also led to the capture of several other members of the group US special forces have a presence in the country and have carried out raids before however this is the first known US led raid inside territory controlled by Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad One of the security sources said: The airborne operation targeted a key IS leader present in the areas controlled by the Syrian government

Sikh

was a former staffer: Police

M e r c e d C o u n t y s h e r i f f ' s s p o k e s p e r s o n A l e x a n d r a Britton said " T h e p r i m a r y s u s p e c t i n the kidnapping and murder, Salgado, is a former employee w h o u s e d t o d r i v e f o r t h e v i c t i m ' s t r u c k i n g c o m p a n y

They had a disagreement and parted ways," a relative of the deceased family was quoted as saying by the NBC Bay Area

US healthcare service providers pulled up for firing Sikh paramedic

I

Singh after he requested and was denied personal protective equipment (PPE) that would accommodate his Sikh articles of faith, including his turban and beard

The denial came even after Singh satis fied his training requirements, was hired to work for AMR and provided them with doc umentation about the Sikh articles of faith But AMR still insisted upon Singh using an N95 mask as opposed to any other kind of PPE “Ultimately, I am in favour of this legal action because no trained expert should ever be required to stay home when they could be out saving lives ”

He was dismissed from his position in violation of his rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act The Sikh Coalition filed a discrimination claim on Singh s behalf with the EEOC in May 2021, and after an initial inquiry, the EEOC found sufficient evidence to infer that GMR and AMR had engaged in religious discrimination

WHO warns against India-made cough syrups after Gambia deaths

G E N E V A : T h e WH O ( Wo r ld H eal th Organisation) has issued a g lo bal alert over four coug h syrups The warning says that these syrups migh t be respo nsible for the deaths of 66 children in Gam bia T hey stated that syru ps hav e been “potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 d eath s am ong children, ” and warned th at th eir use may result into seriou s injury or death

The WHO also added that the products w e r e m a n u f a c t u r e d b y I n d i a n c o m p a n y Maiden Pharmaceuticals Indian officials have requested WHO officials to reveal proof showing a connection between the syrups and the deaths The medicines were identified by WHO as: Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup

The four products had been identified in the Gambia, but “ may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other coun tries or regions”, according to WHO

S i n c e t h e n , t h e g o v e r n m e n t o f t h e Gambia has banned the consumption of all paracetamol syrups and is advising citizens to take pills instead The WHO said that “laboratory analysis of samples of the prod ucts confirms that they contain unaccept able amounts of diethylene glycol and ethy lene glycol as contaminants”

television station Police also said that the 48 year old accused tried killing h i m s e l f b e f o r e b e i n g t a k e n into custody Police also said that it will continue to follow up on any leads of additional p e o p l e w h o m a y h a v e b e e n i n v o l v e d i n t h i s h o r r i f i c incident M e r c e d C o u n t y S

Vern Warnke said the brutal killing spree was one of the w

investigated in his 43 years in law enforcement Police said

that the primary investigation shows the family was likely killed within an hour of being k i d n a p p e d w h e n t h e y w e r e taken at gunpoint from their trucking business trailer

T h e f a m i l y h a i l e d f r o m

Punjab's Hoshiarpur Jasdeep Singh (36), Jasleen Kaur (27) a

daughter and Jasdeep's brother A

( 3 9 )

killed and their bodies were found in a rural location in California city The family was kidnapped at gunpoint earlier

Indian origin student killed in US;

Korean roommate taken into custody

Ind iana (U S A) : A 20 year o ld In d i an o r ig in s tu d en t was killed in h is d orm itory in the US state of Ind iana and his Korean roomm ate was taken into custody on m u r d er c h arg e s V ar u n M a ni s h C h h ed a f ro m I nd i a nap o l i s, w h o w as s tu d y in g d a ta s c i enc e a t P u rd u e U ni v e rs it y, w as found d ead in McCutcheon Hall o n th e western ed ge o f the campus, police said Ji Min “Jimmy” Sha, a junior cybersecurity major a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t f r o m K o r e a , c a l l e d 9 1 1 t o alert police about the death, P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y p o l i c e chief Lesley Wiete said at a news conference Sha, 22, was taken into custody min utes after making the call

and was taken to the police s t a t i o n f o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n ,

Wiete said

Varun died of “multiple s h a r p f o r c e t r a u m a t i c injuries” and the manner of death was homicide, accord ing to preliminary autopsy results Varun’s grandfather Nemji Chheda, an engineer, had migrated to the US from Kundrodi in Gujarat’s Kutch d i s t r i c t i n 1 9 6 4 T h e d e c e a s e d ’ s f a t h e r M a n i s h Chheda was born in the US a n d i s a p h y s i c i a n a t Hancock Regional Hospital in Indianapolis

The Chhedas’ relatives in India were plunged into mourning “I used to live in the US and returned two years ago, ” Vijay Chheda, a paternal cousin of Varun’s

f a t h e r , s a i d “ M y g r a n d daughter Riyana studies in the same campus as Varun and had met him four days a g o W e a r e u t t e r l y s h o c k e d , ” V i j a y C h h e d a , w h o i s t h e c h a i r m a n o f Gujarat Sarvoday Seva Trust in Kutch, said Dhiraj Dedhia, Varun’s maternal grandfather who lives in Mumbai, said the Chhedas are from a reputed f a m i l y i n K u t c h “ N e m j i b h a i ’ s f a t h e r Ramjibhai was the head of K u n d r o d a v i l l a g e W e a r e shocked at Varun’s death

His younger sister Kavya is s t u d y i n g i n h i g h s c h o o l there,” Dedhia said, adding that he and his family were leaving for the US to attend Varun’s funeral

SC verdict on validity of Karnataka hijab ban this week

week its verd

Telangana Rashtra Samithi goes national, changes name

in brief

STALIN ELECTED AS DMK CHIEF AGAIN

he

of th

F ebruary 5 K

b

ng s tu d

s f ro m w e ari n g religio us clothing, including hijab, t o st ate r u n ed uc a ti o nal institutio ns

W h i l e t h e K a r n a t a k a government had termed the circular a “ s e c u l a r d e c i s i o n ” a i m e d a t preventing students from getting e m b r o i l e d i n r e l i g i o n a n d m a k i n g them study with an open mind, the M u s l i m s i d e h a d i n v o k e d r i g h t t o freedom of religion, right to privacy, right to dignity, and right of choice of c l o t h e s t o q u e s t i o n t h e c i r c u l a r ’ s validity

A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia had reserved its verdict on a bunch of 26 pro hijab petitions which had challenged the Karnataka high court order upholding the validity of the state’s decision As many as 21 advocates had argued for t h e M u s l i m s i d e a n d o n l y s i x i n support of enforcing uniforms without r e l i g i o u s a t t i r e s T h e h e a r i n g s h a d lasted 10 days and spanned two weeks The Muslim side engaged 21 lawyers, including senior advocates Dushyant

Dave, Rajeev Dhavan, Devadatt Kamat, S a l m a n K h u r s h i d , H u z e f a A h m a d i , Meenakshi Arora and Sanjay Hegde

I n c o n t r a s t , t h e K a r n a t a k a government engaged only three law o f f i c e r s s o l i c i t o r g e n e r a l T u s h a

solicitor

the

fundamental

The court resumes business on Monday after

b

Farmers begin protest near CM Mann's residence

S A N G R U R : F a r m e r s , u n d e r t h e banner of the BKU (Ugrahan), have started an indefinite protest near the local residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on the Patiala road They have set up a stage on one side of the road while the other part is b e i n g u s e d t o t r a n s p o r t v a r i o u s items to the protest site from various parts of the state

T h e f a r m e r s a r e p r o t e s t i n g a g a i n s t t h e C e n t r e a n d s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t s f o r v a r i o u s p e n d i n g demands “Our protest will continue t i l l t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e a c c e p t e d d e m a n d s T h e f i n a n c i a l condition of farmers has been taking a turn for the worse as successive g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e f a i l e d t o h e l p them,” said Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of the outfit

Their demands from the state g o v e r n e m e n t i n c l u d e i m m e d i a t e release of financial aid to farmers,

w h o h a v e s u f f e r e d l o s s e s d u e t o damage to cotton and other crops a n d s p e c i a l a s s e s s m e n t o f c r o p s damaged recently, allotment of a special budget for water projects, closure of liquor factory near Zira f o r c a u s i n g p o l l u t i o n a n d q u i c k a c t i o n t o p r e v e n t p o l l u t i o n o f various canals by industrialists of Ludhiana

F r o m t h e C e n t r e , t h e y a r e d e m a n d i n g q u i c k a c t i o n a g a i n s t persons involved in the Lakhimpur K h e r i c o n s p i r a c y a n d r e l e a s e o f innocent farmers, a government job t o t h e f a m i l i e s o f t h e d e c e a s e d farmers and Rs 10,00,000 aid to each family, an MSP of 23 crops as per the Swaminathan report and guarantee f o r t h e p u r c h a s e o f t h e s e c r o p s , government jobs and financial aid to the families of 700 farmers, who lost t h e i r l i v e s d u r i n g t h e f a r m l a w s agitation and withdrawal of cases

Party chief K Chandrasekar Rao announced that the party's general body unanimously resolved to change the name from TRS to BRS The cadres and leaders hailed their party chief as a national leader While the party endorsed the name change at its general body meet, party leaders burst crackers, distributed sweets and chanted TRS and KCR Zindabad

