AV 21st February 2015

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Permanent UNSC seat for India unacceptable, Sharif tells Obama

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See Page 23

Govt will not allow any group to incite hatred: Modi

Pragnesh Modhwadia - Managing Partner

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Survey reveals worrying prospects for Britain’s Muslim community

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 43. ISSUE 40

See Page 11

80p

21st February to 27th February 2015

TORIES NEED TO 'MIND THE GAP'

India-Lanka stronger link

Recent analysis suggests Conservatives still fail to impress ethnic minority voters

Rupanjana Dutta & Gurdeep Bains

Prime Minister David Cameron in his initial days of governance, has spoken extensively about the Big Society, he dreams to create. In that, one key ingredient has been a diverse and multicultural Britain- which however seems foreign, given his party's oblivious approach towards some important demographic differences.

A survey has suggested that the Tories still lag far behind Labour among large parts of multicultural Britain, despite efforts to appeal ethnic voters. A recent analysis by the YouGov has shocked the party by suggesting that the Conservatives have made almost no progress among ethnic minority voters since the last elections.

Continued on page 16

Maithripala Sirisena with Narendra Modi

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Sirisena said the visit would “strengthen their friendship�, and would be a “glorious event� and an “honour and blessing� to Sri Lanka.

New Delhi also signed a pact with Colombo to assuage their concerns on Indian nuclear facilities coming up on the southern coast, which Continued on pag 26

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday decided to expand bilateral “defence and security cooperation.� Modi is likely to visit Sri Lanka and Maldives next month, sources said, adding that the itinerary is being finalised.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Jai Vohra, Managing Director at LCC Learning

Jai Vohra is currently Managing Director at LCC Learning. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The University of Manchester. In addition, he holds a certificate from the Global Social Change Leadership Institute at New York University. LCC Learning is a Knightsbridge based tuition center that specifically focuses on Common Entrance, GCSE & A Level revision courses, offering private tuition and classes in a wide range of subjects throughout the year, particularly during the Christmas and Easter vacations. LCC Learning offer lectures on a variety of ancillary subjects as well as a continuous programme of mock testing, together with a UCAS and personal statement advice service. In his role at LCC Learning Jai deals with the management of the organisation and its long term strategy.

1 What is your current position?

I am currently Managing Director at LCC Learning in Knightsbridge. We are a Knightsbridge based tuition center that specifically focuses on Common Entrance, GCSE & A Levels revision courses and private tuition to prepare our students for their upcoming examinations.

2 What are your proudest achievements?

In 2012, I ran the London Marathon for Scope; a UK Disability Charity who provides services for those with disabilities in the UK. Together with a friend we managed to raise just over £4000. It was a humbling experience to participate in an event which brought the whole of London together.

I remember seeing a fellow participant who was blind run alongside us as well as watching the countless people collapse before the finish line due to exhaustion. It changes the way you think to watch so many people put themselves through so much mental and physical pain in order to help raise funds and support for others. It was a defining day in terms of my personal development.

3 What inspires you?

I like to be challenged and achieve personal goals. Every week when our students receive better grades and overcome their own personal barriers, it inspires us all to want to achieve more together and to keep on pushing the limits.

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from my Father and my family’s entrepreneurial achievements that there is a duty to help others that comes with success. I have been brought up to have a strong appreciation for social responsibility. I feel that often social change can most effectively be delivered through the private sector.

4 What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

It was a struggle at first to build relationships with schools.

However we are overcoming these obstacles as many have realized that we work together with them to achieve the best results for our students. There are now many schools who regularly recommend students to us.

5 Who has been the biggest influence on your career?

My Father has been the biggest influence on my career. I come from a background of successful entrepreneurs. I have learnt

6 What is the best aspect about your current role?

The autonomy LCC Learning enjoys while it supports our students throughout their educational career. We are fortunate that we don’t have any bureaucracy or hurdles that hinder our ability to teach our students. We are able to be very flexible and efficient in dealing with our students.

LCC Learning provides support individually for our students rather than with the ‘one size fits all’ approach.

7 The worst?

I find it disheartening to meet the occasional students who

have been told by others that they are unable to achieve their personal goals or life ambitions.

There are some students whose confidence and interest in their subjects have been jeopardized.

It is upsetting to meet individuals who have been through this experience. Every student has the capability in achieving their career ambitions or degree choice, it is our role to inspire the necessary ambition and determination to help achieve this.

8 What are your long term goals?

I would like to offer more educational services in different areas of the country. LCC Learning receives many enquiries from those outside of London and we are looking to open more tuition centers around the UK. 9 If you were Prime Minister?

I would like to change the way many schools operate in the county. I believe that there is a lack of structure and time given to many students.

10 If you were marooned on a desert island…

Immanuel Kant- I am fascinated by the ethical ideas and formulas which this philosopher coined. To have a further understanding of his ideas would help me to prepare for any situation.

Miliband regrets horrific betrayal of children by Labour Council The Opposition leader Ed Miliband has reportedly talked about his deep regret about the Rotherham child exploitation scandal, where the Labour council failed the victims by not taking right actions.

Mr Miliband was responding to a question about the events in Rotherham when he spoke to an audience of mainly students at Sheffield Hallam University students union.

Last year the Jay Report found that at least 1,400 children had been sexually exploited by gangs of men, mostly of Muslim origin, some Pakistanis, in the South Yorkshire town between 1997 and 2013. It was critical about failures by both the police and the local council to tackle the problem.

A young woman who said she was Amy, from Rotherham, reportedly asked the leader of the Opposition: "How can my generation trust your party to ensure child safety at a national level when a Labour council in Rotherham couldn't even cope and how can we prevent future atrocities occurring?"

Mr Miliband reportedly said: "It was terrible what happened in Rotherham.

"And lots and lots of young people were terribly let down, including by Labour representatives.

"I deeply regret that that happened and we've got to learn the lessons of it.

We've got to learn the lessons of it as a party and we've taken some action in terms of some of the people who were there

at the time.

"We've got to learn the lessons also as a country because these aren't just failings that were in Rotherham, they were failings right across many, many walks of life."

Mr Miliband also said he hoped the planned national inquiry into child abuse would give victims a chance to tell their stories.

He said: "I couldn't be clearer about the sense of regret I feel about what happened in Rotherham and that a Labour council didn't do the right things and didn't take the action that was necessary."

The scandal which began with Professor Alexis Jay's report in August led to a range of resignations.

Labour has suspended four councillors and a party inquiry is currently going on. Louise Casey is

leading an inquiry into the council's actions, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating police officers' actions, and the National Crime Agency is now investigating the exploitation.

However, the former leader of Rotherham Council has agreed to break his silence on his handling of the child sexual exploitation scandal and answer questions by MPs on the Department for Local Government and Communities select committee. Mr Stone resigned as leader of Rotherham Council on the day the Jay report was published in August and has not spoken publicly since.

A select committee spokeswoman said Mr Stone is likely to appear to answer questions next month.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

COMMENT

Rock star Kejriwal: Modi rocket for Delhi police chief

Arvind Kejrival, the head of the Aam Admi Party, pulled off stunning a victory in the Delhi State Assembly poll, a miniature of Narendra Modi’s and BJP’s feat on the vaster all-India landscape. The issues of corruption, good governance and development were core issues in both campaigns. The electoral exercise was a robust affirmation of the strength and durability of Indian democracy, the belief of the common man that the system, warts and all, had the capacity to deliver and call to account governments and leaders. Mr Kejriwal defied the odds by reinventing himself and his party after the fiascos of AAP’s previous attempt to win Delhi, and also make an impact on the national stage in the general election. Chastened by the experience Mr Kejriwal and his team mulled over their shortcomings, corrected them and came up with a convincing presentation of why they and AAP were worthy of a second chance to prove themselves. Coming back on the rebound of two serious setbacks showed character, but the even greater challenge hereon will be delivery on the promises made to improve the city state’s utilities and inadequate housing for the needy and disadvantaged, tax-paying citizens who rightly expect a more even distribution of the capital’s wealth. With the results done and dusted, Mr Kejriwal did the rounds calling on the great and good, including President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

He assured them of his cooperation in establishing a constructive relationship with the Union Government, which would be necessary for the fulfilment of AAP’s development agenda.

Confrontation belonged properly to the hurly burly of the hustings.

This said, it is perhaps a good opportunity to reflect on some aspects of the the AAP success, an extraordinary feature of its being the telling support it received from all sections of society. The demands of the masses are well understood, but the support of the affluent classes of south Delhi less so. The Times of India (February 11) in its analysis

of this phenomenon took as its central point President Obama’s address to a well heeled student audience at Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium, during which he stressed the need for religious tolerance and for pluralistic space for India’s ethnic and cultural diversity to grow and flourish. These, he affirmed, were essential to assure India’s future as a modern and vibrant nation. His words struck a chord with the youthful assembly and many more groups of enlightened souls further afield. He appeared to articulate, averred the Times, the deepening unease among a wide swath of the citizenry in the capital and beyond, to quote the Times, at” the rumblings from the loony fringe of the saffron establishment were relentlessly in the news…..that made urban India deeply uncomfortable. From economic development and cleaning India, the national discourse appeared to have been overtaken by strange men asking women to have four children, or churches being vandalized.

Narendra Modi’s silence provided fodder to the critics that ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ was a ruse which was discarded after the elections and that it was going to be ‘back to basics’ now.”

A sixth attack on a Christian institution, the Holy Child School in New Delhi, had Mr Modi fuming. Breaking protocol, he summoned the Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi - answerable to the Home Minister Rajnath Singh - and asked him pointedly why there had been no results, thus far, in the investigations into the previous attacks on Christian churches. The Prime Minister told the police chief in no uncertain terms that this unsatisfactory state of affairs was unacceptable, that he had to provide results and security to minority institutions, and was given a firm timeline to come up with answers. Spoken like a true prime minister.

Meanwhile, Human Resource Development Minister, Smriti Irani, a former alumnus of Holy Child visited the school, and spoke with the principal. Arvind Kejriwal condemned the attacks in his public acceptance speech, saying this sort of thing would not be tolerated, under his dispenation

American, British and European universities – surprise, surprise – are being given a run for their money by their Japanese peers. The uniquely attractive proposition offered by Japanese universities is that they will cost half the amount required by institutions of higher education in the West. Backing this drive are clutch of high profile companies such as Sony, Canon. Toshiba and Mitsubishi, which are sweetening the offer by promising these young Indians placements their subsidiaries in India, of which there are more than 1200 presently operating in the country. The initiative by Japanese universities gained traction from the ratification of the Tokyo Declaration for the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe in September last year. This was followed up by the Japanese Government assigning to Tokyo University the task of coordinating the recruitment for higher studies. Subsequently, four Indian universities, including IIT Hyderabad, were selected as partners. The next step came with 10 Japanese universities, led by Tokyo , together with Japanese corporate houses, to hold

a number of education summits in India.

“We intend to double the number of Indian students in Japan from the current 500, in the next five years,” said Miki Matsuo, Project Coordinator, Japan, International cooperation Agency (JICA). Currently, China accounts for more than 60 per cent of the total number of foreign students in Japan, numbering around 135,000, followed by Korea and Vietnam. Daisuke Kodama, of the Japanese Embassy, in India explained that the cost for an Indian student in Japan would range between Rs 1 -3 million annually, including hostel fees. “This is half the cost an Indian student would pay to pursue the same course in Western universities,” said UB Desai, Director, IIT, Hyderabad.

JICA plans to establish a new PhD scholarship programme at Japanese universities for graduates from IIT, Hyderabad, based on an agreement between India and Japan, its goal being to enhance research networks involving the higher educational institutional institutions of both countries. An interesting chapter in the IndoJapan relationship is ready to unfold.

Zareer Masani’s BBC documentary on the House of Tata was a riveting account of India’s most famous business group ,from its genesis more than a century ago to the giant it is today, with its many arms streched across the world in multiple areas, from steel to Information Technology, cars ,lorries, consumer durables and realty. The Tata Group has now spread its wings in India’s defence sector, among the first private companies to do so in a space hitherto monopolized for decades by the state. Fourteen companies of the Tata Group have already made their mark, having acquired a combined order book worth over $1.6 billion and rising.

One Tata company has started supplying advanced composite floor beam to the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, making it the only supplier outside the US to do so. Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division has emerged as a prime aerospace and defence contractor. “By 2025,we are targeting to cater to 70 per cent of the overall combat force of India and 97 per cent of the Army’s combat force,” said CEO Rahul Chaudhry.

Tata Technologies, another Group firm, has acquired a significant niche in India’s aerospace sector, from concept design to manufacturing.

According to Aditya Roy Choudhury, President Global Delivery, Tata Technologies, the company’s investments in the in the last years have focused on high performance computing systems, a joint venture with state-owned Hindustan Aerospace Limited (HAL) and an aerospace deliver centre in Bangalore. Tata Advanced Systems concentrates on several areas – missiles, radars, aerospace, optronics, UAVs, homeland security, and command and control. Sukaran Singh CEO, Tata Advanc Systems explained:: “The company’s revenue for the financial year 2013-14 stood at Rs 430 crore and for the financial year 2014-15 it is estimated to reach Rs 800 crore. The order book is around Rs4,500 crore.” These are impressive numbers going forward. Mukund Rajan CEO Tata Sons said that in the last few years Foreign Direct Investment in India’s defence sector was $4.94 million, while the Tata Group had invested $50 million. Tech savvy Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is bringing in a can-do work ethic. Tata’s emerging traction bodes well for the country’s public-private sector partnership. Transparency, rationalized regulation and swift decisions are geared to make a real difference in performance.

Indian students wooed by Japan

Tata buoyant in Indian defence sector

3

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their colour

- Maya Angelou

Baroness Zahida Manzoor CBE of Knightsbridge

The Importance of Freedom

This year started with a tragedy.

Extremists opened fire on the offices of a group of French satirical cartoonists in an attempt to silence the voices they disagreed with. 17 died. The attacks killed people from multiple faiths and cultures.

This was an example of horrific and extreme opposition to the value of free speech that we hold so dearly in a democratic society.

It was a tragedy that grabbed the World’s attention and yet within a week reports came out of Nigeria that even more had been killed by terrorists. It received a fraction of the media coverage, something that I was surprised at as 2,000 were left dead after what was the deadliest attack in the group’s history.

Boko Haram are fighting to destroy freedoms, they are killing to ensure that women are not treated equally within society.

Across the World there are groups who are brutally fighting against our freedoms, using death and atrocities to frighten us into giving up those things that our own ancestors fought for.

There is a risk that in the wake of such atrocities we trample all over our freedoms in the name of ‘security’.

For example, in the Lords recently we have been debating the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill, something that requires a very clear head in these

times of high emotion.

Attempts were in the Bill to bring in new measures that would have damaged the very freedom and civil liberties we are trying to defend. Luckily the Lib Dems stood in the way of these proposals and they were thrown out.

The liberties and freedoms we enjoy today are not something that should be just taken away. There is too much eagerness to protect people at all costs, using fear-mongering to scare people into giving up things that they may not truly appreciate until they are gone. There is not enough focus on working together to ensure our safety, looking out for each other. Instead we too easily look for options that divide us either by creating mistrust within communities, or between the police, government, and the people.

There will be ongoing pressure to bring in more restrictions on our freedom, as new technology is introduced, and threats come and go. We have to ensure that we do not tip the balance between freedom and security. To do so would dishonour the sacrifices that have been made over the years to earn those freedoms. As Benjamin Franklin once said “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” We would be wise to keep this in mind in these troubled times.

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MIDLANDS VOICE

Former Google Guru: “Our clothes will soon become mobile power devices” played on literally everything soon”, predicts Golding, who previously spent eight years working at ESPN, the largest sports media network in the United States.

“TV sets of the future will be screenless frames through which holograms appear. We already have audio induction but I’m envisioning power induction next. By wearing a certain type of device, our entire bodies will be power sources which allow us to power very small devices remotely.”

Hosted by The Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury, other speakers at this year’s event include vlogging sensations Lily Pebbles and Anna Gardner, who both draw in over 1 million video views to their YouTube channels each month.

Rahul Chakkara, director of digital at Talk Talk, will also address the issue of future digital trends.

For the full speaker line-up and more details please visit www.rethinkmedia.biz.

An alleged conman told a jury he turned to faith healing because a “miracle” enabled him to walk again, four years after he was shot and paralysed in India.

Mohammed Ashrafi, pictured, (50) claimed that after the “miracle”, he came to the UK to help the “poor and sick”.

Ashrafi is accused of cheating vulnerable victims out of £650,000 in a series of alleged scams in Leicester.

The prosecution claims he pretended to be a devotee of Indian spiritual master Sai Baba, and professed to have special powers that could help people win lottery jackpots, in return for payments.

Giving evidence in his own defence last Friday, Ashrafi told a jury at Leicester Crown Court that he was formerly a successful businessman in

India, before being kidnapped by “hooligans” in his homeland, in 2000.

They detained him for seven hours before shooting him in the spine, he said.

Ashrafi told the court: “I was unable to walk for four years. I met a lot of doctors in Bombay and they said I was paralysed.”

He said he then sought help from a Sai Baba devotee, Shri Krishna Das, who prayed for him for 11 days.

“Straight away, after 11 days, I started to walk.

It was a big miracle in my life.,” said Ashrafi.

He told the jury he too became a devotee of Sai Baba, to help others.

The defendant claimed he later came to the UK to help the “poor and sick”.

Ashrafi, formerly of Babingley Avenue, off Parker Drive, Leicester, denies 14 counts of fraud, involving 18 alleged victims, by falsely claiming that in return for payments for materials required for prayer, such deer musk, they would win the lottery, between January and April 2014.

He also denies blackmailing a couple out of £50,000, last February.

The blackmail allegedly involved Ashrafi drugging a woman, who became unconscious, before taking a “compromising” video recording and threatening to put it on the internet.

The trial continues.

The grieving family of a baby who died after being deprived of oxygen in the hours before his birth must wait up to three weeks for a coroner’s verdict.

Rahat Qayyam was born at the Royal Oldham Hospital on July 5, 2013, and spent 14 days on life support before his family agreed to it being switched off. Shazia, Rahat’s mother, had been at the hospital for a number of hours before his birth and doctors had concerns that the baby’s heart rate and his

airways could be blocked.

An emergency Caesarian section was performed and doctors found the baby’s airways were blocked. Though taken straight to intensive care, the lack of oxygen had severely damaged his vital organs and caused brain damage. His inquest, at Heywood Coroner’s Court, resumed last Thursday and heard a number of concerns following an internal hospital investigation.

Dr Caroline Rice of North Manchester

General Hospital, helped to conduct the investigation and told the coroner several members of staff involved in treating Mrs Qayyam didn’t have up-todate training in reading scans. The inquest had previously revealed scans can be interpreted in different ways and guidelines on analysis weren’t always clear.

Coroner Lisa Hashmi revealed she will be writing to the Department of Health to suggest the issue is addressed nationally.

“Wearable devices will soon transform our entire bodies into power sources”, a former Google boss will tell an annual digital media conference at Birmingham City University next month.

Former Google director Frank Golding will join BBC Future Media director Ralph Rivera and radio futurologist James Cridland at Rethink Media on Wednesday 18 March to discuss the technologies set to shape the digital media landscape.

“Video will be dis-

Alleged conman Mohammed Ashrafi 'turned to faith healing after miracle'

Tragic Rahat: family awaits ruling

Dentist cleared of misconduct after sending discriminatory text messages A dentist who sent a string of text messages threatening to ‘out’ a colleague as gay to his family after a workplace row has escaped being struck off.

Dr Muhammad Raza had developed close working friendship with the man, a fellow senior practitioner, but the relationship soured in November 2011, a General Dental Council panel heard.

In the aftermath of the

fall-out, Dr Raza, of Leicester, sent a series of foul-mouthed text messages to his colleague, a secretly gay Muslim.

Panel chairman Brent Weller said members considered the messages to be threatening and “could not be anything other than homophobic”.

He told Dr Raza: “We note that on more than one occasion in the course of your evidence you con-

ceded you had counterthreatened Dr A in response to threats you perceived he was making towards you.”

Tom Kirk-Smythe, for the General Dental Council, said the row between the two began when Dr Raza tried to hand a case over to his colleague as his shift was finishing.

The exchange of text messages then took place.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Kabir weds Kinjal

Congratulations to pharmacist Kabir who got married to Kinjal at a lavish ceremony in Rajkot, India, this week.

Kabir is grandson of legendary bhajans maestro Pragjibhai and Muktaben Ladva and son of Vijay and Bindu Ladva.

Kinjal is the daughter of Jamanbhai and Savitaben Ghedia.

A series of vibrant events, including raasgarba, bhajans by Osman Mir leading to the wedding on Tuesday (17th Feb) were attended by scores of friends and relatives from the UK and India.

Congratulations to the couple, pictured, from the team at Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

Manchester business delegation visits India

A business delegation from Manchester, UK visited India from the 9th13th February as part of the city’s initiatives to strengthen business ties with India.

Led by Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency and Jo Ahmed, Director of Global Employer Services, Deloitte, Manchester, and supported by the UK India Business Council and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the delegation hosted a series of one-toone meetings and events in Bangalore and Mumbai.

In Bangalore, MIDAS, in conjunction with Deloitte, hosted an exclusive business High Tea event, which took place at UK India Business Council’s office on

Monday 9th February.

Guest speakers included Dominic Jermey, Chief Executive of UKTI, Tim Newns and Jo Ahmed.

The event highlighted the key considerations for high tech businesses looking to expand in the UK in particular, Manchester and the city will put forward the notion of ‘Make in India, Innovate in Manchester’.

Manchester has a heritage of bilateral trade with India, with trade links dating back to the Victorian era, and the city seeks to ensure that this tradition continues to go from strength to strength.

The city recognises that India presents significant opportunities for Manchester, and in turn Manchester can help India with its own plans for eco-

nomic growth.

The delegation attended the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum in Mumbai, where they explained how the city has been innovating and shaping the future of technology for the last 300 years; from the industrial revolution, the splitting of the atom and the development of the first-stored program computer, to the isolation of graphene, which offers the potential to revolutionise technological application.

Former cricketer Farokh Engineer also joined the delegation in Mumbai along with Sheetal Talwar, Managing Director of Vistaar Productions who has just opened a new post-production facility in Manchester.

M6 drug dealers jailed after £50k worth of heroin found in car

Police found £50,000 worth of heroin hidden in a car used by two Birmingham drug dealers after they were pulled over on the M6.

Zia Khan and Abdul Suffi were halted by police on the motorway near to Hilton Park Services in November 2013 as they made their way back from Manchester with the heroin haul.

The bag containing the drugs was found stuffed underneath a front seat during a search of the car.

Khan, 25, of Ivy Road, Handsworth, was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for four years eight months and Suffi, 22, of

Abdul Suffi at left and Zia Khan

Hampton Road, Aston, was jailed for seven years.

Det Chief Insp Chris Mallet, West Midlands Police crime manager for Birmingham, said: “This is a significant result that has

seen street seller dealers jailed. There is no place for drug criminality in the West Midlands and we are committed to getting dealers and drugs off our streets .”

Fast-acting Nabil twice a life-saver A Chadderton pharmacist has twice helped save the life of a woman who had collapsed after suffering a hypoglycaemic attack.

Nabil Bhatti, pictured, who works at Cathedral Pharmacy in Chadderton, helped Gill Walton, who works at the nearby Co-op store in Cathedral Road.

Mrs Walton (54), from Alkrington, had almost finished her shift when her colleagues realised something was wrong and one of them, Suzanne Brownridge ran to the pharmacy for help. A hypoglycaemic attack occurs when the blood sugar in the body is too low and the brain is starved of glucose. The

pharmacists were familiar with Mrs Walton, who had suffered a similar but less serious attack some months earlier.

Mr Bhatti (22) said: “She wouldn’t respond and seemed really confused and dizzy. I decided to check her blood sugar and it was severely low.”

Mr Bhatti gave her dextrose tablets and some Lucozade to raise her sugar level, then stayed with her as she came round.

Mr Bhatti added: “If untreated, a hypo attack is serious. I gave her advice on how to control her blood sugar. A lot of diabetic patients taking tablets aren’t sure what

dose to take. I’ve advised her to see her GP.” Mrs Walton, who has had diabetes for several years, can’t remember exactly what happened on the day, but said: “The pharmacy was absolutely fantastic. This is twice they’ve come to the rescue. I’m really grateful to them.”

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

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UK

Pakistani teenager Ahmad Nawaz flown to Birmingham for treatment

A Pakistani teenager who was shot in the Peshawar school massacre was due for surgery last Saturday after being flown to Birmingham for treatment. Ahmad Nawaz, 14, is being cared for at the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

In a short statement, the hospital said he was admitted late last Thursday and was assessed by a multi-disciplinary team on Friday having suffered severe wounds to his left arm during the atrocity at the army-run school, which claimed more than 140 lives on December 16.

Malala Yousafzai, who won last year’s Nobel

Peace Prize, also underwent surgery at the QE after being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in north-west Pakistan in 2012 .

Ahmad’s parents reportedly lost one son, Haris, in the attack and

feared he would lose the use of his left arm as doctors at the hospital where he was previously treated could not repair the damage caused by the gunshot wound.

Ahmad’s dad Muhammad Nawaz compared the treatment his son had received in his homeland with that experienced by Malala. “Both (Malala and Ahmad) are victims of terror attacks.

But my son is still crying for help. He (Ahmad) wakes up after every two hours and starts crying from the pain, but the only thing doctors do is give him painkillers.”

A man from Liverpool, accused of attempting to obtain the chemical weapon ricin, has been remanded in custody.

Mohammed Ammer Ali, 31, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London.

Mr Ali, who was arrested last week, spoke only to confirm his name,

address and date of birth during the three-minute hearing. He will next appear at the Old Bailey on Friday 13 March.

Ali was arrested last Wednesday, when officers from North West Counter Terrorism Unit and Merseyside Police searched five Merseyside addresses. He is accused

of attempting to have 500mg of the chemical weapon ricin in his possession between 10 January and 12 February.

A police spokesman said it remained the case that at this time officers had uncovered no plan or threat of an imminent attack either at home or abroad.

Ahmad arriving at hospital

Mohammed Ammer Ali in court over 'chemical weapon'

Christian charity boss Patrick Sookdheo denies groping women

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A senior director at one of Britain’s biggest Christian charities sexually assaulted a woman before intimidating two witnesses, a court heard. Patrick Sookhdeo, 68, the international director of the Barnabas Fund, is alleged to have groped the female in his office in Pewsey, Wiltshire.

Sookhdeo, pictured, allegedly told the woman he felt it was difficult to trust people and asked her if she would report him if he touched her breast.

Shortly after, he began feeling her thighs before placing his hand around her breast, Swindon Crown Court heard. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault and two counts of witness intimidation.

Prosecuting Nicholas Gerasimidis, said: “The defendant and the complainant were sat in the office together on a sofa.

He then began talking about the most bizarre things, including whether he would report him for touching her. Both of his hands reached over and then he placed them on the inside of her thigh.”