The crucial general body meeting of TRS to change the name to herald its national push in politics kicked off at the party headquarters JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Tamil N a d u b a s e d V i d u t h a l a i C h i r u t h a i g a l K a t c h i ( V C K ) founder chief Thol Thirumavalavan were present at the TRS meet "The idea is to put up a united fight against the BJP Basically, it's a combination of various regional parties who want to rise above their political differences and come together," the JD(S) leader said Rao's move to accelerate his political fight against the BJP coincides with the announcement of schedule for M u n u g o d e b y p o l l i n T e l a n g a n a b y t h e E l e c t i o n Commission The polling is scheduled to be held on November 3 and votes would be counted on November 6

Punjab police bust 5 terrorist modules, arrest 17 terrorists

C H A NDI G AR H: Pun jab police ha ve bus ted fiv e maj or terrori st modules after a rresti ng 17 terrori sts in the las t 10 da ys The police have also r ecove red f our rifle s, in cludi ng A Ks/MP 9/ MP 5 a nd 25 re volvers/ pistols from thei r pos ses si on A part from thi s, the poli ce teams hav e als o recov ered three ha nd g renad es and one I ED Punjab (IGP) headquarters Sukhchain Singh Gill said in the last 10 days the police teams have managed to strike a major blow to the terrorist modules being o p e r a t e d b y g a n g s t e r s t u r n e d t e r r o r i s t s i n c l u d i n g Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, Harvinder Singh alias Rinda and Arsh Dalla from outside India

On October 1, Punjab Police busted a module after a r r e s t i n g t h r e e o p e r a t i v e s o f a n I S I b a c k e d t e r r o r module jointly handled by Canada based Lakhbir Landa and Pakistan based Harvinder Rinda after recovering one sophisticated AK 56 assault rifle along with two magazines, 90 live cartridges, and two bullet shells from t h e i r p o s s e s s i o n , h e s a i d , a d d i n g t h a t e a r l i e r o n September 28, an operative of Canada based terrorist Lakhbir Landa gang was arrested from Bihar for his involvement in several heinous crimes pertaining to m u r d e r , a t t e

t t o

snatching

Gandhiji depicted as demon at Durga Puja pandal

KO LK AT A: Po lice in K olkata are inves tigating allegations th at the F ather of th e Nation Mahatma Gandh i w as dep ic ted as a demon at Du rga P uja festivities A festival s tr u c t u r e th at s h o w ed Hi nd u go ddess Du rga aiming her trident a t a b a l d, b e s p e c ta c l e d ma n h olding a walking s tic k sp arked th e c ontroversy

A wig and moustache were added to the figure after it led to o u t r a g e B u t i n r e c e n t y e a r s , s e v e r a l H i n d u h a r d l i n e r s h a v e openly criticised him, accusing him of being too pro Muslim and soft on Pakistan The structure was put up during celebrations of Durga Puja

known as "pandals", draw huge c r o w d s T h e o r g a n i s e r s o f t h e controversial pandal belonged to the All India Hindu Mahasabha, a r i g h t w i n g g r o u p L o c a l m e d i a r e p o r t e d t h a t v i s i t o r s t o t h e p a n d a l h a d n o t i c e d t h e resemblance of the figurine to Gandhi

DMK stalwart and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin was unanimously elected as party president at the party's general council meeting held on Sunday In his address following his election, Stalin asked office bearers to take a vow to work towards securing a landslide victory for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha (LS) polls and emerge in national politics as an unassailable force The party should win all the 39 Parliamentary constituencies in the state and the lone seat in neighbouring Puducherry as well he said This is the second time Stalin is being elected unopposed as party chief

KARNATAKA CLEARS SC/ST QUOTA HIKE

Karnataka’s BJP government has decided to increase reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by 2% and 4% respectively, with CM Basavaraj Bommai declaring the hike will be implemented at any cost A government order (GO) will be issued in two to three days law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy said after a special cabinet meeting where the move was cleared ahead of assembly polls next year The hike will benefit 103 SC and 56 ST groups After we discussed all options we decided to hike the quota through a GO in which we will reveal our implementation modalities ” Madhuswamy said The 6% increase will take the state’s total quotas beyond the Supreme Court’s 50% cap to 56%

GOVERNOR TAKES EXCEPTION OVER MANN'S ABSENCE

,

,

With Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit taking strong exception over the absence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at the civic reception organised by him in honour of visiting President Droupadi Murmu, state Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said it was unfortunate on the part of the Governor for raising this political issue Arora urged him to restrain from making such statements in the future Reminding the Chief Minister of Constitutional obligations The Governor amidst the presence of President Droupadi Murmu Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Haryana counterpart Bandaru Dattatreya said publicly from the stage: “I had personally called him up but he has not come apparently due to some compulsion ”

5 arrested following violence in Bengal's Mominpur

It is the biggest festival in the eastern state of West Bengal of which Kolkata is the capital and e

a

d e c o r a t i o n s ,

Police officials then visited the site and asked the organisers to add a wig and moustache to the model A leader of the All India

Hindu Mahasabha said that they reluctantly made the changes because the police forced us to do so " O u r f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n h a s b e e n c u r t a i l e d , " C h a n d r a c h u r G o s w a m i s a i d H e a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t t h e demon figure had "physical s i m i l a r i t i e s w i t h G a n d h i " a n d a d d e d t h a t t h e y d i d n o t consider him to be the 'father of the nation' Political parties in the state h a v e s t r o n g l y c o n d e m n e d t h e i n c i d e n t a n d t h a t a C o n g r e s s l e a d e r h a d f i l e d a p o l i c e complaint "If such a move had been made, it is unfortunate We condemn it," the Bharatiya Janata P

Meanwhile, section 144 has been imposed for the next three days in pockets of Mominpur Ekbalpore under Kolkata Police jurisdiction prohibiting gatherings of more than 5 people BJP leader Amit Malviya shared a visual from the violence and blamed the West Bengal government “Under Mamata Banerjee as Home Minister, Kolkata has become completely unsafe, communal riots have become common," he wrote

I ndia, Te lang ana C hi e f M i n i s te r K Chandrase khar Ra o ha s r e n a m e d h i s pa r ty Tela ngana Rashtra Sam ithi to 'B ha ra t Rashtra Sa mithi' (B RS)

Suvendu Adhikari wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah

M K Stalin

PM Modi thanks Gujaratis for reposing faith in him for 2 decades

P rim e M i ni ster Narend ra M o d i th an ke d G u j ara ti s f o r rep o s i ng fa it h in h im fo r tw o d ec ad e s d es p i te h is c as te and p o li ti c al backg rou nd “Yo u neither looked at my caste no r my political life You blessed me blind ly with all you r lov e and affectio n, and you saw my work and kept attesting it Not just me, you also blessed my colleagu es A nd as yo ur blessing s increase, my d riv e and strength to w ork keep g row i ng , ” P M M o d i made the statement after declar ing M odhera, in the Mehsana d is trict, famo us for its S un Tem ple, as India's first solar powered h am let

He said that people of Gujarat reposed trust in him for the last two decades, due to which the state emerged as one of the promi nent states in the country “For t h i s , I b o w b e f o r e m i l l i o n s o f Gujaratis for their patience It is because of your efforts that the government and public worked together to create a new history All this has been possible because of your immense faith ”

PM remarked that “Modhera was known the world over as the s i t e o f t h e S u n t e m p l e Henceforth, it will also be recog nized for being a 100% solar pow e r e d v i l l a g e ” O v e r 1 , 3 0 0 s o l a r r o o f t o p s y s t e m s h a v e b e e n installed on houses, reducing the electricity bill of residents consid erably Moreover, the electricity requirements of the entire premis es of the famous sun temple has also been shifted to solar power

The PM also dedicated several f a c i l i t i e s a t t h e M o d h e r a S u n Temple as well as formally laid

foundations or inaugurated pro jects totaling £309 2 million for north Gujarat PM Modi said that his hometown Vadnagar as well as

has taken several states, does not f i n d a f o o t h o l d h e r e H e w a s s p e a k i n g a t m a s s g a t h e r i n g s i n Amod near Bharuch and at the

said Modi said “Naxals wrecked the lives of tribal youth in West

J

, B

The

Modhera, located in north Gujarat will emerge as big tourism centres

The projects dedicated by the PM include a gauge conversion project, ONGC’s Nandasan geo logical oil production project, an irrigation canal project, road pro jects and a building of a regional training centre for Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) He also laid cornerstone for an automated milk powder p l a n t a t D u d h s a g a r D a i r y a n d redevelopment of a hospital in Mehsana

Bharuch and Anand, to be vigilant a n d s t e e r a w a y f r o m " u r b a n Naxals" and foreign agents who he claimed were obstructing develop ment and pursuing a sinister goal t o d e s t r o y t h e n a t i o n M o d i ' s remarks were taken to be directed at the AAP and its national con venor Arvind Kejriwal, who were hard at work in Gujarat in prepa ration for the upcoming assembly e l e c t i o n s M o d i s a i d t h e t r i b e s p e o p l e o f G u j a r a t h a v e c h o s e n development and guaranteed that the scourge of Naxalism, which

e d u c a t i o n a l t o w n o f V a l l a b h Vidyanagar

Warned agains t Naxals

Those with Naxalite mentality t r i e d h a r d t o s t a l l t h e S a r d a r S a r o v a r d a m o n t h e N a r m a d a

River The urban Naxals are now flying into the state by sporting a new get up They have changed t h e i r a p p e a r a n c e a n d a r e n o w instigating our gullible and spirit ed youth You must warn your c h i l d r e n a g a i n s t t h e s e u r b a n Naxals and foreign agents who are out to destroy our country,” he

SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav is no more

i s l e g i o n s o f s u p p o r t e r s , had been in and out of hos pital for the past three years H e w a s a d m i t t e d t o M e d a n t a T h e M e d i c i t y i n Gurgaon on October 1 for

renal complications and was put on life support the fol lowing day He breathed his last on Monday “His immunity lev els were low That’s why his kidneys and other organs got i n f e c t e d , l e a d i n g t o l i f e

h r e

infections We did our best,” a doctor said The UP government has announced three day state mourning and a state funer a l P M N a r e n d r a M o d i t w e e t e d ,

S h r i M u l a y a m

Singh Yadav Ji was a remark a b l e p e r s o n a l i t y H e w a s widely admired as a humble a n d g r o u n d e d l e a d e r w h o w a s s e n s i t i v e t o p e o p l e ’ s problems He served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising the ideals of Loknayak JP and Dr Lohia ” Born in 1939 in Saifai village of Etawah district to farmer Sughar Singh Yadav and Murti Devi, Mulayam was a wrestling enthusiast and carried skills honed in the akhada to the political a r e n a , e s p e c i a l l y h i s “charkha daav” a deceptive g r a p p l i n g m o v e H e u s e d d e c e p t i o n t o s t o p S o n i a Gandhi from becoming PM in 1998 and Ajit Singh the CM of UP in 1989

Thackeray’s Sena faction gets mashall as poll symbol

T h e El e c t io n Co m mi ss io n h a s r e co g n is e d

While

Thackeray)’ and

identified as

the

Shiv Sena’ but will allot a poll symbol after the EC rejected all three of its suggestions

Chief election commis sioner Rajiv Kumar opposed allotment of any poll symbol that has a religious connota tion not only in the present case but also as a standard practice The EC rejected the "trishul," which was pro posed as the first choice by both the Uddhav and Shinde factions, as well as the "gada"

(mace), which was the t h i r d p r e f e r e n c e o f the Shinde group

The election com mission, sent separate l e t t e r s t o T h a c k e r a y a n d S h i n d e , s t a t e d t h

poll symbol b

choice of both factions and was found to be in violation o

(Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 that says

sym b

turned

allot ted

The Symbols Order restricts allotment of symbols reserved for state parties to others in states where they are not recog nised None of the emblems proposed by either of the two factions figure in the EC list of ‘free’ symbols

, C

, A

a Pradesh, Telangana, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh

Proj ects worth £71 2 mn lau nch ed

P M M o d i d e d i c a t e d a n d launched projects worth £71 2 mn at MediCity the Civil Hospital c a m p u s t h a t a l s o i n c l u d e s U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and R e s e a r c h C e n t r e ( U N M I C R C ) ,

n s t i t u t e o f K i d n e y

Cancer Research Institute (GCRI)

No one sought favo urs Modi acknowledged that he owed his caste for not asking him for a single favour while he served as Gujarat's chief minister and is currently the leader of India He remarked that, “I want to accept a debt today A son of this caste, I w a s C M ( o f G u j a r a t ) f o r t h e longest period He became PM for a second time But during such a long period of administration, not one person from my caste has approached me for any favour

Curfew, riots th ings o f past M o d i p r a i s e d G u j a r a t ' s l a w and order situation, saying that repeated curfews and riots have b e e n p u t t o r e s t a n d t h a t t h e state's progress has been acceler ated by the climate of peace and t o g e t h e r n e s s U s i n g t h e 3 6 t h N a t i o n a l G a m e s h e l d d u r i n g Navratri as an illustration, Modi claimed that thousands of athletes who visited garba locations wit nessed the safety and security of the state

Delhi AAP minister quits over religious conversion row

Rajendra Pal Gautam, a Delhi cabinet m inister, wh o cau sed a political sto rm by attend ing a recent mass conversio n event, resigned from the post, claim ing he did it to ensure that chief minister A rvind Kejriwal and th e A AP " are not disadv antaged in any way because of him "

The event had provided ammunition to BJP to target AAP, which declares to be a serious opponent in the next elections in Gujarat After a video of him criticising Hindu deities while taking an oath at the occasion where 10,000 people converted to Buddhism went viral

The annual event, called Dhammachakra Pravartan Din, is held to mark Dr BR Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism in 1956 along with millions of his followers Ambedkar had taken 22 vows, which included denouncing Hindu gods that are repeated during this event

Adesh Gupta, the leader of the Delhi BJP, filed a police report in this respect, claiming that Gautam's resignation "is a triumph for Hindus and for BJP," which had brought up the matter initially He said, "Kejriwal forced his minister to leave out of concern that Hindus wouldn't support him in Gujarat His anti Hindu attitude has, however, been revealed

In a letter Gautam has written that on October 5, 2022, he had taken part in the event held at Ambedkar Bhavan in his personal capacity and as a member of the community, which has nothing to do with the AAP or the Delhi cabinet

He has written that the 22 vows of Dr Ambedkar were repeated at the event by the more than 10,000 people present there, including him Further he wrote that ‘I have been wit nessing that since then, BJP leaders are targeting Kejriwal and AAP, which is very hurtful for me ”

Name Change

I S Sava nkuam r K Ka mle shbhai K Ka chhi a (old name) reside at 11, Brampton Road, Kingsbury, NW9 9BX, London, UK.

shall have

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depict any bird

The choice of

T h e c o m m i t t e e d i d , however, agree to designate "mashaal," a former Samata Party emblem that was dere cognised in 2004, as a "free" symbol and grant it to the Thackeray group

I have changed my name to SAVAN K KA MLESHB HA I K KACHHIA (new name) and shall hereafter be known as Savan Kamleshbhai Kachhia for all future purposes. Vide affidavit dated 10th October 2022 sworn before notary Suman Dahiya, Harrow, London -UK.

Cov ert jab at A AP I n a c o v e r t a t t a c k a t A a m Aadmi Party, Modi warned people, e s p e c i a l l y t r i b a l p e a s a n t s i n

Mulayam Singh Yadav

J&K assembly polls after revised voter list: Shah

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On the final day of his three day visit

the Union territory, Shah

at

leadership for the loss of

lives in three

9 9 0 s “ T h e r e a r e s o m e people who have ruled for the past

70 years and are advising me to talk to Pakistan But I have a clear mandate I don’t want to talk to Pakistan, I want to talk to the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” he

said

H e s a i d t h e J & K a s s e m b l y elections will be announced as and when the revised electoral rolls are out, adding that “ elections will be

PM Modi inaugurates Mahakal Lok corridor at Mahakaleshwar temple

conducted with full transparency a n d y o u r o w n e l e c t e d representatives will govern here” He reaffirmed that democracy has reached the grassroots under the l e a d e r s h i p o f P M M o d i H e repeated what he said at his rally in Rajouri that power in J&K rested with “three families” before, but “ 30,000 elected representatives of panchayat and district councils are n o w p a r t o f t h e g o v e r n a n c e process ”

He blamed the Abdullah, Mufti a n d N e h r u G a n d h i ( C o n g r e s s ) f a m i l i e s f o r t h e “ l a c k o f development” in J&K “They looted J&K’s resources for their personal g a i n a n d d i d n o t h i n g f o r t h e common man, ” he said, alleging poor governance and corruption when they were in office

He said £5 6 billion investment

came to J&K over the past three years, as opposed to £1 7 billion before 2019 “I want to ask Farooq A b d u l l a h S a h a b a n d M e h o o b a Muftiji to give an account of how m u c h i n v e s t m e n t c a m e d u r i n g their rule of 70 years How many industries were set up? How many factories? How many youths got jobs?” J&K doesn’t have an anti corruption bureau when all states h a v e o n e b e c a u s e t h e “ t h r e e families” stalled it, he alleged Shah t h e n p a u s e d h i s s p e e c h d u r i n g a z a a n f r o m a m o s q u e c l o s e t o Showkat Ali Stadium where the rally was held He urged Kashmiri y o u t h s t o s t a y o f f t h e p a t h o f v i o l e n c e , s a y i n g i t h a s n e v e r benefited anyone PM Modi has

India slams Pak for raising Kashmir issue in Germany

I nd i a h i t o u t at P ak is ta n f o rei g n m i ni s te r B il aw a l Bhutto for raising th e J&K issue in Germ any, saying the U nion territory had bo rne th e b ru nt o f a ter ro ri s t campaign for d ecades Ind ia also rem ind ed Germ any that al l “ se ri o u s an d conscientious” m em bers o f the global comm unity h av e the respo nsibility to call out cro ss border terrorism

W h i l e B i l a w a l s p o k e about alleged human rights v i o l a t i o n s i n J & K , h i s G e r m a n c o u n t e r p a r t

Annalena Baerbock had said after her meeting with him that Germany also had “role a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ” w i t h regard to the situation in Kashmir and, it supported “intensively the engagement of the United Nations to find peaceful solutions in the region”

A l l s e r i o u s a n d conscientious members of the global community have a role and responsibility to c a l l o u t i n t e r n a t i o n a l t e r r o r i s m , e s p e c i a l l y o f a cross border nature, said the

I n d i a n g o v e r n m e n t i n i t s r e s p o n s e “ T h e I n d i a n Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has borne the b r u n t o f s u c h a t e r r o r i s t campaign for decades This continues till now Foreign nationals have been victims there, as also in other parts o f I n d i a , ” s a i d M E A s p o k e s p e r s o n A r i n d a m B a g c h i , a d d i n g t h e U N Security Council and FATF were still pursuing Pakistan based terrorists involved in the horrific 26/11 Mumbai attacks