The trial continues.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

High Commission of India outsources more services to VFS The High Commission of India, London has announced the outsourcing of visa, OCI, passport and select consular services to VFS effective from 1st March 2015.

VFS will be opening 14 application centres across UK for the convenience of applicants for Visa, OCI, Passport and other consular services.10 offices will be operational from 2nd March 2015 and remaining 4 offices will be operational from 14th March 2015. It will introduce Online Appointment System for all services for the convenience of the applicants across the UK. All applicants will be required to book an appointment online to submit their applications at the respective India application centres, as per the jurisdictions below.

No applications via post will be accepted at High Commission of India, and its respective consulates in Birmingham and Edinburgh or at the Applications Centres managed by VFS across UK from 14th March 2015.

Applicants who wish to submit their applications at any of the 3 offices in London (Goswell Road, Hounslow, Paddington), Bristol, Cardiff and Belfast must select UKLondon as Jurisdiction, while filling the application form Online for Visa, OCI and Indian Passport Services, whereas applicants wish to submit their applications at offices in Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester, Liverpool, Bradford and Newcastle must select UKBirmingham as Jurisdiction, while filling the application form Online for Visa, OCI and Indian Passport Services.

Applicants residing in Scotland who wish to submit their applications in Edinburgh or Glasgow must select UK-Edinburgh as Jurisdiction, while filling the application form Online for Visa, OCI and Indian Passport Services.

Services available at application centres will also include multilingual staffs, waiting lounge, photo booth, photo copy, and passport return by secured courier, information helpdesk, and internet kiosk facilities.

For further details please visit VFS Website http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/.

Detailed information about all services will be available from 23rd February 2015 onwards.

Consular Services for which applications are required to be submitted at VFS Centres 1.

Attestation of D o c u m e n t s (Birth/Death/Marriage/E ducational Certificates etc.)

2.

Attestation of Commercial Documents/ Company Documents 3.

Attestation of Documents for Making Application for Allotment of Director Identification Number (DIN) 4.

Attestation of Documents for Making Application for Allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN) in respect of UK Based Companies or Individuals 5.

Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) 6. NRI Certificate/NRI Parity Certificate 7. Attestation of Copy of Indian Passport or any Other Miscellaneous Certificate (s) based on Indian Passport 8.

Attestation of Sponsorship Letter for Visit of a Person from India to the UK 9.

Certificate for Transporting Human Ashes/ Human Remains to India.

Consular Services for which applications are required to be submitted in person at the Consular Section of the High Commission of India, London or CGI, Edinburgh or CGI Birmingham 1. Attestation of Power of Attorney (PoA)/Affidavit (s) relating to Civil Matters 2. Attestation of Power of Attorney (PoA)/Affidavit (s) relating to Property/ Financial Matters 3. Execution of Will/ Gift Deed 4. Life Certificate for Pension Purpose or for any Other Purpose 5.

Certificate for Transporting Dead Bodies to India 6. Sworn Affidavit for Issuance of Passport to a Minor Child Residing in India 7. Birth registration of Children eligible for Indian nationality 8 .

Solemnization/Registratio n of Marriage under the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969 Introduction of B i o m e t r i c s , Appointments to submit application for Visa, Passport, OCI and Consular Services The Government of India is rolling out Biometric Data Collection for Indian Visa globally and has already implemented this in several countries. This is part of the larger IVFRT (Indian Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking) Programme.

With effect from March 14, 2015, all applicants will be required to book an appointment online to submit their applications at VFS Application Centres (14).

Applicants will be able to book an appointment on VFS Website www.in.vfsglobal.co.uk at the time of

filing online application forms.

Biometric Data collection, including fingerprint data and facial imagery will be a mandatory requirement for all visa applicants soon. As a result, all visa applicants will need to first apply online and, thereafter, be physically present (mandatorily) at India Visa and Consular Services centres, by appointment, for submission of visa application and biometric data enrolment.

Diplomatic and Official passport holders, travelling on official purposes, are exempt from applying at India Visa and Consular Services centres and may lodge their applications directly at the High Commission of India in London or its Consulates General of India in Birmingham and Edinburgh, as per the Consular jurisdiction.

The new online appointment system will be applicable from 16th March 2015.

1. With effect from 16th March 2015, all Visa, Passport, OCI, Consular Services at VFS Application Centres in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Bradford, Newcastle, Belfast, Cardiff, Bristol, Glasgow and Leicester will be granted on the basis of appointments only.

2. Applicants must book an online appointment for all Services (Visa, Passport, OCI, and Consular Services) before visiting VFS Application Centres.

3. Only one person/applicant is allowed per appointment. For family applications each applicant will be required to book a separate appointment.

4. Appointment can be booked by visiting after completion of the Online Form via VFS website: http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk 5. All applicants will be required to bring the printout of the appointment letter along with the application form at the time of submission. No applications will be accepted without appointment after 16th March 2014.

6. All applicants must reach at the above VFS Application centres 15 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment.

7. No applications will be accepted by post.

In case of Medical Emergency, applicants can visit the VFS application centres in person to submit the application without appointment, with documentary evidence and processing time will apply.

For further details see: www.hcilondon.in

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

11 illegal immigrants found in West London ‘Beds in Sheds’ Clampdown

Home Office Immigration Enforcement found 11 illegal immigrants following a ‘beds in sheds’ operation in west London earlier this month.

Acting on intelligence, officers entered the property in Townsend Road, Southall, at 6.30am and questioned individuals about their right to be in the UK. The operation was carried out with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Service, Ealing Council and HMRC. London Fire Brigade attended in a fire safety capacity.

Officers arrested eight Indian men including five, aged between 42 and 68,

found to have overstayed their visas and three, aged between 31 and 39, who had entered the country illegally. A further three Indian men, aged between 47 and 52, were found to be immigration offenders but not arrested.

Three of the men arrested, aged 41, 49 and 68, were detained pending removal from the UK. The remainder of those arrested, and the further three men found, were ordered to report to the Home Office regularly while steps are taken to remove them.

Rogue landlords often target vulnerable people, placing them in over-

crowded or poor quality accommodation. In some places people are living in squalid outbuildings or makeshift accommodation – known as beds in sheds.

Under the government’s ‘right to rent’ measures, landlords, letting agents and homeowners who let rooms will need to check the right of prospective tenants to be in the country if they want to avoid potentially facing a penalty of up to £3,000.

The legislation is initially being implemented in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton but is being rolled out nationally later this year.

An Ifield man who drove along the A23 while over the drink-drive limit on New Year's Day has been banned from driving.

Waqas Mahmood, from Nuthurst Close, appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court last Wednesday, when he changed his earlier plea of not guilty to one of guilty.

On New Year's Day the 23-year-old was stopped by police carrying out spot checks on the A23 between Hickstead and

Bolney.

Mahmood gave a reading of 64 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35 micrograms.

Geoff White, defending, told the court: "He had been to Brighton with friends for New Year's Eve and they partied the night away. The next morning he couldn't find his car, reported it as stolen but then found it. When he was stopped by police he was genuinely surprised

that he was over the drinkdrive limit. He wrongly thought he would be fine to drive the morning after drinking. He recognises there is no defence."

Mahmood was disqualified from driving for 16 months, which will be reduced to 12 months if he completes a course to make him more aware of the dangers of drink-driving. He was also fined £110, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Crawley man pleads guilty to drinkdriving on New Year's Day

Diane Abbott MP: Forget skin colour, new mayor needs to tackle big issues

Earlier this month Margaret Hodge bowed out of the battle to become London Mayor, with a call for Boris Johnson’s successor to be someone from the city’s black and minority ethnic community and signalled that she will back either ex-minister David Lammy or shadow London minister Sadiq Khan.

Following her decision to bow out her colleague Diane Abbott MP in a recent column highlighted the importance of the fight for London’s new Mayor being more focussed on issues rather than skin colour.

She also highlights the importance of the new Mayor being able to commit to fighting racism and also challenge the anti-

immigrant rhetoric e n g u l f i n g Westminster.

Ms Abbott pointed out that London’s diversity is not a problem but is a strength that London’s new mayor should embrace and celebrate.

Economically, socially and culturally, diversity gives London its energy. It is the key to its success.

Ms Abbott ended by saying that London has a substantial black and brown electorate who would not rally behind someone just because of the colour of their skin.

A Bristol local Church has shut down a yoga studio for being too "spiritual" with non Christian roots.

The yoga teacher Naomi Hayama has allegedly been barred from entering the St Michael and All Angels Church in Bishopston, Bristol for creating "alternative spirituality".

The Times of India reported that Hayama has tried to explain to the church that yoga has no religious connotation but has failed to impress upon them. A signature campaign that has over 500

local supporters for Hayama too has failed to impress the church.

Naomi till now has been holding twice-weekly classes of yoga for the last nine years to over 600 students. She has been practicing yoga for over 20 years. In 2003, she took a British Wheel of Yoga foundation course and has been teaching in Bristol since 2004.

She reportedly said "They are trying to say it is a spiritual practice but my classes are not. I respect people who are religious but I am not.

That's what attracted me

to yoga - you don't have to be religious to teach it.

My students are puzzled and outraged as well. My class is a physical exercise which is about relaxation and breathing and it's a healthy thing to do".

Rev Stevenson of the Church meanwhile has reportedly said that half the Britain's churches would prohibit yoga. He explained "We understand yoga is practiced as a physical exercise and discipline but it's definitely a spiritual act whose roots are not Christ centered.

We are confident we have acted legally and fairly".

Diane Abbott

Bristol church bans yoga

UK

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Cricklewood newsagent ordered to pay £23,000 to TfL after Oyster scam

A newsagent who ran an Oyster card top-up scam for more than two years has been ordered to repay the £23,000 he stole.

Girish Patel, of New Park Road, Cricklewood, defrauded customers at his shop in Lambeth by failing to top up their Oyster cards with the amount requested and pocketing the difference.

The 63-year-old will now have to pay £23,000 to Transport for London (TfL) by July 2015 or he will be jailed. Only one of the defrauded customers could be traced as most of them used unregistered cards. Patel's contract with TfL as a ticket shop agent was cancelled and he will never be able to reapply. Acting Detective Superintendent John Oldham, of the Metropolitan Police's Roads and Transport

Policing Command said: "This was a despicable and contemptuous crime in which Patel defrauded his customers for over two years, stealing their money by topping-up their Oyster cards with less than what they had paid for them. As a result of his crime he has not only served a lengthy prison sentence, but is also being made to pay back the money he stole."

Patel was previously convicted of two counts of fraud and jailed for 14 months on November 9,

2013. He denied owning any assets in the UK or abroad but as a result of financial investigation it was found that he owned a property and had several thousands of pounds in several bank accounts.

Steve Burton, TfL's director of enforcement and on-street operations, said: "This is a great result for the MPS Roads and Transport Policing Command who worked closely with our internal audit team to uncover the fraudulent actions of Mr Patel. He abused the trust of his customers and the contract he had as a TfL ticket shop agent. His sentencing will go a long way to show our customers that we take all forms of fraud seriously and will continue to work with our policing partners to push for the toughest penalties."

Ealing and Harrow have been shamed in the top 10 worst places for food hygiene in the UK. Consumer group Which? has compiled its ranking after studying the latest data submitted by 398 UK local authorities to the Food Standards Agency.

The research focused on three criteria: the proportion of premises ranked as high or medium risk in a local authority that were compliant with food hygiene requirements; the percentage of premises that had been rated for risk; and the proportion of inspections and other follow-ups that were carried out by local authority inspectors.

The bottom 10 local authorities on food

enforcement are: Enfield, City of Edinburgh, Lewisham, Ealing, Harrow, Perth and Kinross, Falkirk, Birmingham, Camden and Brent.

Councillor Ranjit Dheer, Ealing Council’s cabinet member for community services and safety, said: “Ealing has one of the highest numbers of food premises in London with more than 3,200 establishments including large food manufacturers, restaurants, cafes and shops. It is wholly inappropriate to compare Ealing Council to authorities with far fewer food premises, including boroughs with a very different profile of complex food businesses.”

Environment, crime and community safety Harrow councillor, Varsha Parmar, said: “I am sure these figures are concerning for the residents of Harrow, but since this report was compiled Harrow Council has worked hard to improve our inspection procedure.

We have now employed more staff and have agreed an action plan with the Food Standards Agency.

These staff are currently working with local establishments and over 85% of the ones we have visited to have been found to be compliant with food hygiene law. This process is expected to take some time, but we are confident we will move up the table in the coming years.”

Ealing and Harrow in top 10 worst places for food hygiene in UK

Teens jailed for gunpoint robberies at west London brothels Three teenagers who terrorised west London as they carried out a series of gunpoint robberies at brothels have been jailed.

Faisal Masood, 18, and Melchezidec Williams, 19, both of Goldhawk Road, Shepherd’s Bush, and Kyan Bhola, 17, of Rosedale Terrace, Shepherd’s Bush, were jailed on Friday (February 13) for a total of 32 years following a three-week trial - involving 96 witnesses - at Harrow Crown Court.

The teens carried out 13 offences in Westminster, Harrow, Barnet, Brent, Kensington& Chelsea, and Hounslow, between March 13 and June 25 last year - often two in a day.

The court heard how the men were highly organised and each offence involved a significant amount of planning

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Struggling shopkeepers insist Highgate is not ‘England’s top town centre’

Struggling independent shopkeepers battling to survive have dismissed new figures revealing that Highgate has the fewest number of empty shops in the country, saying they do not reflect reality.

Highgate is classed as one of the top town centres in England for boasting a zero per cent vacancy rate, according to statistics released by retail data organisation the Local Data Company (LDC) last week.