India protests US envoy's PoK visit,

Prime Minister Narendra Mo di o n T uesday inaugurated th e 9 00 metre long Mah akal Lok corrido r built at th e Mah akaleshwar temple at Ujjain in Madh ya P radesh T he Mah akal Lok project co st is £85 6 millio n, with the first ph ase being developed for £35 1 millio n, an o ffic ial said M o d i , a c c o m p a n i e d b y M a d h y a Pradesh Governor Mangu Bhai Patel and C h i e f M i n i s t e r S h i v r a j S i n g h C h o u h a n , greeted sadhus present at the venue Modi p r e s s e d a r e m o t e b u t t o n t o u n v e i l a Shivling replica to dedicate Mahakal Lok to the nation

The Mahakaleshwar Temple Corridor Development Project will provide better amenities for those visiting the temple w h i c h i s d e d i c a t e d t o L o r d S h i v a a n d h o u s e s o n e o f t h e 1 2 J y o t i r l i n g a s (representation of Lord Shiva) in India T h e c o r r i d o r h a s a r o u n d 1 0 8 a e s t h e t i c a l l y o r n a t e p i l l a r s m a d e o f intricately carved sandstones that depict the Anand Tandav Swaroop (Lord Shiva’s dance form), 200 statues and murals of L o r d S h i v a a n d g o d d e s s S h a k t i M o d i offered prayers at the temple before he inaugurated the corridor project

Govt, EC in talks to update election laws: Rijiju

Law min iste r K iren Ri ji ju said that the government is i n talks wi th th e electio n w at c h do g an d c o n te mp la ti ng s

in

government before putting out recent proposals

ma

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an d disclose h ow they plan to fu nd them

R i j i j u a d d e d , “ I a m a l r e a d y h a v i n g e l a b o r a t e discussions with the EC to study major changes in the RP Act and other election rules The Centre will take steps after due consultation for major electoral reforms which are required as per the new changing time and situation,” Rijiju said when questioned about whether

Opposition parties have criticised the EC's demand t h a t p a r t i e s e x p l a i n h o w they intend to pay for their election promises, arguing t h a t t h i s i s o u t s i d e t h e purview of the poll panel Congress referred to it as " y e t a n o t h e r n a i l i n t h e c o f f i n o f d e m o c r a c y " a n d claimed that without such a b u r e a u c r a t i c a p p r o a c h , " n o n e o f t h e s o c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t p r o j e c t s w o u l d h a v e e v e r b e e n a reality "

K a p i l S i b a l , a R a j y a Sabha member, took a dig on Election Commission for suggesting a change to the m o d e l c o d e t h a t w o u l d require political parties to i n f o r m v o t e r s h o n e s t l y about the financial viability of their election promises Sibal suggested that perhaps t h e p o l l w a t c h d o g i t s e l f n e e d s a m o d e l c o d e o f

c

conduct Earlier, the EC had issued a letter addressed to presidents/ chairpersons of all political parties with a t w o p a g e p r o f o r m a o n s t

promises made in election

referring to it as 'Azad J&K'

US ambassador t o Pa kistan Dona ld Blome's v isit t o P a ki sta n o ccupi e d Ka sh mir ( PoK ) re cent ly has fur the r en rag ed Ind ia which was a lre ady unha ppy wit h the US de cision t o a ssist in an upg rad ing of Pa kista n's F16 fleet I n d i a l o d g e d a c o m p l a i n t w i t h U S authorities over the three day visit that was ostensibly intended to highlight the US Pakistan partnership and highlight the two c o u n t r i e s ' " d e e p e c o n o m i c , c u l t u r a l , a n d people to people ties," but the diplomat also r e f e r r e d t o P o K a s " A z a d J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r , " a t e r m u s e d b y I s l a m a b a d Significantly, the US embassy in Pakistan also said in its statement on the meeting that B l o m e h a d v i s i t e d ‘ A z a d J a m m u a n d Kashmir’

Blome is the second senior US official to travel to PoK this year after Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who in April this year spoke out against alleged human rights abuses in J&K

M E A s p o k e s p e r s o n A r i n d a m B a g c h i stated that “ our objection to the visit and

Vande Bharat Express hits cow, second such incident in 2 days

A day after the Gandhinagar Mumbai Vande B harat Express c ollided with buffaloes, the newly launched semi hi gh speed train hit a cow in between Ka n

Gujarat, resulting in mi nor damage to the train's nos e panel

meetings in PoK by the US ambassador to Pakistan has been conveyed to the US side ”

I n w h a t f u r t h e r u p s e t I n d i a , t h e a m b a s s a d o r m e t w i t h o f f i c e r s f r o m t h e P a k i s t a n A r m y 1 2 t h I n f a n t r y D i v i s i o n apparently to discuss assistance activities for local communities He also met with ‘AJK Prime Minister Tanveer Ilyas’ and academic, b u s i n e s s , c u l t u r a l a n d c i v i l s o c i e t y representatives

This is the second time in the past couple of months that India has protested the US handling of Pakistan related issues that have a bearing on India’s security The Biden a d m i n i s t r a t i o n e a r l i e r a p p r o v e d a $ 4 5 0 million sustainment package for Pakistan’s F16 fleet

After multiple protests by India, the US clarified its decision was meant to bolster P a k i s t a n ’ s c o u n t e r t e r r o r i s m c a p a b i l i t i e s These developments also come at a time when India refuses to toe the line of the West led by the US on the Russia Ukraine conflict

Amit

Immune reactions to severe Covid may trigger brain problems, says study

Scientists at King’s College London suggest that severe Covi d infections can caus e i m m un e r e a c ti on s t ha t damage nerve cells in the b r ai n , c a us i n g m e m or y pr ob lem s a n d con f us ion , and potentially raising the r i sk of l on g te rm hea lt h is sues They found that a w a yw a rd i m mu n e r e s pon s e t o th e vi r us inc reased the death rate of neutrons and had a “ pro found” impac t on regener ation i n the hippocampus region of the brain, which is c rucial for learning and memory

While the findings are preliminary, they suggest Covid can trigger neuro l o g i c a l p r o b l e m s i n patients without the virus h a d t o i n f e c t t h e b r a i n itself Professor of biologi c a l p s y c h i a t r y a t K C L ’ s Institute of Psychiatry, and senior author of the study, C a r m i n e P a r i a n t e s a i d , “These neurological symp toms are very concerning for patients and their fami lies, and the hope is that our research can help iden t i f y w h i c h t r e a t m e n t s would be most appropriate to lessen or prevent these s y m p t o m s ” T h e

researchers analysed blood f r o m 3 6 C o v i d p a t i e n t s admitted to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London in the first w a v e o f t h e p a n d e m i c They found that levels of a protein called IL 6, which immune cells release as a r a l l y i n g c a l l f o r o t h e r immune cells, were more than 15 times higher than normal in infected individ uals However, a more dra m a t i c r i s e i n I L 6 w a s f o u n d i n C o v i d p a t i e n t s with delirium

T h e s c i e n t i s t s t h e n investigated how high lev e l s o f I L 6 m i g h t a f f e c t neurons in the hippocam pus by exposing lab grown nerve cells to the patient's b l o o d T h e y f o u n d t h a t blood from patients with delirium increased the nor mal death rate of neurons

and reduced the genera tion of new brain cells The damage caused is thought to drive delirium

T h e h a r m f u l e f f e c t s were traced back to a cas cade of events where IL 6 triggers the release of two related immune proteins, called IL 12 and IL 13 Dr A l e s s a n d r a B o r s i n i , t h e s t u d y ’ s f i r s t a u t h o r , s a i d the impact of the proteins on generating new brain cells was “profound” “We believe these proteins are responsible for the deliri u m s y m p t o m s i n a c u t e Covid patients, and in gen eral in long Covid patients experiencing neurological s y m p t o m s , ” B o r s i n i s a i d Measuring the levels of the i m m u n e p r o t e i n s i n patients could help person alise their treatment, she added

Child’s risk of obesity linked to mother’s consumption of ultra processed foods

A mot her’ s consumption of u l t r a p r oc e s se d fo o d s h a s b e e n a s so c ia t e d w it h a n in cr ea se d r isk of over weight or obe sit y in her childr en, a ccor ding t o resea rch The find in gs of the st udy were p ublishe d in The BMJ The r esea rcher s sa y furthe r study is nee ded t o confirm the se find in gs and t o un der st and t h e fa c to r s t h a t mi g ht be r esponsible Howeve r, t hey sugg est tha t mot hers might ben efit from limiting their i n t a k e of u lt r a pr oc e s se d foods a nd that diet ar y guide line s should be refine d and fina ncial an d social ba rrie rs r emov ed to improv e nut ri t ion for wome n of childbear i ng a ge a nd r ed uce child h ood obesity

According to the World H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n , 3 9 million children were over w e i g h t o r o b e s e i n 2 0 2 0 , leading to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, can cers, and early death Ultra p r o c e s s e d f o o d s , s u c h a s packaged baked goods and snacks, fizzy drinks and sug ary cereals, are commonly found in modern Western style diets and are associated with weight gain in adults

and

The NHS II is an ongoing s t

t h and lifestyles of 116,429 US f e m a l e r e g i s t e r e d n u r s e s aged 25 42 in 1989 From 1991, participants reported what they ate and drank, u s i n g v a l i d a t e d f o o d f r e quency questionnaires every four years

A range of other poten t i a l l y i n f l u e n t i a l f a c t o r s , known to be strongly corre lated with childhood obesi t y , w e r e a l s o t a k e n i n t o account These included the m o t h e r ' s w e i g h t ( B M I ) ,

physical activity, smok ing, living status (with a p a r t n e r o r n o t ) , a n d partner's education, as well as children s ultra p r o c e s s e d f o o d c o n s u m p t i o n , p h y s i c a l activity, and sedentary time Overall, 2471 (12%) c h i l d r e n d e v e l o p e d o v e r weight or obesity during an average follow up period of 4 years

The results show that a m o t h e r ' s u l t r a p r o c e s s e d food consumption was asso ciated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity in her offspring For example, a 26% higher risk was seen in the group with the highest m a t e r n a l u l t r a p r o c e s s e d food consumption (12 1 serv ings/day) versus the lowest c o n s u m p t i o n g r o u p ( 3 4 servings/day)

The researchers suggest no clear mechanism under lying these associations and say the area warrants further investigation Nevertheless, t h e s e d a t a " s u p p o r t t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f r e f i n i n g d i e t a r y r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s and the development of pro grams to improve nutrition for women of reproductive a g e t o p r o m o t e o f f s p r i n g health," they conclude

Soup and shakes diet could reverse 500 diabetes cases a week

The NHS is reportedly set to offe r a soup an d shak es di et tha t ca n re verse type 2 di abe tes The die t, whi ch cuts calori e i ntak e to only 850 a da y, could lead to 500 pati ents b eati ng the condi ti on per w eek T he ai m i s to b egin pre scribi ng it as early as nex t y ear after re sults from a bout 2000 patien ts r e v e a l e d i t h e l p e d t h e m l os e a n a v er a g e o f mor e than two stone

P r o f e s s o r J o n a t h a n Valabhji, diabetes and obe sity chief at NHS England, said, “We have seen fantas tic early results from the NHS low calorie diet pro gramme and are now plan ning to expand the offer nationwide ” He said the weight loss was found to be maintained at six months The NHS has not given an e s t i m a t e f o r h o w m a n y people could benefit from t h e d i e t , h o w e v e r , P r o f e s s o r P a u l A v e y a r d

f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f O x f o r d , s a i d i n a r e p o r t that the number would be significant when 220,000 cases of diabetes were diag nosed annually

If 25 per cent take part and 46 per cent of those achieve remission, it wold mean about 25,000 people s a v i n g t h e m s e l v e s f r o m type 2 diabetes every year P r o f e s s o r A v e y a r d s a i d , “Diabetes is no longer a life long, incurable condi tion, which is very excit ing ” The diet will be avail able to patients aged 18 to 65 diagnosed over the past six years They must have a

body mass index of more than 27, or more than 25 for people from black, Asian, or minority ethnic groups

The study results come as hundreds of thousands of people with diabetes in the UK could be helped by a new weekly shot after t was approved by the drugs regulator The Medicines a n d H e a l t h c a r e P r o d u c t s R e g u l a t o r y A g e n c y ( M H R A ) h a s a u t h o r i z e d t i r z e p a t i d e , m a d e b y t h e p h a r m a c e u t i c a l c o m p a n y Lilly, for use by adults with type 2 diabetes that is not sufficiently controlled by existing treatments

Stay consistent in the gym with these eight tips

S ev eral peo ple s tru g gle in their relationship with fit ness Breaking o ne ’ s habit and starting an exercise reg im en is the m ost imp ortant p a rt A n yo n e w h o h a s a tte m p te d to s h ed a f ew p o u nd s o r m ai nt ai n a fi t lifestyle often com plains of d i ff i cu lti es c o m m it tin g to t h e g y m A s c re atu r es o f habit, it is im portant to start slowly and ev entually stick t o a sc h e d u le Be h av i o u r C hange C oach and M indset R es ear ch er K a ri n N o rd i n sug gested eigh t strateg ies to g et m ore consistent in the g ym in her recent Instagram po st

Think of it as a puzzle

Instead of trying to "fix" y o u r s e l f , v i e w y o u r g y m consistency as a puzzle, a c h a l l e n g e , a r i d d l e W h a t clues do you have? What will you test out? What might be fun to try?

P lay with frequency

Some people love going to the gym 6 days per week The consistency of the habit makes it easier for them to stick with or adopt Other people love going to the gym as little as 2 or 3 days per w e e k , T h e y ' r e w i l l i n g t o commit and go hard because they know that time is nec essary Play with your gym frequency and find out what works for you Take resp onsibility for yo ur ow n m otiv ation

Motivation is a feeling created by your thoughts Y o u a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r thinking thoughts that are m o t i v a t i n g S t o p b l a m i n g the fact that you are "Not motivated" and start choos ing to be motivated

Choose to enjoy yourself

If you spend the entire w o r k o u t t h i n k i n g a b o u t how much you hate run ning then it shouldn't be surprising that your intrin sic motivation to show up to the gym is dropping fast I n s t e a d , w o r k o n f i n d i n g even 1% more enjoyment or joy in your workout Focus on the feeling of accom plishment, the energy you get, or the idea that you are getting stronger Set goals

Set goals for yourself From increasing weight to learning a new lift, having g o a l s w i l l h e l p y o u f e e l empowered and excited to show up Also, setting little g o a l s , a n d d e t e r m i n i n g w h a t y o u ' r e l o o k i n g f o r from one specific workout can give your brain some thing to focus on besides your to do list at home

Make a micro choic e

What needs to happen for you to get ready for the gym? Maybe you need to eat a snack, put on your gym clothes, take pre workout, g r a b y o u r g y m b a g , g r a b your keys, and go If you're s t r u g g l i n g t o s a y y e s t o "going to the gym", ask your

brain the yes or no question of if you'll do that first step eating a snack that "micro choice" will build momen tum

Foc us on habit upkeep

On days you are tired, sore, or busy, showing up to your workout and doing the absolute bare minimum like a 3 minute warm up or 5 minute walk is better than n o t g o i n g a t a l l f r o m a b e h a v i o u r p e r s p e c t i v e because it keeps the habit g o i n g F o c u s o n h a b i t upkeep for a while and see what happens Acknowledge the di scom fort

There are a lot of rea sons that the gym might represent discomfort You may have thoughts about if you belong, it might be a n e w e n v i r o n m e n t , y o u might be in a very different shape ( weaker ) than you used to be, you might be comparing yourself to the people around you, etc If y o u h a v e b i g g y m r e s i s tance, get really clear about the very real and legitimate reasons your brain is avoid ing the gym that's the first s t e p t o w o r k i n g t h r o u g h them

Kareena being offered meatier roles now than before

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan completed 22 years in Bollywood and took time out lately to look back at her career so far, and talked about how she has been getting better roles now than before The daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita Kapoor, Kareena made her acting debut in 2000 with J P Dutta’s ‘Refugee’, opposite Abhishek Bachchan

Speaking in an interaction recently, Kareena shared that one has to evolve with time Calling it the “ age of actors”, she said, “I’ve always worked with different kinds of people, be it Sudhir Mishra or Karan Johar (directors) Today, so many opportunities have opened up The scripts I’m being offered are way better than what was offered a decade ago It’s an exciting time not just for female actors but every actor across the board ”

Asserting her love for commercial and parallel films at the same time, Kareena said, “It’s not like I always only want to be a part of a commercial film Having said that, I love commercial cinema and I’ll always do it I’m just following my heart and living my life the way I want to I’m doing things the way I want to I wish I could do five films but I can’t because I’ve to give my children time I’m very sure footed ”

On the work front, Kareena was last seen in Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ She will be next seen with Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat in Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Devotion of Suspect X’ It will mark her official OTT debut Kareena is currently in London, for the shoot of Hansal Mehta’s untitled project

Honorary Knighthood for the Shahenshah @ 80?

In his letter to Truss, Vaz mentioned how Bachchan has visited the UK numerous times and contributed to several charitable events in the UK He was also invited by Former UK P M D a v i d C a m e r o n t o u n v e i l M a h a t m a G a n d h i ’ s s t a t u e i n L o n d o n ’ s P a r l i a m e n t Square in 2015 Having been honoured by the Government of India with three prestigious civilian awards (the Padma Shri in 1984, the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the Padma V i b h u s h a n i n 2 0 1 5 ) , B a c h c h a n w a s a l s o honoured by the Government of France with its highest civilian honour, Knight of the Legion of Honour, in 2007

The Shahenshah of B o l l y w o o d , t h e m e g a s t a r , t h e l e g e n d a r y A m i t a b h B a c h c h a n t u r n e d 8 0 t h i s w e e k o n 1 1 t h October In honour of Mr Bachchan, a non p r o f i t o r g a n i s a t i o n n a m e d T h e F i l m H e r i t a g e F o u n d a t i o n celebrated Big B’s birthday through a one of a kind film festival Titled ‘Bachchan Back To The Beginning’, this festival took place across 17 cities across 22 theatres The event was organised in partnership with PVR, one of the leading multiplex chains in India

The festival started on October 8 and continued till October 11 coinciding with the megastar’s birthday The festival screened some of his old landmark films like Kabhie K a b h i e , C h u p k e C h u p k e , D o n , D e e w a r , Abhimaan, Satte Pe Satta etc and also display some of the rare behind the scenes pictures from the star’s life and career

T h e a u d i e n c e a l s o w i t n e s s e d a n exhibition of about 50 photographs, sourced f r o m t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f c e l e b r a t e d f i l m historian SMM Ausaja A pleasantly surprised Bachchan took to social media to express his g r a t i t u d e a n d a d d e d t h a t h e h a d n e v e r expected to see his early films screened again in his lifetime “I hope that this is just the b e g i n n i n g o f m a n y f e s t i v a l s t h a t w i l l celebrate landmark films of Indian cinema back on the big screen, ” he said in a post Big B’ s Lon don conne ction