However, the lines of empty shops in Archway Road and the struggles of independent business owners to keep doors open paint a starkly different picture. Raj KaraRajani, owner of The Corner Shop in Highgate High Street, fears he will have to close after 35

years due to a £33,000 rent hike. The increase would hit him doubly hard because it would mean he

would also have to pay higher business rates.

The 64-year-old said: “I would be devastated if I had to close and in a way I wouldn’t know what to do. I would have worked for 35 years for nothing. I would lose all my personal property, the banks and the landlords would take it

all. You would probably see me on the streets, that’s the worst case scenario.”

Jay Patel, coowner of popular n e w s a g e n t s Northwood Dairy in Northwood Road, says that ever since a Sainsbury’s Local arrived in nearby Archway Road nearly three years ago, he has seen his profits drop by 50 per cent.

The 59-year-old, who has run the store for 30 years, is now seriously considering closing the shop which once counted comedian Les Dennis as a regular. “They said a Sainsbury’s would increase footfall,” he said.

“Well it has, but only for them.” Several independent business owners in Highgate said the high street is far from thriving, despite having no empty shops.

The borough’s Sikh community has drawn up a ten point manifesto as they look to shape this year’s General Election for the first time.

Candidates from each of Redbridge’s four constituencies are being asked to set out their position, and those of their party, on manifesto issues.

Mankamal Singh, pictured, a treasurer at the Seven Kings Gurdwara, in High Road, Seven Kings, helped draw up the Sikh Network’s manifesto, which includes a call for an independent inquiry into the Amritsar massacre in 1984 and the Delhi massacre in the same year.

Mr Singh said it is hoped other faith communities will put together their own manifestos in

time for the election.

He said: “The swing could change the whole area. A lot of faith groups are jumping at the idea.

This is a prime opportunity to speak to politicians on how we want to go forward.”

The manifesto, Mr Singh said, is driven partly

by Sikh desire to forge the right identity. “To label us as Asians is now incorrect.

There are different demographics within the Asian community – it is unfair to group us all together.

Identity is very important to us.”

The manifesto all includes calls for a suitable site to be allocated in central London for a permanent monument to remember Sikhs who lost their lives in the First World War, more effective

Sikh representation in Houses of Parliament and a code of practice to prevent discrimination in the workplace.

Representatives from all 250 UK Gurdwaras and Sikh organisations are expected to attend the manifesto launch on February 26 in the Houses of Parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and Labour leader Ed Miliband have publicly supported the campaign.

Raj Kara-Rajani fears he will have to close his shop after 30 years

Redbridge Sikhs unite with national organisation to do manifesto

Brave officer who battled cancer recognised at commissioner’s awards

Williams, Bhola and Masood

as they would identify the brothels on the internet and visit them, posing as clients, after arranging an appointment. They would then force entry and, once inside, would threaten the people with violence, either holding knives to their throats or guns to their heads, the court was told.

After linking the crimes, police raided two addresses in Goldhawk Road on June 27 and arrested 16 people who were later released on bail. They also seized 400

pieces of evidence including an imitation firearm and a large quantity of property, believed to be stolen.

Masood and Williams were both sentenced to 12 years in jail for conspiracy to commit robbery and six years for possession of an imitation firearm, to run concurrently. Bhola was jailed for eight years for conspiracy to commit robbery and four years for possession of an imitation firearm, to run concurrently.

A dedicated police officer who was back on the beat just three months after being diagnosed with leukaemia has been recognised by the Met. PCSO Fiaz Ismail, pictured, was handed the Commitment to Professionalism Whilst Overcoming Adversity accolade at the Commissioner’s Excellence in Total Policing Awards.

The 38-year-old dad of three said: “My wife Maria did all the hard work looking after our children while I was in hospital.

She probably deserves the medal more than me.”

Fiaz was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer, hairy cell leukaemia, in October 2013.

After undergoing chemotherapy at Barts

hospital – and suffering an allergic reaction to his medication – the PCSO decided to return to work just weeks later in January last year. “I was doing my job. I had a mortgage to pay. I thought ‘I’m too young to put my feet up.

I’m too young to die. As soon as I was well enough, and the doctor agreed, I came back to work. Since then I’ve been back at work in the town centre and hopefully making a difference,” said Fiaz, who lives in Ilford with wife

Maria and children Zara, 8 , Sarah, 6, and Iman, 3.

The awards, in central London last Tuesday, also recognised Redbridge PCSO Graham Farrance, who was shortlisted for PCSO of the year, and Operation Theemin, the team which investigated corruption at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court.

Det Con Vicky Scammell, Det Con Meemal Dave, Det Con David Jones and Det Sgt John Arnold led the probe which saw clerk Munir Patel jailed in 2011 for taking bribes.

Redbridge borough commander Ch Supt Sue Williams said: “I’m extremely proud of my staff. They represent all the officers that work extremely hard here in Redbridge.”

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

The CEO transforming the world of Money Transfers Ismail Ahmed was born in Hargeisa in Somaliland, the autonomous northern part of Somalia. His parents were local traders.

He was raised in Somaliland, before being educated in the UK after winning a World Bank scholarship to go to university here.

“My background gave me my introduction to the money transfer industry, as people in my home town of Hargeisa relied upon money from relatives who were working in the Gulf states.

When I moved to the UK for university I regularly sent money back home, which showed me first hand some of the flaws and limitations of the traditional money transfer company. One such limitation was the need to travel to a physical store and the queuing to make a transfer.

The price of remittances was also very expensive, and I believed something could be done to reduce the cost,” Ismail told us.

Ismail’s World Bank

scholarship was awarded so that he could study economics at the University of London, and he went on to complete a PhD at the same institution.

“After completing my PhD, I went on to pursue a career in academia and

my interest in remittances led to me working as a researcher in the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex,” he explained.

He later completed an MBA at the London Business School where he

began work on a project that would eventually become WorldRemit.

Ismail told us, “My career in academia gave me a deep understanding of many of the issues that surround the money transfer industry.

My knowledge led to me becoming a consultant to the United Nations, who were setting up a programme to help remittance firms in East Africa improve their compliance processes.

In 2005 I joined Somalia’s United Nations Development Programme as a staff member, which was very exciting for me, as it was something that had the chance to improve the lives of millions of poor people.”

Ismail is no ordinary entrepreneur, for his current business draws directly from his history.

“My experience with money transfers when I was younger showed me many of the limitations of the bricks-and-mortar remittance companies. My experience at the UN gave me an understanding of building a system that would satisfy strict compliance measures.

Years after the internet had revolutionised other industries, such as travel and shopping, this particular financial service remained largely untouched by the technology revolution. I came to realise that the person

who was going to make that happen was me.”

WorldRemit, Ismail told us, has a USP. “WorldRemit enables customers to send money online by several methods, namely cash pick-up, bank transfer, Mobile Money and airtime top-up.

As an online business, we are able to remove much of the inefficiency and expense associated with the traditional bricks and mortar model of

The ultimate ambition is to build the complete modern remittance company – one that can eventually replace Western Union money transfers and provide our customers with increased convenience.

Moreover, as a digital business, we have been able to establish ourselves as leaders in this area and now are able to offer digital remittances to more countries than Western Union and Moneygram.”

And the group has had a great reception so far, by all accounts.

“The response so far has been fantastic, and has enabled us to expand rapidly. In 2014 we increased the number of countries we serve to 50 send and 110 receive

countries; we more than doubled our employee head count and we opened an office in the United States.

We are always open to feedback from our customers and are constantly working to make their experience of our service as positive as possible.”

It follows that Ismail has large scale, long term ambitions.

“The ultimate ambition is to build the complete modern remittance company – one that can eventually replace Western Union.

The more immediate focus is on expanding our presence in the United States, through hiring staff there and getting registered in more states.

We are also looking to continue to grow in London, although we are in danger of running out of space in our office soon!”

Ismail wanted to send a special message to readers before finishing the interview.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has sent money using WorldRemit; we are proud to play a part in bringing people all over the world closer together.

For those that haven’t used us before, next time you need to send money overseas we would love you to try the service that is changing money transfers for the better – WorldRemit.”

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Delhi election message

Out of this world

On Feb 14 Asian Voice has published a comprehensive report of Delhi election results. The editor Mr CB Patel has made a detailed analysis of where Mr Narendra Modi and his BJP party have gone wrong and why. The results have sent a number of important messages to Indian politicians and political parties.

AAP is on the left of Indian political spectrum. Its rise is a notice to the Congress Party that its time is coming to an end. The people of India are not going to tolerate corruption any more. They would like to see qualified, able and honest politicians administering the country.

It is also a notice to Mr Modi that he must not take the public support for granted. They do not like political mudslinging and negative campaigning any more. Based on his promise he was given a mandate for five years. They like to see results before any further support is given to him.

It is a also a notice to Mr Kejriwal that Dehlites would be waiting to see what he can do for Delhi. His speech after taking oath of Chief Minister has already disappointed many who voted for him.

The results are likely to bring about a popularity contest between Mr Modi and Mr Kejriwal, especially in terms of their ability, performance and achievements.

Jesus and Buddha came from Venus, Krishna from Saturn, Saint Peter from Mars. These interesting beliefs were aired by a member of the Aetherius Society on The Big Questions, BBC1’s Sunday morning discussion slot recently.

Compered by presenter Nicky Campbell, the show’s studio audience voiced their views on whether beings from other planets guided our religions.

The Aetherius Society member said our religions were led by superior beings, masters of great wisdom and love who care deeply about our planet and do as much as they are allowed to for us within the karmic law. He said humans die and reincarnate in many thousands of human lives on earth to learn various lessons, after which their souls graduate to other planets to learn more advanced lessons.

I wonder if Hindus would agree that reincarnation involves human souls earning “promotion” to other planets?

Dr Jatindra Saha By email

India’s national flag

It has been reported in the NDTV advertisement concerning Indian studentss life in United Kingdom shows Indian students waving Pakistani flag and this shows their ignorance and stupidity of the producers of the documentary.

NDTV is a pro pakistani anti-India,antiHindu, and anti- Modi.

I think the tv station is being run by anti-Indian and pro-Pakistani Indians, it too much to ask Indian students ( merceneries) to waive Pakistani ( green) flags to demean India.

It is outrageous on the part of Lord Parikh who is a Congress stooge to appear in the programme knowing Indians are showing Pakistanis flags.

NDTV reporters especially Burka Dutt are anti-national and boot lickers of Pakistan.

I was shocked to hear in one programme one lady panelist suggesting that there is no need to invite the Prime Minister Modi for the ceremony of handing over Imam's post to his son in JUMA majid and on the other hand she defended Imam's invitaton to Pakistan Prime Minister. Nobody denounced her statement which is insult to 1.3 Billion Indians. The renegade SP government in Uttar Pradesh refused to hang Modi,s photo in goverment offices.

Rudy Otter By email

Shedding crocodile tears

The judgement by European Court of Human Rights that Britain has breached human rights of some 1000 British prisoners by denying them voting rights has enraged PM David Cameron and most Conservative MPs who see this intrusion as meddling, interfering in British laws by bleeding heart, unelected judges who live in Ivory Tower, detached from realities on the ground.

Mr Cameron in their manifesto before the last general election promised to withdraw from European Human Rights Convention and give British people our own bill of Rights and Responsibilities.

But now their lame excuse is that their coalition partners LibDem opposes it, a lame duck excuse that convinces no one.

The PM should have introduced such a bill in Parliament and let LibDem Veto it. If they do so, it would hammer the last nail in LibDem coffin, especially nearer election time and wipe them out as a political force. Shedding crocodile tears convinces no one.

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Rich Indian heritage not going to vanish

Recently in Gujarat Samachar many readers raised their concerns and fear too that most of our third generation Indians/Gujarati do not speak or understand their mother tongue and that it will result in our rich Indian heritage, cultural values and religion vanishing.

Dr. Naginbhai Patel provided in detail historical events that this will never happen and I am 100% agree with his explanation from our 40 years of experience living in Canada by what we have seen and felt. There are temples in both Canada and the West Indies which celebrate our culture and which leads us to believe that our heritage with continue.

Subscribe Today Arun Vaidyanathan By email

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Understanding the Hindu Mind

Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi won a landslide election victory just a few months ago and in the Delhi elections the party had a humiliating defeat at the hands of Aam Aadmi Party. This has come as a great shock and disappointment to millions of Indians both at home and abroad.

After a long time a Hindu leaning government has come to power and if it does not deliver, the remarkable, intelligent voters of India will not give them such an opportunity again.

So what is the message that the Delhi voters have given to the Modi government?

It is obvious that the people of India are impatient for the politicians to deliver. While Modiji has done a commendable job in building up strong links with neighbouring countries and forged a new era of co-operation with the USA, the ordinary people have not seen any fundamental changes in their lives.

The issue of black money continues to agitate people. Finance Mainister Arun Jaitley has not convinced many people that the government is urgently pursuing the issue.

The government will have to bring back black money even though it will mean confronting many powerful vested interests.

Prime Minister Modis great appeal was that he came from a humble background and he has to connect with the ordinary people.

Nitin Mehta By email

Delhi election coverage

Your Delhi election’s coverage is incomplete but informative. AAP win is result of manipulations/fundings from abroad, manipulation by domestic media and anti Hindu factions/ disparaging attacks on B.J.P/Modi/ Amit Shah; or suspicious underhand AAP/ RSS plot to irretrievably cement ouster of Congress?

Attacks on churches are blamed on BJP whereas they are thefts by criminals.

Media ignored attacks on 200 Hindu temples. Focus on churches hijacked Christians’ votes to AAP. “Ghar vapasi” campaign is also misreported as vicious Hindu activity, whereas proselytising by Christian and Muslims is tolerated. Scare generated by media polarised Muslim votes to AAP. Unsavoury statements by sadhus/ sadhvis in Parliament are utilised to polarise vote against BJP. But anti Hindu/anti BJP statements by anti Hindu/anti BJP preachers are ignored.