B a c h c h a n ’ s L o n d o n c o n n e c t i o n g o e s back a long way Amitabh Bachchan is the f i r s t A s i a n a c t o r t o h a v e a w a x m o d e l displayed at Madame Tussauds in London

Interestingly, did you know that Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan got hitched for

‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ gets second innings on Netflix

Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ got a second chance last week as it landed on streaming platform Netflix Marred with negative reviews, the movie failed to hit the spot with the audience and critics during its theatrical release A Hindi remake of Hollywood classic ‘Forrest Gump’, viewers had different reviews this time

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The couple, who had fallen in love with each other on the set, had decided that they would

a k e a t r i p t o

o n d o n i f t h e movie does well

e n

“There’s a great feeling of comfort when you come here ”

Bachchan has shot some of his most iconic scenes and songs in London, like the Jhoom Barabar Jhoom title track at Waterloo station, and the reconciliation from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham at Bluewater shopping centre

He and the late actress Sridevi has been a part of a concert a Wembley Stadium in L o n d o n w i t h 7 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e H i s granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda studied a t S e v e n o a k s S c h o o l i n L o n d o n f o r h e r secondary schooling

A l a r g e s e c t i o n o f f i l m l o v e r s h a v e showered praises on the film, with many sharing the final scene on Twitter, in which Laal visits Rupa’s grave and tells her all about their son and how he misses her “Despite of the verdict of the movie, this one scene from Laal Singh Chaddha is so special; hats off to Aamir Khan for pulling it off,” wrote a fan “A restrained and understated Laal performed by Aamir, while still holding onto his child like innocence and wonder I don’t know why creatively one thought it was wise to go the animated way through most of the film but I’ll always cherish the last hour of Laal Singh Chaddha,” wrote

w

was

Bachchan asked the superstar if Jaya would be joining him too When t h e a c t o r r e p

i e

i n affirmation, his father told t h e m t h e y h a v e t o g e t married first if they wish to go on a vacation together

The couple obliged and g o t h i t c h e d b e f o r e t h e y jetted off to their first trip to London, which officially then became their honeymoon trip After their trip, there were some scandalous reports being published about Jaya who was a bigger star than Big B at that time The couple then had no choice but to come out in public and announce their marriage

Bachchan’s name has been synonymous with Kaun Banega Crorepati for two decades, but did you know that he needed convincing to host the show?

Amitabh Bachchan was unsure about KBC, was taken to London to watch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and agreed to host on the return flight After initially expressing hesitation to commit to t h e s h o w , A m i t a b h a c c o m p a n i e d S a m e e r Nair, former programme head at Star TV, to watch the taping of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and agreed to do KBC on the return flight

On several occasions, he has mentioned that London is like his second home “Going o

d t h e capital has “become like home ” He said:

He was recently seen in Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra and Goodbye, and some of his upcoming films i n c l u d e U u n c h a i ( b y R a j s h r i productions) and Ganapath

As part of a series of events to celebrate Big B’s 80th birthday, Vaz has also written to the Principal of Homerton College, University of Cambridge, L o r d S i m o n W o o l l e y , t o a s k h i m t o inaugurate an annual lecture to be named after Bachchan This will also recognise the legacy of Bachchan’s late father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a great poet of his time who was very special to the actor The designing of a piece of artwork is also ongoing in a park i n R u s h e y M e a d , L e i c e s t e r n a m e d a f t

Bachchan

Rt Hon Keith Vaz said, “The connection between Britain and India is exemplified by Bachchan’s life He has millions of fans in Britain and throughout the world and this important day should not pass without the UK Government and people honouring him A

foremost an Indian But he is also a global citizen who has touched millions, especially the Indian diaspora We need to recognise him during these historic celebrations I hope that in our small way, these series of events

M a n y a l s o s h a r e d t h e i r t a k e o n t h e cameo by Shah Rukh Khan He played a de aged, younger version of himself, and learns his famous open arms gesture from young Laal “LATEST : Shah Rukh Khan is the last true megastar of Indian cinema; cameo in Laal Singh Chaddha,” wrote a Twitter user

“The best reason to see Laal Singh Chaddha is @iamsrk cameo, ” wrote another Others were generally impressed by the movie, and praised it “I think after Laal Singh Chaddha is now on Netflix, you have to watch it and see how it is a great film with wonderful performance by Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, even the supporting actors; not less than the American film Forrest Gump with a Hindi style,” read a tweet “ L a a l S i n g h C h a d d h a b r i n g s o u t e v e r y emotion that human have Felt heavy when it ends It deserves much more appreciation than it actually got The kid, who acted as a young Chaddha, was perfectly fit to play that role,” read another

Laal Singh Chaddha released in August to mixed to negative reviews and poor box office performance The team launched the film on Netflix without any fanfare

a n o t h e r i n a t w e e t “ T h i s s c e n e w a s beautiful; Aamir's ACTING,” read another tweet

families

Amitabh Bachchan with Rt Hon Keith Vaz

Amitabh Bachchan and wife Jaya Bhadhuri Bachchan

A still from the movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom at Waterloo Station

Big

with his wax statue at Madame Tussaud s London

Painful to work away from 8-eight-year-old sister: Rashmika

ka Mandanna has spent six years in try In a recent interview, the actress ul it was being away from her young e was like a second mother to her danna but had to move away from k commitments. Rashmika made her the 2016 Kannada film ‘Kirik Party’, as gone on to feature in several hits. rk front, she will be next seen in amily comedy drama film that sees Tara coping with the death of her mika has shared in her interviews ught about her own family when she had to cry scenes in the film When asked if being away family has been difficult for her in real life, a opened up about missing her younger sister said, “I’m already feeling a little sad that I don’t stay with them or see them growing up Seeing parents also grow up is something Like I’ve

seen my mum since she was 17 18 and now she’s 40 42 You’ve seen them grow up and I have a little sister who’s like eight years old I’m like I don’t get to see them growing up, I just get to see the grown up I miss it a lot, but I’m a person who’s receiving so much love from everyone out there and I feel equally responsible for them So this is the sacrifice my family has made for the people out there ”

She also said, "I've grown up in a hostel, so staying away from my parents was never a problem But constantly staying for so long, and after your sister happened When she was born, I would feed her, I would change her diapers, I would bathe her, I was her second mumma To move from that to now not being able to see her grow up, was a little painful ”

Written and directed by Vikas Bahl, ‘Goodbye’ stars Amitabh Bachchan as Rashmika's father, Neena Gupta as her mother and Pavail Gulati as her brother It also stars Sunil Grover, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Elli AvrRam among others, and is scheduled for release in theatres on October 7

Prabhas performs Ravana dahan at Delhi Ramlila

ahubali’ actor Prabhas was in Delhi last week perform the Ravana Dahan at the world’s gest Ramlila, organised annually at the Red t grounds On Dussehra every year, the Luv sh Ramlila invites a dignitary to perform the ana Dahan, and this year, Prabhas was given onour abhas shared the stage on Dussehra evening ‘Adipurush’ director Om Raut and Delhi Minister Arvind Kejriwal After he was ated by the organisers, the actor raised a mace) in his hand to loud cheers from the Considering the actor’s popularity, the o r g a n i s e r s h a d s t a t i o n e d t h r e e u n i t s o f ary forces and 140 bouncers, in addition to e personnel Several fans and social media ictures and videos from the event One fan ike the spitting image of Lord Ram Perfect d, “This image alone justifies why Om Raut Prabhas to play Raghava in ‘Adipurush’ ”

Dhanush and Aishwaryaa decide to call off their divorce

Amid rumours that Dhanush and Aishwaryaa Rajinikanth have decided to call off their divorce, a new report has claimed that it was Rajinikanth that urged Dhanush and Aishwaryaa to reconcile. Aishwaryaa and Dhanush announced their separation in January this year. They got married in 2004 and have two sons together, Yatra Raja and Linga Raja.

E v e n t h o u g h D h a n u s h a n d Aishwaryaa have not addressed the rumours about their reconciliation, a new unconfirmed media report claims that Rajinikanth convinced Dhanush and Aishwaryaa to call off their divorce decision for the sake of their sons

A report claims that Rajinikanth was ‘upset and restless’ since Dhanush and Aishwaryaa announced their split He apparently asked Aishwaryaa if her ‘happiness is important or her two sons ’ The chat between Dhanush and Aishwarya reportedly took place at his P o e s G a r d e n h o m e a n d i t w a s ‘successful ’ “Dhanush and Aishwarya agree to reunite for sons Yatra and Linga This is a success for Rajini’s efforts," the report claimed

While Dhanush and Aishwaryaa have maintained a distance publicly, they reunited for an event at their elder son ’ s school event He took oath as the sports captain of his school and his proud parents were present at the ceremony Pictures from the function went viral

Team ‘RRR’ begins campaign for Oscars

SS Rajamouli and the team have started their campaign for next year’s Academy Awards They have released a new “for your consideration” poster which asks them to consider the film in 15 major categories. Film producers share such lists and posters every year to get the Academy’s attention and build up hype for their projects

Raut’s ‘Adipurush' is inspired by Ramayana and sees Prabhas as Raghava, with Kriti Sanon as Janaki, and Saif Ali Khan as Lankesh, based on Ram, Sita, and Ravana, respectively The film will be released in IMAX and 3D when it hits the theatres on January 12, 2023 Produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar of T series, Raut, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair of Retrophiles, the mythological drama will be released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada

Sushmita shares first look as transgender activist from web series ‘Taali’

Actor Sushmita Sen has announced her upcoming web series, ‘Taali’, where she will play the transgender activist Gauri Sawant Sush posted the first look from the show and mentioned in her post that she was “proud and privileged” to bring Sawant’s story onscreen. The series will be helmed by Marathi filmmaker Ravi Jadhav.

world!! Here’s to life & to everyone ’ s right to live it with dignity!!! I love you guys!!! #duggadugga ”

The show will reportedly require around 25 50 trans artistes every day It is also reported that around 300 trans g e n d e r a r t i s t e s h a v e b e e n h i r e d f o r crowd scenes that will be shot over the next month Sushmita is expected to finish the series by November Sawant is an activist and o u n d e r o f t h e S a k h i C h a r C h o w g h i T r u s t i n 2 0 0 0 , a n NGO that provides counselling o transgender people and pro motes safe sex The six episode eries will follow her life, strug gles, and obstacles in becoming ndia’s first transgender moth er It will also focus on the emo ional mother daughter bond as well

Anil Kapoor’s doppelganger wants to stay 'jhakaas' like him

, g prouder & more grateful than to have the privilege of portraying this beautiful person & of bringing her story to the

Priyanka Chopra voices support with Iranian women

Actor Priyanka Chopra has extended her support to women in Iran protesting over Mahsa Amin’s death, saying she is in “awe” of their courage and purpose. Taking to Instagram, Priyanka said the voices that “speak after ages of forced silence,” “must not be stemmed.” The actor also urged people to join the “critical movement” as “numbers matter.”

The actress also shared a black and white art piece dedicated to Mahsa Priyanka captioned the post, "Women in Iran and around the world are standing up and raising their voices, publicly cutting their hair and many other forms of protest for Mahsa Amini, whose young life was taken away so brutally by the Iranian Morality Police for wearing her hijab ‘improperly’ The voices that speak after ages of forced silence, will rightfully burst like a volcano! And they will not and must not be stemmed ”

"I am in awe of your courage and your purpose It is not easy to risk your life, literally, to challenge the patriarchal establishment and fight for your rights But, you are courageous women doing this every day regardless of the cost to yourselves To ensure that this movement will have a lasting effect, we must hear their call, understand the issues and then join in with our collective voices We must also get everyone who can influence others to join as well Numbers matter," she added

Priyanka concluded, "Add your voice to this criti cal movement Stay informed and be vocal, so these voices can no longer be forced to stay silent I stand with you Jin, jiyan, azaadi Women, life, freedom " She also added the hashtags Mahsa Amini, Iran protests and woman life freedom Reacting to the post, fans thanked her A person wrote, "Thank you for being our voice! We really appreciate it and need all the possible supports!

On the work front, Sush is set to begin filming the third season of Ram Madhvani’s ‘Aarya’ She is also set to make a comeback to the big screen with an unnamed biopic

Urmila Matondkar set to make her digital debut with ‘Tiwari’

Actor Urmila

Matondkar is all set to make her digital debut with an action packed thriller web series ‘Tiwari’ The show will also see her perform some intense action sequences Makers of the show, Content Engineers, shared a poster of the series

U r m i l a t a l k e d a b o u t t h e show in a statement She said, “This one offered me characters and a story arc that is challenging as a performer and things that I haven’t attempted so far Written and created by a team of young writers, the team managed to k e e p m e h o o k e d t i l l t h e e n d while narrating it What I liked the most in the story is that at the core, it’s an emotional moth er daughter story but at the same t i m e i t h a s e v e r y t h i n g f r o m drama to action to some thrilling twists and turns I can’t wait to start shooting ”

U r m i l a w i l l p l a y the titular role in the series which is set in a s m a l l t o w n S h e h a s b e e n t r a i n i n g r i g o r ously for the last six months for some high o c t a n e a c t i o n sequences Filmmaker S a u r a b h V a r m a , w h o directed the ‘Rangeela’ actress, said, “The kind of varied graph Tiwari aka Urmila’s character has in the show, we really couldn’t think of anyone else but Urmila As a filmmaker and as a studio, we intend to cre ate clean entertaining content that can be watched by the whole family, globally Tiwari is some thing that has been loved a script by all age groups and fits the bill in totality ”

‘ T i w a r i ’ m a r k s t h e a c t r e s s ’ comeback after a long sabbatical A fan favourite, she has proven her acting prowess with films like ‘ S a t y a ’ , ‘ E k H a s e e n a T h i ’ , ‘Rangeela’, ‘Kaun’, and ‘Pinjar’ She was last seen in the 2005 film ‘Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara’ alongside Anupam Her

S p e a k i n g w i t h t h e O f f i c i a l

Humans Of Bombay, Effer said that until an Indian fan sent him the image of Anil Kapoor, he did not believe that there were at least seven people on the planet w h o l o o k e d e x a c t l y t h e s a m e

“And looking at Anil Kapoor’s picture for the 1st time, I was taken aback; our resemblance was uncanny!,” he said T h e c o a c h r e v e a l e d t h a t h e w a s e x p o s e d t o Bollywood at a young age by his parents, who appreci ate teaching and learning about various cultures For him, Bollywood movies served as a lovely escape and he said, “I grew up watching SRK & Hrithik Roshan’s movies & found myself relating to Hrithik Roshan’s character from ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’ when he sees the picture of a man who looks exactly like him ”

Effer also revealed his favourite film of Anil and said, “My favorite is Virasat I’m also absolutely mes merized with ‘ 1 2 ka 4, 4 2 ka 1, my name is Lakhan!’

My girlfriend & I have a ball dancing to that song! It would be a dream come true for me to act in a Bollywood film In fact, I feel Bollywood must make a ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai; Part 2 ’ with Anil Kapoor & I ”

He further said that he has no idea if he will run into him (Anil) down the line, but in a way, he feels like he knows him already, and now all he wants is to have a life that’s as ‘Jhakass’ as him

“Honestly, I’m amused I can’t believe how 2 indi viduals, residing in different parts of the world look so similar & yet, lead completely opposite lives I’m a pas sionate bodybuilder back home who helps people find joy in being healthy & fit, & Anil Kapoor helps people find the best kind of joy through entertainment,” he said

Ranveer does ‘Khali Bali’ alongside Shaq

Actor Ranveer Singh has made a whole bunch of famous friends at an NBA event His latest video features him dancing alongside basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, also popularly known as Shaq The actor was seen teaching dance steps to the electric song ‘Khali Bali’ from his movie ‘Padmaavat’

Ranveer showed Shaq how to do the beard touching steps and more Sharing the video, he wrote, “Big Man x Bad Man! The collab you didn’t know you needed! Here’s Shaq doing Khalibali! Yes You read that right! Shaq a bibi! @shaq ” Several Bollywood celebs reacted to the v i d e o i n t h e c o m m e n t s s e c t i o n “ T h e s h a q attack,” wrote Varun Dhawan Badshah called him ‘Shaqaal’ and Dino Morea mentioned “He’s hugeeeee ” Singer and pro ducer Tesher called Ranveer “cultural ambassador #1 ”

Earlier, Ranveer launched into a dance with another NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo He taught him the steps to his song ‘Tattad Tattad’ from ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ramleela’

@giannis an34, ” he wrote with the video

He was also part of a celebrity match organised by the NBA recently He joined the court with Machine Gun Kelly and others as desi fans cheered for the audience Even NBA commentators were surprised by all the attention he was getting “This Bollywood star has over 38 million Instagram fol lowers That's right, I said over 38 million,” they said about him

Ranveer is an Indian NBA ambassador and is often seen at NBA events, interacting with players and other celebrities On the work front, Ranveer will be seen with Alia Bhatt in ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’, directed by Karan Johar It a l s o s t a r s D h a r m e n d r a , S h a b a n a Azmi and Jaya Bachchan The film will release in 2023 He also has Rohit Shetty's ‘Cirkus’ in his kitty He has a double role in the movie that stars Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Hegde and multiple comedians

Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor found himself a doppelgänger, when a photo collage of him and US based fitness coach John Effer made its rounds around the Internet. Their shocking similarity went viral online, with Effer himself posting the picture on his Instagram account.

in brief India beat South Africa, win series 2-1

3 INDIANS NOMINATED FOR PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Smriti Mandhana Harmanpreet Kaur and Axar Patel were nominated for ICC Player of the Month' award in the women and men's categories for September Skipper Harmanpreet and vice captain Mandhana have been shortlisted for the very first time and if one of them goes on to win will then become the first ever Indian player to win the Women's Player of the Month award Axar on the other hand, has been nominated for the men's Player of the Month following a series of impressive and restrictive bowling displays against Australia and South Africa Despite a disappointing T20I series in England at the start of the month, Harmanpreet was in imperious form during the subsequent ODI series which followed

MENON AMONG 16 UMPIRES NAMED FOR T20 WORLD CUP

India’s Nitin Menon will be among the 16 umpires who will officiate in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia Menon the only Indian on the ICC Elite Panel, has already reached Australia The ICC has announced 20 match officials for the first round and Super 12 stage of the tournament In total, 16 umpires will officiate across the tournament with Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Kumara Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus having been the umpires in charge of the 2021 final,” the ICC said “It is an experienced group of umpires, with the same 16 selected as last year’s tournament which was held in the UAE and Oman ” Chief referee of the Elite Panel Ranjan Madugalle is part of a quartet of ex international cricketers who make up the match referees