Situation is sticky for BJP/Modi. If Kejrival wrenches concessions, he will be vote-winner. If BJP denies these, Kejrival will be as champion for underdogs/vote winner.

BJP/Modi must take full advantage of majority status and stop vote bank being looted by traitors within the party, within India and abroad.

Ramesh Jhalla By email

Suresh and Bhavana Patel Canada

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Back to Square One

Lovers of butter, rejoice. A new study published last week states that the guidelines which were issued in the 1980s telling people to stop eating fatty foods like butter and cheese, should never have been introduced. These dietary guidelines, which were aimed at reducing coronary heart disease by limiting fat intake, advised people to cut their overall fat consumption to 30% and to lower saturated fat consumption to 10%. Because of these earlier guidelines, we have been favouring margarine over butter for many years.

However, new research published in the British Medical Journal on Tuesday last week says that the recommendations which were made in the UK and U.S. from 1977 onwards, could not be backed up with proper scientific evidence. We also understand that margarine is not very good for consumption after all. The chemical composition of margarine is similar to that of plastic and it shares 27 ingredients with paint, and if a tub of margarine is left open in a shaded area, no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it. Butter has many nutritional benefits whereas margarine has none.

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods. In line with earlier guidelines, we have been spreading margarine on our toast, but in view of these new guidelines, we will revert to butter our bread.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Delhi elections

Arvind Kejriwal AAP has won the elections in Delhi. So my Congratulations to AAP. People of India during these elections have reflected that they want changes and do not want simply talks and speeches. Congress party is almost finished and may not be able to come back at all until and unless they bring changes in its leaders.

For BJP lesson to learn from Delhi elections is that they should be fast in their actions and make their civil servants to be efficient and active and work in the interest of India and its people.

Modi to appoint Home Minister who can discipline these civil servants. No more talking and get the work done. Otherwise there may be shocking results in Democracy and people may loose the faith in Democratic System Which will be bad.

Black Money must be brought back. I wrote to Prime Minster of India about three months ago that people should be given six months to bring back their money other wise their money will be confiscated and they might also be sent to prison. Modi to act fast .

Dharam Sahdev By email

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UK

Survey reveals worrying prospects for Britain's Muslim community

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

According to a survey by the British Social Attitudes (BSA), there is a significant change of attitude amongst Britons towards the Muslims residing in Britain. In 2003, 48% believed that Muslim population will essentially weaken Britain's national identity, and by 2013, that has gone up to 62%.

The Daily Telegraph reported that a report from the Muslim Council of Britain this week may intensify those concerns.

Based on the census data, it set out how immigration and high birth rate have helped Britain's Muslim population to swell to 2.7mn, around a third of them are under 15. There are 8 English councils, where Muslims make up more than 20% of the population. Tower Hamlets top the list with 34.5% in London. While Tower Hamlets population has grown over 19% since 2011, it is far slower that the UK growth of 75% and London's figure 35%.

For obvious reasons, almost every political conversation about British Muslims touches on the subject of “integration,” and how far they and their socially conservative values fit into an increasingly liberal society. But many people worry that Muslims are failing to integrate, living in clusters or

are becoming concentrated in particular areas, or are they spreading out and mingling with others?

Confusingly the answer is both!”

According to an index of dissimilarity (a measure of integration), by Manchester University's Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity, Muslims fell from 56% to 54%, whereas Sikhs were a little less integrated (61%) and Hindus, slightly more (52%). The situation is improving but only very slightly.

The reasons why ethnic and religious groups spread out are not clear, but most people think the strongest motivations are education and employment.

Education and employment amongst Muslims

The Association of Muslim Schools say there are dedicated 156 Muslim

Courtesy: The Daily Telegraph

Muslim children are often concentrated in particular areas. For eg, in Tower Hamlets, 66% of schoolage children are Muslims.

In Birmingham several council wards have 60% school children who are Muslims.

Mathew Taylor, former adviser to Tony Blair worries that Muslim schools tend to be 'monocultural' and work against integration.

An article published by the Curriculum Journal last year, reportedly suggested that many Muslim pupils in Britain do worse than their peers because of overcrowding house, absence of parental

Home Secretary meets faith leaders in East London mosque

The government is working towards protecting the safety and security of people of all faiths and backgrounds, and confront the extremists who seek to create division between communities, the Home Secretary Theresa May told faith leaders in east London.

During a visit to the Al Madina Mosque in Barking, the Home Secretary met a group of representatives from the area’s Muslim, Jewish and Sikh communities, as well as police officers and local councillors.

She listened as they expressed ghettos, leading totally separate lives from the British, in their own insular communities.

James Kirkup in his Daily Telegraph article asks “are British Muslims

their fears and concerns in the wake of the events in Paris last month and reassured them that protective security measures at certain sites – such as mosques and synagogues – have been stepped up, including increased police patrols.

She also met students who attend the mosque’s madrassa and teenagers involved in the innovative Young Leaders’ Programme at the Active Change Foundation in nearby Waltham Forest, which encourages young people to become role models in their community.

schools in the UK, most of them privately funded.

Census shows 8.1% of all school age children are Muslims, but then again distribution of that population is what counts, and

English language skills in some Muslim communities, less parental engagement with mainstream schools, low teacher expectations, curricular removal of Islam from

school learning environment, racism and antiMuslim prejudice.

However, the proportion of Muslims with no qualifications has fallen from 39% to 26%. but it still remains above the population as a whole, where the figure is 23%.

The MCB has suggested that Muslims with degrees has increased from 20% to 24% over 10 years, though the percentage is low compared to the standards of British adults with degrees that has gone up to 27.2% from 19.8%.

Other religious groups also outperform British Muslims. 30,.1% Sikhs have degrees and 44.6% of Hindus have degrees.

However, it is believed that Muslim underperformance at higher education is partly down to gender.

Discriminations, as women are given less chances to be educated (2 girls to every 3 boys).

Equalising that requires educating another 50,000 Muslim women in universities.

However, when British Muslims do go to universities, some suggest they tend to attend best colleges. But Oxbridge and Russell Group have been criticised for admitting lower percentage of minority students.

Amongst professions such as company executives, lawyers, doctorsMuslims are only slightly under represented, but lower down the scale, the gaps widen. While only 20% of UK workforce does 'lower managerial, administrative and professional' jobs, the figure is only 10% amongst Muslims.

Meanwhile 21.3% of British Muslims have never worked, compared to 4.3% of the rest of Britons.

The outcome is that Muslims in Britain remain poorer, sicker, less likely to own their own homes and have financial independence. They tend to live in bad areas, and as Britain gets richer they slip down the chart.

Muslim prisoners double to record high The number of Muslims in jails has hit an all time high, an increase by 4%, with one in 7 prisoners in England and Wales being a Muslim. In some of the jails they make up more than one third of the population. In Whitemoor top security prison in Cambridgeshire, 40% of inmates are Muslims.

They make up four in ten

11

want to be associated with them. They are being bulied or threatened to join it and it is a growing problem in priosons.”

Reasons for the rise in number of Muslims in prison? Muslim community is proportionally younger than other groups, with a large number of young people in the key offending age groups Official figures show that all black and minority ethnic groups received a larger proportion of immediate custodial sentences than whites and average they were longer than those given to whites between 2008-12.

The numbers of people from Asian ethnic background given indeterminate sentences for public protection or a life sentence also rose from 564 to 789 in the four years to 2012.

Sadiq Khan, the Shadow Justice Secretary reportedly said, “The further increase in the number of Muslims in prison should be a concern to all of us. In 2010, the chief inspector of prisons called on the government to put in place a dedicated strategy to deal with rising number of Muslim men in prison, yet they've done nothing. Any part of the society that is over-represented in our jails is a worry.

“We need to get to the bottom of why certain communities are over represented in prison and do something about it.”

How does this affect Britain?

of the 460 inmates and there has been tensions with non Muslim prisoners, leading to creation of a faith forum there, to promote better understandings.

Ministry of Justice figures show the number of Muslim prisoners almost doubled from 6571 to 12255 in a decade, from 2004-14. Overall Muslims are 14.4% of the prison population, but reports between 2011-14 suggest that they could be about one in 5 of inmates in top security jails. Figures suggest there were 680 Muslims out of 3231 prisoners in five top security prisons.

Steve Gillian, Secretary of the Prison Officers Association reportedly said, “The most powerful gangs are Muslim gangs and people

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion in 2013 reported, based on social attitudes data gathered through interviews with hundred of Muslims, it was discovered that they were indeed more socially conservative than Britons on gender roles in homes, divorce, premarital sex, abortion, homosexuality and same sex marriagemaking them old fashioned and non-liberal.

This worries people as much as the attitudes of poor and badly educated non-Muslims do.

Mr Kirkup reportedly suggests while commentators argue that integration is the biggest question, claiming more should be done to make Muslims “accept British values”, perhaps one should take an economic perspective, 'accepting that a better aim is making them better off.’

12

MEDIA WATCH

It was far from déjà vu. Defying opinion poll predictions of a narrow Aam Admi party victory in the Delhi state assembly elections, the electorate gave it a landslide mandate that left winners and losers in willing suspension of disbelief. Of the 70 seats contested, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party took 67, leaving the BJP three crumbs as consolation. The Congress party’s fall from grace into a black holed zero is comment enough. Congress once had a past, but it clearly has no future with the mother and son duo of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in charge. Ciphers are not destined to lead; their best option would be to disappear from the public stage – if possible without too much fuss or bother.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Group captured the mood well.

“A strong local government promising clean governance bodes well for ease of doing business…..Hence, the market rebounding makes sense….its recognition of the value of the democratic process.” Kishore Biyani, CEO Future Group: “I don’t think the AAP victory in Delhi will have any impact on business or the Budget. That’s more or less settled.” (Times of India February 11)

Technocrats

Arvind Kejriwal is well educated, having taken an engineering degree from the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)

party’s Mamata Banerjee and the Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray have cocked a snook at the BJP through their congratulatory messages to Arvind Kejriwal (Hindu, Business Line, Times of India, Telegraph February 11, 12)

India, Israel FTA

The long awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Israel may finally be drawing to a close after two years of hard negotiations. The projected deal has been broadened to include manufacturing goods and services. An Israeli team led

by Amit Lang, Director General in Israel’s Economics Ministry was in New Delhi to hammer out the detains with top Indian ministers and ministers for a formal pact.

Upbeat Lang

Kejriwal after AAP victory in Delhi poll

Press and television, as one would expect, were agog at the unexpected scale of the outcome, hence were in overdrive, analyzing every word from contestants and reading the runes with media gurus: every footprint, smile, frown, sulk and silence was squeezed for diminishing enlightenment. The lowest common multiple in their equation was that Prime Minister Narendra had taken a hard blow to the ribs, but not a knockout punch to the jaw that would derail the economic reforms on which domestic and foreign investors had set their sights. All were agreed that it was a wake-up call for the Modi government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party – BJP for short. The fringe BJP elements had taken the bit between their teeth, with some calling for constitutional changes that would transform India from a secular to a Hindu state. The Supreme Court of India has expressed concern about the longevity of the secular clause of the country’s Constitution. Trouble is that the the brigade for change is out of kilter with the hitherto silent majority of Hindus who were increasingly disturbed at the rising tempo of intolerant voices taking centre-stage. The Indian Constitution was framed by individuals from a largely Hindu background, with its principal architect, the Buddhist B.R. Ambedkar, being a notable exception. These wise men, who included Mahatma Gandhi, decided, rightly, that a cocktail of politics and religion could threaten the peace and prosperity of the country and imperil its future development. (Times of India, Hindu, Telegraph, Mint February 10, 11)

Kejriwal hailed

Arvind Kejriwal has acquired rock star status. He is obviously a man of sturdy mettle. His first attempt in a Delhi election ended in a wafer-thin majority for his party. It wasn’t enough for Aam Admi to form government on its own. Thereafter it was a shambles with Kejriwal

Kejriwal with President Pranab Mukherjee

Suresh Prabhu

Manohar Parrikar

Barack 8 system

cutting a very sorry figure indeed. He drew the right lessons from his failure and tried again – the issues of corruption and maladministration hadn’t, after all, gone away.

Kejriwal wave

They were still burning issues; their embers soon became a blaze, as Kejriwal rode the mounting wave of popular discontent which embraced the poor, the comfortably off and the rich. He took his chance with both hands and won a famous victory. Kejriwal was no rabble rouser on the campaign trail. His message was well crafter and astutely pitched. It struck a chord with electorate and he sailed through the hoops a surprised and satisfied man, a possible game changer for Indian politics.

“We are upbeat about the prospects of FTA with India. We We have tried to explain to our Indian counterparts that our industry is small and poses no threat to Indian industry,” said Lang. Israeli defence companies are keen on joint ventures in India but seek an investment protection treaty that will protect their investments and safeguard Israeli intellectual property. Around 25 Israeli firms will be participating in the forthcoming Aero India 2015 in Bangalore with their cutting edge technologies. India is the largst buyer of Israeli defence equipment.

Piyush Goyal

Kharagpur. Three technocrats in government, Suresh Prabhu, the Railway Minister, a management, and former business executive, Manohar Parrikar, Minister of Defence, an IIT Bombay graduate and a Harvard University alumnus in business studies, are all making a strong impression in their respective departments, where their UPA predecessors had buckled under the strain.

India and Israel have collaborated in the design and manufacture of the Barack 8 aerial defence system, with the Indian Navy poised to be the first to deploy it. Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon will be following up Lang’s visit with his own to discuss joint ventures in India in the defence sector.

India’s trade with India which peaked at $5.1 billion but fell back slightly in the wake of the global recession could shoot up to $10 billion following the sign-

ing of the February 11)

FTA.(Telegraph

Expertise for Ganga clean-up

Israel has offered its tested expertise and technological know-how at India’s disposal in the ambitious project to clean up the heavily polluted Ganga river.

Amit Lang also referred to Israel’s proven skills in water management, desalination [ it has the world’s largest desalination plant] and drip irrigation, which long been the envy of the world. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is due to visit Israel in the next few months (Hindu February 11)

Revised growth

In continuation of the revised GDP figures 2012-13 and 201314 with an improved statistical model, the GDP projection for 2014-15 (ending March 31) the Indian economy has been projected to grow by 7.4 per cent, the world’s fastest. It grew by 6.9 per cent in the previous financial year. Statisticians at the Central Statistical Office had worked on the new model for the past two years. The expected national Budget on 28 February, according to media reports, will project GDP growth at 7.5-8 per cent.(Business Line, Times of India February 10)

Godrej Group on song Godrej Industries, the flagship of the Godrej Group, announced a 39 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit third quarter of 2014-15 at Rs 91 crore. The company’s total income for the period rose 17 per cent to Rs2,374 crore and the operating profit was up 28 per cent at Rs 183 crore. “Our agri-business continues to do well with profit growing 29 per cent during the quarter,” said Group Chairman Adi Godrej.

Godrej Consumer Products earlier reported a 35 per cent growth in net profit, while Godrej Properties 26 per cent on a 48 per cent revenue rise in revenue (Hindu February 12).

Japan bets on Indian market

Energized opposition

The outcome of the Delhi election has energized a dormant and demoralized opposition Growth agenda bowled over by Narendra Modi’s on track: India Inc sweeping victory in the national polls nine months ago. The The Sensex gained 600 points as seemingly invincible Modi is news of Kejriwal’s triumph now on the back foot and spread across the land. The capsearching for answers after the tains of Indian industry were Delhi debacle. Bihar’s non-BJP upbeat.

Anand Mahindra, formations are astir and the JSD Chairman of the Mahindra coalition led by former chief minister Nitish Kumar and Laloo Prasad Yadav may be back in business. In the sister state of Uttar Pradesh the Janata Samajwadi Dal government has perked up, with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announcing a development plan for the state with strict timelines for implementation. Embattled politicians Anand Mahindra Kishore Biyani like the Trinamool Congress

The renewed energy in IndiaJapan ties found expression in the statement by Masafumi Shakuri, Chairman of Japan’s International high-speed Rail Association, that the Indian market was extremely important for his country’s business opportunities going forward.

The association he represents includes 26 rail companies, of whom Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Toshiba

Corporation are leading members. Shakuri was in India recently pitching for the bullet train the Indian government is seeking for its high-speed industry corridors linking the countries metropolitan cities.

Shukuri had a substantive and friendly discussion with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. The prospects for an Indo-Japan deal are encouraging (Mint February 10)

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

UK

PM announces a commemoration service to mark end of combat operations in Afghanistan

Rupanjana Dutta

Today in America, Islam Reaches Its Flourishing Best – It Needs to be reciprocated

Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize the United States was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, the second ever American President, John Adams, (who used to live next to my existing office on Brook St, Mayfair), wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims."

Since the founding of America, American Muslims have won Nobel Prizes, built the tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend the Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of the Founding Fathers of the United States -- Thomas Jefferson -- kept in his personal library.

Indeed, the United States elected as President, as the most powerful man in the world, the son of Muslim, a man named ‘Hussein Obama’.

In America, the 7 million American Muslims enjoy income levels higher than the average American. Imagine that – flourishing in the home of what the Iranian leader called the Great Satan. As that man, President Obama said, ‘The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism -- it is an important part of promoting peace.

I write to you from Dubai, having

returned from Washington DC. I hear of 24 Egyptian Christians beheaded by ISIS for being Christians. Thousands marched in London against the deaths of Muslims in Gaza. But why not against the killing in Syria, or of Christians, or of Hindus in Pakistan? There is not the same outrage.

It was the West, not Turkey or Saudi Arabia that backed action in Syria. Or what about Muslim deaths in Bosnia – it was Nato jets protecting Muslims then.

Everywhere in recent times, Islam has both flourished under, and been protected by, the flag of the West.

Now at last, Egypt, Jordan realise there will be no peace until their own house is in order. This is a clash of civilisations – the clash of the civilised against the uncivilised.

An England cricket player wears a protest band on his wrist against what is happening in Gaza, but not in Syria. Truly the concept of Islamic Brotherhood can be so so much more greater than this, to enforce the peace, that ‘Islam’ means around the world.

The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind!

We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Man jailed for raping woman who woke to find herself in strange flat A man has been jailed after being found guilty of raping a woman who he took back to his flat.

Following a trial at Lewes Crown Court, Narendren Pirabakaran, 35, from Station Road, Portslade, was sentenced on February 6 to fiveand-a-half years in prison.

The court heard that he met a 22-year-old woman in a club in Brighton on March 28, 2013. She had been drinking with friends and then became separated from them.

Pirabakaran, pictured, took her back to

his flat in Station Road, Portslade, where she awoke the next day with no memory of leaving the club. She suspected that she had been a victim of serious sexual assault.

She was able to show

officers the flat where she had awoken and Pirabakaran who was the tenant was arrested a few days later.

When he has served his sentence, the judge ordered that Pirabakaran, who is from Sri Lanka, be deported.

Detective Constable Aran Boyt said: "Pirabakaran took advantage of a woman who was under the influence of drink. She reported the offence to police as soon as she suspected she had been raped and officers were able to secure evidence and to support her."

13

The Prime Minister has announced that a Service of Commemoration to mark the end of combat operations in Afghanistan, which will take place on 13 March 2015.

Scheduled just a few months ahead of the upcoming elections, critics have linked this as a part of Mr Cameron's efforts to woo the Asian support, who have also taken part in the combat operations, including giving their lives while at service.

Attended by Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, it will also pay tribute to all those in the UK who worked to make the country a safer, more stable country, 2001-2014.

Those who will be invited to the service, to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral, will include: senior government and military representatives; representatives of other nations who formed part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan; representatives from units in the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force that have served in Afghanistan, including Regular and Reserve; veterans; the Next of Kin of deceased Service personnel; and representatives of Government, NonG o v e r n m e n t Organisations and industries who have contributed to the UK’s efforts across Afghanistan during this time.

A parade made up of personnel who served in Afghanistan will take place after service, followed by a reception at Guildhall hosted by The City of London Corporation.

The Prime Minister said: “This is an opportunity for the country to pay tribute to the extraordinary contribution made by all those who served in

Afghanistan over 13 years...The whole country is right to be incredibly proud of our Armed

Prince Harry with the Gurkha soldiers

Forces and all who served in Afghanistan.”

The various groups who are connected to the operation will be invited to attend the service. This will obviously include the British Asians, especially Gurkhas.

In 2010 Prince Charles had met about 200 soldiers, their wives and children from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles as they trained on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire ahead of deploying to Afghanistan from next month. As Colonel in Chief, the Prince had spoken to several soldiers who worked alongside Prince Harry when he was in Helmand in early 2008.

Captain Chandra Pun, who is a Gurkha and second in command of A Company, had showed Charles a photo of himself and Harry enjoying a Nepalese curry in their sleeping quarters in Afghanistan.''He laughed and said thanks for looking after my son. In Nepal we don't use knife and forks, we use our fingers. That was the first time I taught Prince Harry how to eat rice with his fingers. He asked a couple of questions about the boys. I told him we had done lots of training, most of the boys have lots of experience in Afghanistan, we are very confident and looking forward to it,'' said Captain Pun. In 2013 acting Lance Corporal Tuljung Gurung, from The Royal Gurkha Rifles, fell three metres from a watch tower during a fight in Afghanistan, but said he had wanted to stay alive so he could save his colleagues. He is among some 117 servicemen and women who were recognised in the Operational Honours list, and were honoured at an Investiture ceremony in Buckingham Palace later that year.

Applications are invited for Jain Minister of Religion at

Mahavir Swami Jain Temple

in Harrow Wealdstone. Applicant should be a male, follower of Digamber Jain religion and proficient in performing daily Abhishek, Puja and Digamber Jain rituals.

The part-time job is seven days a week morning 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Evenings (only on weekends and special occasions) from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Salary above national minimum wage.

Apply before 20-March 2015

at SDJA, 1 The Broadway, Wealdstone, Harrow, Middlesex HA3 7EH info@mahavirjaintemple.com Please telephone

Dr Dinker Shah on 0771 255 2973 for further information

14

CULTURE/COMMUNITY

BOOKWORM

Asian Spice Girl launches her new book

Rupanjana Dutta

The torch bearer of the Patak's legend, Anjali Pathak from Bolton, has grabbed the attention of the media with her new book 'Secrets from my Indian Family Kitchen'.

The book, that will be available in the UK shops later this month, in a magenta and gold cover takes its inspiration from the recipes that she learnt from her family in a beautiful collection of authentic Indian dishes and modern creations that are perfect for all cooks. Each recipe has a special memory on her journey of discovery into the wonderful flavours and ingredients of Indian cooking.

It also has pictures of Anjali as a child and photos of her parents Kirit and Meena, as children to bring the book to life and to show how her food life has developed under her family's influence.

Everything in the book is spice-related, but not necessarily Indian.

There are recipes for rushed days, along with sun filled burbecue get togethers, showstopper dinner party mains or for health conscious in need of nutritious, feel good meals.

Scattered throughout are Anjali's 'My Secret' stamps giving the one tips

1984 the business moved to Lancashire, first to Haydock and then to Abram near Leigh where the Patak factory is still based (the H was dropped in the 1960s to Anjali with her mum Meena Pathak make the name on how to make most of easier for British conyour ingredients, ways to sumers to pronounce). tweak the recipes for The Patak's brand is slightly different, yet still among the most recognisscrumptious results and able on British supermarher favourite suggestions. ket shelves and their products are now stocked around the world. Anjali, 33, now will also heighten that international reputation by launching an academy in Mumbai. In an interview she said that Indians nowadays like to eat out a lot, as there are cheaper options in India.

Therefore, many fancy restaurants have opened up in India, and people are keen to cook different dishes on their own at home with ease.

Anjali's grandparents, She and Meena wrote Laxmishanker (popularly a book in 2007 to mark known as Lakhubhai) the 50th anniversary of and Shantagauriben the company which conarrived in Britain in the tained traditional family 1950s and began selling recipes. Her new cookery Indian sweets and snacks book is out in shops this from their small London month. home before opening a Secrets from my grocery store near Euston Indian Family Kitchen Station. They eventually by Anjali Pathak. moved into making the Published by Mitchell products the brand is Beazley. Price £20. known for today and in

Journalist's book chimes with British Raj drama

Anglo-Indian retired journalist Rudy Otter from Greenford, London, is particularly delighted at the arrival of Channel 4’s new ten-part weekly drama series, Indian Summers, which started on 15 February.

Based on British Raj life in 1930s India, the series coincides with a recently published paperback by the veteran journalist entitled "The Very Best of Rudy Otter – Anglo-Indian Funny Stories" which includes light-hearted articles and short stories on his early life in India in the late 1930s/early 1940s. There are also pieces on his British-Indian community created by the original "Anglo-Indians" as the colonial settlers called themselves.

Missing female company, those British males took to marrying Indian women and producing offspring originally known as Eurasians but later came to be regarded as AngloIndians as well.

Already a bestseller in the publisher's lists, Rudy Otter hopes his paperback will attract more readers as a result of the television drama series.

Rudy Otter

Mr Otter, 79, has written news, features and personal columns for Asian Voice since the 1970s and still continues to contribute occasionally. His 58-year journalistic career spans newspapers and magazines both national and international as well as local, technical, trade, leisure and global company publications.

He said: "My book consists of 21 selected articles and short stories,

all with familiar AngloIndian themes.” He wrote them for Anglos In The Wind, an Anglo-Indian community magazine based in Chennai, India.

The quarterly magazine, which has a worldwide circulation, recently launched its own bookpublishing arm, AngloInk, and his paperback, described as "full of wit and warmth" by the publisher, was among the first to roll off its presses last year.

He added: "In those bygone days the offspring of British men and Indian women were called Eurasians, regarded by the white settlers as more Indian than British, and

by Indians as more British than Indian. Fed up with their confusing identity, Eurasians decided they would prefer to be called Anglo-Indians, something the British settlers, the original AngloIndians, at first opposed.

Eventually, in 1911, they relented and Eurasians were also allowed to call themselves AngloIndians, a move that delighted them."

For further details on the book, please go to www.angloink.com.

Top Divorce Lawyer joins Pindoria Solicitors

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Leading divorce solicitor Shashi Gorsia has joined one of London’s largest Asian law firms as its new Head of their Family Department.

Shashi got headhunted

by Pindoria Solicitors Stanmore office after turning down several offers from other London firms.

He will now lead the growing family department covering areas of divorce and financial settlement. Shashi has a formidable reputation as an assertive divorce lawyer among his contemporaries and will be bringing his talent to Pindoria Solicitors.

He told us “I am excited about my future at Pindoria Solicitors. It has an established reputation as leaders in the Asian community and has grown substantially. My role now is to take the Family Law Department to new higher levels. Pindoria Solicitors is a dynamic and confident law firm which aims high.

This, and the ethos of the firm, meant that I wanted to be part of this challenge in the future.”