CHAHAR SUSTAINS TWISTED ANKLE, DOUBTFUL FOR ODIS

Indian ODI team has been dealt a blow as senior seamer Deepak Chahar is likely to miss the remaining two games due to a twisted ankle sustained during a training session before the first match against South Africa in Lucknow Chahar wasn’t a part of the Indian playing XI

Meanwhile left arm seamers Mukesh Choudhary and Chetan Sakariya have gone with the squad as net bowlers for the T20 World Cup It is understood that since most teams have a left arm seamer in its ranks and Arshdeep Singh will need rest between the games Mukesh and Chetan have accompanied the team

NZ ALL ROUNDER MITCHELL IN DOUBT FOR WC

New Zealand all rounder Daryl Mitchell is a doubt for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia starting this month after fracturing a finger in training Mitchell was ruled out of a tri series also involving Pakistan and Bangladesh in New Zealand this week as a warm up for the global tournament The 31 year old suffered the injury while batting in the nets in Christchurch He will remain in a cast for at least two weeks, meaning it may not come off before the Black Caps’ opening World T20 match against Australia on October 22 Medical staff will monitor the progress of Mitchell, who has enjoyed a productive 18 months in all three international formats Coach Gary Stead said it would be a blow if the all rounder was ruled out of the tournament

HARBHAJAN ALLEGES

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

Former India cricketer Harabhajan Singh, who is Punjab Cricket Association’s chief advisor, has alleged that “illegal activities” are being carried out by certain office bearers in the state body Harbhajan, though, didn t mention the name of the office bearers, which was sent to PCA members and district units of the body Harbhajan, also a Rajya Sabha MP also sent a detailed letter about “malpractices” by the current regime to CM Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party’s national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

The Arun J aitley Stadi um in New Delhi barely had half its capaci ty crowd for the deci di ng ODI between India and South Afric a on Tues day There were fe a rs o f a s h or te n e d g am e , following the i ncessant rain on the previous four days O ne di d get a shortened game b ut i t had no th i n g t o d o wi t h t he we a th er S out h A f ri c a ’ s inadequacies agains t spin on a da m p pi t c h r es u lt e d i n t he touris ts folding for 9 9 in 27 1 ov er s af t e r I n di a c a pt ai n Shikhar Dhawan won the toss an d elected to field T h e s e r i e s w a s w i d e l y perceived as a ‘second string’ Indian team, resembling the

came to the fore

g ,

would have liked to get more runs than his scores of 4, 13 and 8 in the series

battling freak injuries, sent out a reminder why he has been

t spinners with the new ball with his spell of 2/15 in four overs

This is South Africa’s first team and it was obvious they must have switched their focus t o t h e T 2 0 W o

l d C

composition of an Ind ‘A’ team, taking on a full strength South African team When Shreyas Iyer hit Marco Jansen for a six over long off to win the series 2 1, after Shubman Gill fell for a 57 ball 49, with seven wickets and 30

Harmanpreet

overs to spare, India’s

Player of the Year

of the Year in th e m en ’ s category for the second successiv e tim e Th e 26 year old became just the fourth player to win the P layer o f th e Y e ar aw a rd ( m en ’ s category) in consecutiv e years, joining an elite list that includes Teun De Noo ij er (Netherlands), J am ie D w ye r ( A u st ral i a) a nd A rthur v an Doren ( Belg ium)

“ H a r m a n p r e e t S i n g h i s a b o n a f i d e m o d e r n d a y h o c k e y s u p e r s t a r H e i s a t e r r i f i c defender with a knack for being at the right place at the right t i m e t o b r e a k d o w n t h e opponent’s offense,” FIH said in a s t a t e m e n t “ H e h a s g r e a t dribbling skills to carry the ball up the field And he scores goals,

goals and more goals! To add to that impressive resume, he has now been voted the FIH Player of the Year, for the second year running ” Harmanpreet's total points tally stood at 29 4 points, followed by Thierry Brinkmann with 23 6 points and Tom Boon with 23 4 points

Sreejesh, Savita voted FIH's goalkeepers of the year

In dia's PR Sre ejes h an d Savit a Punia were voted FIH M en's and Women s Goalkeeper of the Y ear r espectively for t he sec ond year r unni ng, on t he ba ck of the ir s trong s hows under the bar I n h i s 1 6 t h y e a r a s a f u l l international for India, Sreejesh once again showed his value to the team, playing in all 16 games in the FIH Hockey Pro League as I n d i a f i n i s h e d i n t h e t h i r d position He also played in all six g a m e s a t 2 0 2 2 B i r m i n g h a m C o m m o n w e a l t h G a m e s w h e r e India won the silver medal

"The longevity of Sreejesh's career continues to defy logic as t h e 3 4 y e a r o l d I n d i a n s h o t stopper continues to raise his game as the years roll on," the F I H s a i d i n a s t a t e m e n t o n Sreejesh, who had also won the award last year

Sreejesh got 39 9 total points i n t h e v o t i n g , f o l l o w e d b y Belgium's Loic van Doren (26 3 points) and Netherlands' Primin B l a a k ( 2 3 2 p o i n t s ) T h e v o t e s were cast online by experts (40%), t e a m s ( 2 0 % ) , f a n s ( 2 0 % ) a n d media (20%)

Sreejesh is the third player to win back to back FIH Goalkeeper of the Year award A similar feat was achieved in the past by David H a r t e ( I r e l a n d ) w h o w o n t h e

a w a r d i n 2 0 1 5 a n d 2 0 1 6 , a n d Vincent Vanasch (Belgium) who won it three consecutive times from 2017 to 2019 D u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h e season, Sreejesh also completed 2 5 0 i n t e r n a t i o n a l a p p e a r a n c e s , becoming the eighth Indian and the only goalkeeper to achieve the feat

T h e 3 2 y e a r o l d S a v i t a finished on top of the voting with 3 7 6 p o i n t s A r g e n t i n a l e g e n d Belén Succi received second most p o i n t s w i t h 2 6 4 , f o l l o w e d b y Australia stalwart Jocelyn Bartam (16 points)

We are glad to announce the winners of the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year 2021 22 Savita is now only the third athlete to win the Goalkeeper of the Year (women) for consecutive years since the inception of the award in 2014

"This surely is a big surprise and a very pleasant one I am sure many Indian hockey fans voted for us and I thank each one of t h e m , " s a i d S a v i t a w h o i s currently playing for Haryana in the National Games in Gujarat Savita was instrumental in leading India to a podium finish in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021 22, in their debut campaign, pulling off an astounding 57 saves in the 14 games she played

While this has been a graduation process for most players playing in the series,

fighting

like

p i n Australia After all, they play their first warm up game in a week’s time It was more about preserving their players for the mega event The lack of intent

innings Regular captain Temba

shot

reclaim their spots in India’s first choice XI For Kuldeep Yadav, who was a first choice spinner three years ago, every opportunity

Shafali, Mandhana star as India book berth in semis

Sh a fa l i Ve r ma o n ce a g a in s ho we d h e r m a t c h w i n n i n g pr o we s s wi t h a n a t t r a ct i v e 5 5 of f 4 4 b a l l s a s In d ia o ut batt ed Ba ngla desh by 59 r un s to win their fo ur t h ma t c h a n d cl in ch a semifina l spot in t he Women’s Asia Cup T20 at Sy lhet on Sa t u r d a y A ft e r a n in diffe rent ba tting show in the defe at t o Pakist an, the ‘Women In Bl ue ’ put up a much improved pe r f or m a n ce , sco r i n g 1 5 9/ 5 lar gely due t o a 96 run opening st and bet we en Shafa li and stand in sk ipper Smr it i Ma ndhana (47 off 38 ba lls) C r e d i t s h o u l d a l s o g o t o J e m i m a h R o d r i g u e s , w h o s e 3 5 not out off just 24 balls helped the Indian team get to a good total Bangladesh managed 100/7 at the end of 20 overs and never looked like being in the hunt for a victory With eight points from five games, India are on top of t h e

kept things tight After a shoddy fielding effort against Pakistan, it improved by a couple of notches on the day as there were no easy runs in store The hosts couldn’t even score 50 in the first 10 overs and scoring more than 110 runs i

y impossible for them

None of the Indian bowlers were off target for the better part with Sneh Rana (1/17 in 3 overs) and Deepti Sharma (2/13 in 4 o v e

s )

i

a

t

v

t a

i t h a match left in the round robin stage

Having never chased a total beyond 142 in their entire T20 history, Bangladesh did try their bit but could never force the

u s a s ever Even Shafali’s loopy leg breaks (2/10 in 4 overs) seemed unplayable

Scores: India Women 159/5 (Shafali 55, Mandhana 47) beat B a

1 0 0 / 7 (Sultana 36, Shafali 2 10, Deepti 2 13) by 59 runs

Services dominate medals tally in National Games

in the canoe and kayak sprints on the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad Madhya Pradesh jumped to the 10th spot in the rankings, riding on their sweep of slalom events Kayaks Hitesh K e w a t a n d S h i k h a C h o u h a n , a n d c a n o e i s t s V i s h w a j i t S i n g h Kushwaha and Jahanvi Srivastava did the star turn for them Karandeep Kochhar (Chandigarh) signed his fourth sub par card to walk away with the men ’ s individual golf gold with a superb score of 21 under for the four rounds at Kensville Golf and Country Club His performance was insurance enough for Chandigarh to claim the men ’ s team gold as well

Harmanpreet Singh