The firm’s head Bharat Pindoria stated: “I am very pleased that we managed to recruit Shashi as our new head of Family Law. Together with our other leading family solicitor, Reena Kerai, I expect both of them to make a significant impact to the firm, developing their own specialist areas while holding true to our values of creativity. Shashi’s

appointment is a testament to our ability to recruit lawyers with outstanding talent, expertise and industry knowledge.”

As legal aid is unavailable in most cases of divorce, Pindoria Solicitors has introduced a new way for their divorce clients to finance their legal fees. Many clients are taking up the option of paying all or most of their legal fees at the end of the case from their share of the financial settlement (subject to terms and conditions). This ensures that clients get full and proper legal representation for their matter without having to worry about how they are going to fund the case.

Pindoria Solicitors are located at 1st Floor, 502504 Honeypot Lane, Stanmore HA7 1JR. If you want to speak to Shashi or Reena about any aspect of divorce or separation then please call them on 020 8951 6959.

Mrs Ushma Patel, has received an honour from Her Majesty's Government on the New Year, recognised for her services to and for her work with Dharmaj Society of London, a charitable organisation promoting both domestic and international good deeds.

Receiving an MBE for her significant achievement or outstanding service to the community, Ushma said, “I am humbled by this great recognition and hugely honoured.

I guess it is the result of being dedicated selflessly to hard work and loyalty.

This award is not just for myself but all those I have

worked alongside and had the good fortune to work with.

"I would like to also thank my family for their love and support as this would not have been possible without their guidance. I must make special mention of my father, Manharbhai H Patel, who is a truly great example of how to live for the betterment of others.”

From Farnborough, where she lives with her husband Nishit, Ushma has dedicated service in the Private Office for over 13 years and has also worked closely with numerous Ministers for a period spanning two dif-

ferent governments, three prime ministers and recently she has had the privilege of briefly working at the No10.

Shashi Gorsia

Brit-Indian woman honoured for community work

Ushma with husband Nishit

Southall Travel receives the 'Best Overall Agent' award

Southall Travel received the 'Best Overall Agent' from the India's Jet Airways. It is the seventh time in a row for the London based agent having first being recognised in 2007. The honour was accepted by Kuljinder Bahia, managing director of the company.

Southall Travel began serving the British Asian community in 1984 and over the last three decades has gone on to be one of the most successful and well known names in the industry.

They have been recognised by the wider UK public too, they were the only company from their sector to be named on the 'Sunday Times Track 250'.

The list names the top 250 companies in the

Kuljinder Bahia, Managing Director of Southall Travel receiving the award from Jet Airways CEO Cramer Ball and Lydia Narareth

UK and Southall Travel was named three times between 2010 and 2012.

Mr Bahia, born in UK has been head of Southall travel since 1997. They specialise in providing flights to India and have gone on to expand to other destina-

tions over the past few years. Including the USA, Thailand, Malaysia and Mauritius. Kuljinder Bahia was also recognised for his work by Management Today, who named him as number 61 on their list of Britain’s Top 100 entrepreneurs.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Modern suffragettes must rise up to combat Britain’s gender problem

is subject to violence, poverty sentation of women in democA new generation of ‘modern and exclusion from society.” racy – particularly in the House suffragettes’ must continue the Ms Malhotra will say that a of Commons. fight for women’s equality and new generation of women are In her speech she said, “We representation in public life, now using the ‘F Word’ know Britain has a gender the Chair of the Fabian Society (Feminism) again. “People problem. Women form 51% of and President of the Fabian don’t come together in politics the population, but are woefulWomen’s Network, Seema because it’s better than watchly under-represented in the Malhotra MP said in a speech on the 10th February, attended by Labour’s Deputy Leader Harriet Harman MP, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP and London Mayoral hopeful Dame Tessa Jowell MP. Speaking at an event to celebrate the 10th Rowena Mason, Polly Trenow, Anushka Asthana, Seema Malhotra and Rosie anniversary of the Campbell Fabian Women’s ing EastEnders. They come spheres of power – socially, Network in London, Ms together to believe in the comeconomically and politically.

Malhotra, who founded the mon project – because they Representation is vital because Fabian Women’s Network 10 believe in the change. This is a we know that a diversity of years ago said that women from moment to say thank you to the experience and ideas makes for all backgrounds today should Fabian women of today, modbetter decision making. Not learn lessons from history by ern suffragettes who are part of just that, but research shows joining forces under a ‘unifying that continued journey to that in general male law makers goal’ to inspire future generaequality. The bigger issue is are less likely to initiate and tions and fight for equality. She that what drove the Fabian’s pass laws that serve women warned that Britain still has a pioneering women to fight for and children’s interests.” ‘gender problem’ where women equality one hundred years Calling on women to learn are ‘woefully under-representago, is what motivates us here lessons from the Suffragette ed’ in the spheres of power and today, and what will inspire the movement of the past, she are under-paid compared to next generations, until the fight added: “Women’s political their male counterparts. She is won. rights are meaningless unless also highlighted important they are matched by social and issues facing modern women economic rights. A woman today such as ‘gender-based’ Photo courtesy: with the vote is not equal if she violence and the under-repreRaj D Bakrania, Prmediapix

UK

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Four New Trustees join Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust The Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of four new Trustees: Akshata Narayan Murty, Carsten Jorgensen, Lord Peter Goldsmith and Vivek Chadha.

Speaking on their appointment, Lord Meghnad Desai, Chair of the Trust emphasised Vivek Chadha Akshata Murty that the diverse backvant today as they grounds of the four Trustees, but were more than seventy years their joint belief in the life and ago." work of Mahatma Gandhi, Carsten Jorgensen, the Chief would ensure that the Trust Investment Officer of the Mittal would continue to spread his Family Office, reiterated his message all over the world. excitement of being involved in After the Gandhi Statue is the work of the Trust and conunveiled at Parliament Square, tributing to the commemoration the Trustees will prepare a road of the life and works of map for other philanthropic Mahatma Gandhi. activities.

Lord Peter Goldsmith, the Lord Desai said: "As well as former UK Attorney General the wisdom of the older memsaid "Gandhi is one of the towbers of the Trust, we also need ering figures of recent history. It the wisdom and energy of youth. is right to commemorate his life It important for us to reach out and his wisdom in the heart of to young people and that is what London at the birthplace of we hope Akshata Murty and Britain's modern democracy. I Vivek Chadha will help us do." am privileged to be associated Akshata Narayan Murty, with this project." who runs an investment busiVivek Chadha , a young NRI ness focused on investing in hotelier and long time admirer small and medium sized British of Mahatma Gandhi also companies, said: "Mahatma expressed his desire to help Gandhi forged a new path for spread the message of the India, in a manner that defied Mahatma. the norm. His view that 'In a The other Trustees are gentle way, you can shake the Gopalakrishna Gandhi, Lady world' has been adopted world Kishwar Desai and Dr Rami over and his lessons are as releRanger.

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TORIES NEED TO 'MIN

GENERAL ELECTION 2015

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Recent analysis suggests Conservatives still fail to impress ethnic minority voters

Continued from page 1 According this study of responses from 4200 ethnic minority voters, Labour is 64 points ahead among Bangladeshi Britons and 56 point ahead among Pakistanis. While the support among white British has fallen by 4% points since 2010, it has dropped by 6% points amongst Black Caribbean and by 9% points amongst Pakistanis. The fall among Bangladeshis is slightly smaller. Despite this, the gulf between Labour and the Tories remain huge.

The largest ethnic minority group in Britain are the British Indians, with a population of 1.4mn. Amongst them, Labour remains on top, but the gap is smaller than in other groups, while the Tories have achieved a 1% increase in support from Indians since 2010.

As per a study by the think tank British Future, the Tories could have won a majority in 2010, but only 16% of ethnic minority supported them. Lord Ashcroft has suggested that the political outlook of ethnic minority voters remain closely connected with a historical perception of the class identity.

Labour has had traditionally better record selecting non white candidates and improving their relations with Asian

ETHNIC APPEAL Conservatives 0% 20% 40%

I

I

Indian

I

I

I

I

Labour 60% 80% I

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Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Other Asian background Black Caribbean Black African Chinese

and black communities.

The PM has tried to bridge this gap by engaging Priti Patel MP as the Indian Diaspora Champion and also Alok Sharma MP as a black and ethnic minority champion, yet the reports clearly suggest, he has not succeeded much.

Peter Kellner, President of YouGov feels while studies show hopes for Conservative, part of difference between white and ethnic minority

loyalties flows from difference in their age profiles. One in three voters who are 60+ will vote for Conservative compared to well under 10% of ethnic minorities from the same age group. However younger people, for example graduates are more likely to vote for Conservatives than those without degrees. Mixed race voters are far less likely to vote Labour than those without any white parents or grandparents. Thet are more

Hindu Council UK (HCUK) also have got Posters on this OBV Express bus which will be touring around the country. In addition, specially commissioned Flyers and Posters have been produced by the Election Commission and these have been sent out to over 300 Hindu Temples and other Community Organisations across the UK. This is one of the biggest campaigns that the Hindu Council UK has been involved in.

ever to demand that Party bosses draw up policy plans to tackle persistent race inequalities, particularly around unemployment, education, health and housing.

What is also interesting about this data is the shift of where BME political power has been. In the past it was almost exclusively in urban, inner city areas which barely changed political hands.

Today this change is not only occurring in urban areas such as Croydon, Harrow and Ealing but also outside urban areas, such as Corby, Rossendale & Darwin, Cheadle and Loughborough.The right to vote has been hard-won, and it is the duty of everyone in public life, including the government, to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote is able to vote. Just by being registered gives you a voice… allows you to sit on juries as a Jury member and above politicians will listen to you as they know you have the power to decide who wins and who loses in the forthcoming the General Election.

Simon Woolley, Director of Operation Black Vote, said: "The heart of any democracy is its people and their engagement within it.

Registering to vote ensures

likely to vote for Lib Dems, SNP and UKIPs. Some MPs fear that efforts to hang on to voters tempted by UKIP, the Tories have led to immoderate language on immigration.

Baroness Warsi the former Tory Chairman, claimed last month that the government has not engaged with the Muslims properly resulting into resentment and mistrust. Every week till the general elections on 7 May, Asian Voice promises to discuss one of the several key issues affecting the diaspora. This week we plan to take a quick look at the immigration policies in the party manifestos, so that our readers know what their stands should be, this election.

Immigration policies in party manifestos In the past two decades, the UK has experienced a steady flow of net migrants into the economy. A data from the ONS suggests that net long-term migration to the UK was estimated to be 260,000 in the year ending June 2014. In the past five years, the UK population has been boosted by net migration of around 1,000,000. In 2011, the top 3 countries for source of migrants was India, China and Pakistan.

Immigrants from Europe and elsewhere are rushing

to acquire British passports, once eligible, as they fear of being sent home if antiimmigration party such as UKIP wins the general elections. According to the Home Office, the grants of citizenship by original country of nationality in 2013 includes, 36,351 Indians, followed by 7,289 Chinese.

More than 10,000 EU nationals were given citizenship in 2013.

The politicians and parties are of course using the

subject in an attempt to appear tough on the matter, trying to protect the money and opportunities for the domestic market.

Hence, a quick look on the immigration policies in different party manifestos, will help us to gauge better about our future, when we choose one party over the other in the upcoming elections.

The Conservatives The Tories have been claiming that they are the best

The Times interviewed Bhavin Thanki, the owner of Sunrup Cash-and-Carry, an Indian mini mart in Harrow. He wishes Eric Pickle, the Communities Secretary to make a good and strong pledge to ensure winning battle against parking wardens.

Pickles had promised to remove yellow lines outside small shops, but has not done it so far.

Mr Thanki who came to Britain 30 years back from Uganda, does not feel that he is 'anti-Tory' but he is unimpressed with party's infamous “Go Home” campaign vans aimed at illegal migrants, that made people from his communi-

Bhavin Thanki ty feel like second-class citizens. Small business owners are exactly the kind of voters the Tories need to convince and Harrow West is precisely the sort of constituency the Conservative needs to worry about.

Their local people have same concerns as most Asian voters- economy, immigration, education, health and benefits.

you are as important as any other voter in the land, no matter what your faith, your gender or your race."

Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission, said: “It’s good to see so many faith organisations stressing the importance of registering to vote. We know that Britain’s BME communities are under-represented on the electoral register, and you can be part of changing that by taking the time to register to vote.”

matter to you".

G u r m e l S i n g h , Secretary General of Sikh Council UK, said: “A cornerstone of a democratic society is having your voice heard and influencing the future through the ballot box.

Sikh Council UK is pleased to be able to work with the Electoral Commission to promote voter registration amongst Sikhs in the UK." Malcolm M Deboo, President of Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, said: “As the oldest Asian faith based voluntary organisation in the UK, the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe considers it important to team up with other organisations to encourage the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic community to register to vote.

Operation Black Vote is an important voter register campaign, because in order to engage with the politicians who govern, you must vote be registered to vote.”

Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the

Immigration and economy are driving factors

HCUK launches its biggest ever campaign to encourage Voter Registration

The Hindu Council UK (HCUK) has been chosen as the 'lead' Hindu Organisation by the Election Commission for their National UK-Wide Campaign. Amid concerns about the number of people who are not currently on the electoral register, campaigning bodies such as Operation Black Vote (OBV) want to highlight the value of the vote and how to register. Those groups particularly under-represented on the voter register are young adults and people from Black minority ethnic (BME) communities.

Research by the Electoral Commission shows that 76 per cent of BME people are currently registered to vote, ten per cent less than white people.

To redress this imbalance, OBV has commissioned a specially converted coach to visit areas with high BME populations to encourage and enable people to vote. It will have 12 computer stations so that people can register on-line.

Helpers will be on hand to answer queries, and the Electoral Commission’s leaflet on how to register will be available on the coach in English and a variety of other languages. The

The deciding ethnic voters

OBV’s groundbreaking research clearly shows that the BME vote could easily decide over 160 seats. The Coalition Government has governed the UK with a working majority of just 83 seats. The data that OBV are publishing therefore speaks volumes; in a 168 marginal seats the BME electorate is larger than the majority in which the seat was won. The BME electorate could influence an even greater number of seats if, as predicted, the election contest becomes ever tighter.

What does all this mean? It means that BME communities have a stronger political lever than

Faith leaders encourage voting

Faith leaders from across Great Britain have come together to send a clear message to their communities: make sure you’re registered to vote.

Ade Omooba and Dr R David Muir, Co-Chairs of the National Church Leaders Forum, said: "The May General Election will be one of the most significant in recent decades, but if you want to vote on polling day you must be on the electoral register. The National Church Leaders Forum is encouraging everyone to take action. It’s really easy to register and by doing so you can secure your say on the issues that

Muslim Council of Britain, said: “The Muslim Council of Britain is delighted to be working with the Electoral Commission to encourage Muslims across the UK to register to vote for the upcoming General Election.

Politics affects us all, and so this is the time for everyone to have their say and make a difference.”

Sanjay Jagatia, Secretary General from Hindu Council UK, said: “Hindu Council UK is thrilled to be working alongside the Electoral Commission to encourage British Hindus to register to vote. We don’t want anyone to lose the opportunity to have their say at the election, so we are urging all Hindus to register as soon as possible.”

D THE GAP'

GENERAL ELECTION 2015

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

qualified of the parties when it comes to improving the economy. The points in their manifesto are similar to the ideas they have been floating around for the last few years. They say they will; • Cut net immigration from outside the EU to levels not seen since the late 1990s to ease pressure on public services.

• Introduce a new British Citizens Test with British values at its heart.

• Clamp down on benefits tourism and health tourism to only welcome those who want to work hard and contribute.

When David Cameron gave his speech outlining these ideas in November he was criticised by a range of organisations.

Katja Hall, Deputy Director of the CBI said the plans on benefit tourism could have a negative affect on the economy saying. "Immigration has helped keep the wheels of this recovery turning by plugging skills shortages and allowing UK firms to grow.” she added, "Freedom of movement to work is essential to businesses getting access to the best talent and equally offers British citizens the chance to take up a job anywhere across the EU.” This is not the first time that the business community have questioned the tactics of the Conservatives.

The Labour Party The immigration policies outlined in the Labour manifesto are focused on the problems they see in the work force and

Spriha Srivastava

labour market. They believe that part of the responsibility for improving the immigration system lies with the employers, since most immigrants who come to the country are trying to find work. Their policies are; • Tackling exploitation and undercutting by employers.

• Ending the practice of only advertising jobs for foreign workers. Close the loop holes that allow employers to undercut the minimum wage.

• Make sure large firms take on an apprentice every time they hire a skilled non EU worker.

• Criminalise the exploitation of workers.

• Count the number of people coming in or out to ensure that law breakers who overstay their visas can be sent home.

• Introduce a minimum standard for English to any person who has a job that requires them to have a public facing role. With migrant voters making up a higher proportion of the electorate Labour may be attempting to appeal to this group with its policy. It's focus on the employer instead of the worker may help them gain favour with this emerging group.

A recent study by the Migrant Rights Network has found that almost 4 million people in England and Wales who are migrants will be eligible to vote in the next election. 615,000 of those are from India, 431,000 from Pakistan and 183,000 from Bangladesh.

The Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats have

Managed immigration is essential to prosperity

chosen to focus more on the goals that have been achieved in the last few years in the coalition. It seems they are going to use their record in government to show voters that hey know how to improve the system. The points they make are; • They will introduce exit checks to identify people who overstay their visas.

• They cut net non EU immigration by a third.

• They ended the Labour policy of detaining child immigrants in detention centres.

The Liberal Democrats remain the party that is most openly in favour of immigration.

However they have made sure that they remain tough on certain issues. Illegal immigration is a hot button issue for many British voters. The Liberals plan to increase border controls was outlined by Nick Clegg in his speech in August last year, saying. “Britain used to have exit checks – successive Conservative and Labour governments phased them out. I insisted that we commit, in the Coalition Agreement, to reintroducing them and I’ve been very open about my frustration that the Home Office has taken so long to get going. They didn’t make this a priority in the early years – as I said, the Conservatives were fixated on the illusory net migration target.

Before the election around 57% of entry and exit points were covered by proper checks. By March last year we were only at 65%.”

Rajesh

Agrawal,

Chairman & CEO of RationalFX & Xendpay

I am proud to run a business with staff from twenty-two different countries, as well as many from the UK. I run a global financial service and I need the best people in the world working with me to help develop and grow the business in a highly competitive market.

My company is not unusual. Many British businesses, large and small, face the same challenges and need for world class talent. This is most serious in science, tech and engineering, where there are significant home-grown skills shortages. It therefore seems illogical to me that the Conservative Party, the self-proclaimed champions of business, have imposed a net migration target of “tens of thousands“ and

generated such a negative narrative about this country’s openness to foreign workers. Not only is a net migration target impracticable within the EU. It also creates nonsensical pressure to restrict much needed skilled migration from the rest of the world and in doing so creates a very real barrier to business growth at a time when the economy needs it most.

The Conservative inclusion of students within their immigration targets and restricting entitlement to work after graduation, is particularly short-sighted.

International education has for decades been a key British “export” industry and one in which the UK otherwise had a natural competitive advantage. The current government’s antimigrant rhetoric has sent a very damaging message about this country to the brightest young people around the world.

Last year alone saw a 15% fall in student numbers from India and a 35% drop in those from Pakistan. This talent will only be welcomed by other countries and Britain may find the implications long lasting.

It is important that Britain has control over

immigration, especially at a time where unemployment has been relatively high and where public services are feeling the squeeze from budget cuts. These pressures have generated some legitimate public concerns. The Labour Party has always been more open to recognising the significant contribution made by immigrants to British business, public services and cultural life, not to mention the Exchequer. As an immigrant myself this is important to me. At this election Labour are offering a smarter approach to immigration, more open to the talent and investment needed by British business, while prosing measures to control low skilled migration, tackle employment abuses and get a grip on rising illegal entries.

They also understand the need to promote integration, such as improving English language skills. The British public are concerned about immigration and no party can ignore this, but what is needed is a measured response and firm but fair policies based on the needs of the economy.

This is the choice that Labour offer at the election ahead.

In conversation with Ibrahim Taguri

With elections around the corner for Britain I recently spoke to Ibrahim Taguri, the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidate for Brent Central. Ibrahim grew up in the heart of Brent Central, in Willesden Green, just a stone's throw away from Sarah Teather's constituency office. I asked him about his interest in politics and his agenda if he wins.

How did you decide to join politics?

I've always been passionate about politics because my family came to Brent from a place where tyranny and oppression rule. I first met Sarah on the campaign trail in 2003 and what was clear was that Liberal Democrats exist to campaign against regimes of oppression. The Liberal Democrats were a party I could relate to because they seek to spread opportunity for everyone, irrespective of their background or upbringing.

How do you think the upcoming election is going to pan out?

No-one has a crystal ball or the ability to look into the future, so there is little point in speculating.

It is the most uncertain election of our time. I hope that people will ultimately vote for candidates who reflect their values and sense of community.

Beyond simply just Party colours. While that mat-

ters, it is vital that good, decent and hardworking MPs are returned to Parliament. Otherwise we will end up with opportunists and career politicians who don’t have experience of the real world and aren’t motivated to stand up for their constituents. This will be different in each constituency. The Liberal Democrats have had the difficult job of picking up the pieces of the economy. The two policies we have introduced that have helped everyone are the raising of the tax threshold and the pupil premium - the biggest investment in education this country has ever seen. In fact those two policies have benefited ethnic minorities more than anyone else.

What sort of changes do you intend to bring about in the UK? For me the route out of poverty was through education. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to

Ibrahim Taguri learn, but not all children are so fortunate.

I believe that in Britain today everyone should have the opportunity to get on in life. For without opportunity we can’t have freedom and it is easier to build stronger children than to repair broken adults. This is the very heart of my politics

and I will work with all communities in every part of the country to ensure that each of us has the opportunity to fulfil our potential.The reality is, however, that there remain too many barriers preventing too many people from realising their goals.

What I want to achieve through politics is a positive difference to my community and my country. I don’t want future generations to face the barriers I did.

My mission in politics is to end child poverty in the U K b y

2020. It's an issue that we c a n n o t ignore any longer. It is at the heart of so many of the issues that we face today such as education and healthcare. I was recently appointed as the Liberal Democrat Race Equality Champion, a role which I was honoured to accept as it will broaden my scope in helping to achieve this ambition.

UK is a multifaceted country and Indian diaspora is a huge part of it, what are your views on the Indian diaspora settled here?

I think that one of the things that makes Britain so successful is that our communities are culturally rich and diverse.People come here from all backgrounds and cultures to settle here to not only better themselves, but to contribute to making our society thrive.

For generations, people of Asian and Indian origin have contributed great things to our society and continue to do so. Here in the UK we have a wealth of successful Indian entrepreneurs and businesses people leading in business innovation, economic development and the flourishing technology industry.

From the shops that are at the heart of our communities and high streets, to the resurgence of industry and manufacturing, British Indians are contributing at every level of society. I find places in the East Midlands particularly inspiring.

Places such as Nottingham and Leicester, where Indian entrepreneurs have invested hugely in manufacturing bring jobs to everyone in the community. They have revitalised

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industrial heartlands bringing back pride, employment and opportunity to everyone.

Immigration laws are becoming more and more stringent. Is this something the new government will look at?

I find the anger that runs through the immigration discourse absolutely soul-destroying. My parents worked to back-breaking extremes to provide for their family, so I am deeply hurt when I hear politicians vilify immigrants. Of course there is a debate to be had around the issue of immigration, but a reasoned and sensible approach must be taken towards it. The next government cannot just pander to the extreme views of the right and the scaremongering untruths. This nation is always best when we are open and outwardfacing and we cannot pull up the drawbridge in the face of those who come here for a better life and in turn make Britain a better place to live. The truth is there is a positive case for immigration and that needs to be made loud and clear. Without a reasoned debate I fear Britain will become backward and i n w a r d looking.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

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Rule 1: Never trade without knowing when you will exit – even an exit at a loss. Too often traders turn a short term trade into a losing trade because it does not go in their favour.

Rule 2: Trade so small that even if you lose 10 times you are only down 10%. Yes that means any individual loss is 1% of your total risk capital. Professionals follow this rule, others do not.

Rule 3: Your profits are not what you’ve banked, but includes the losses you have not yet taken. Do not kid yourself and trick yourself that you’ve made big returns in a short space of time by taking your profits and letting your losses run as long term trades.

Rule 4: Whatever profit you think you will make in a trade, the loss you could suffer has to be less than that. Private investors do the reverse. Or they ignore the potential loss by pretending it is a long term trade.

Rule 5: You cannot ignore your losses, focus only on your profits, and think you’re a genius. You might be just lucky, half your trades go right, and you bank the profits, and the other half that lose, you ignore. Well that does not work. That does not make you a genius.

Rule 6: Let the market, not your opinion get you into the trade. A lot of traders take a view, eg that the Euro will equal one US Dollar soon. But the professional will let the market fall in that direction and trade according to it instead. They will know you can set orders with a broker so you enter when the price crosses a certain level.

Alpesh Patel Alpesh is the senior most member of a UK Government team which has brought to the UK entrepreneur led companies worth $1billion+ over the past decade as part of the UKTI Global Entrepreneur Programme. He runs a Private Equity fund from the UK. Asian Voice readers get 33% off my FX online training course: www.udemy.com/tradefx4profit (coupon code: AsianVoice1)

Reliance Group forays into defence sector

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group announced its foray into the high growth defence and aerospace manufacturing sector that are estimated to touch a market size of $100 billion in 10 years. Three subsidiaries have been incorporated for the foray under group firm Reliance Infrastructure, the company said in a regulatory filing. According to Group chairman Anil D Ambani, “the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government provides a perfect landscape for setting up of a comprehensive defence industrial base in the country. The Reliance Group is committed to contribute significantly to this initiative.”

R e l i a n c e Infrastructure, which already has presence in areas like power, has set up three wholly-owned subsidiaries -Reliance Defence Systems, Reliance Defence Technologies and

Reliance Defence and Aerospace (RDA), the company said in the filing.

RDA will be participating in the utility helicopter programmes for the Armed Forces. The company will also explore other opportunities including naval platforms, air mobility, avionics and Network Centric Warfare (NCW). Ambani said “We would endeavour to bring world class technologies to India and create skill sets within the country to deliver top end platforms for our Armed Forces, cut down on import of defence products and create high skill jobs.”

Rajesh Dhingra, former Managing Director of Lockheed Martin India, will lead the new initiative of Reliance Group. With its entry into the defence sector, it would lock horns with the likes of Tata Group, Larsen and Toubro and Mahindra and Mahindra.

Report reveals women entrepreneurs are untapped talent in Britain

Tazim Essani

Rupanjana Dutta

Bahija Jallal

Sharmila Nebharajani

Manveen Pam Kaur

Women entrepreneurs could play a bigger role in the UK economy, creating jobs and boosting growth as well as reducing gender inequality, according to the findings of an independent report published on Monday 16 February.

Business Secretary Vince Cable’s women in enterprise champion, Lorely Burt MP, published the report making a number of recommendations aimed at boosting the number of female entrepreneurs.

The report, ‘Inclusive Support for Women in Enterprise’, found that although the number of female-run small and medium-sized businesses has increased, there is still more to be done to close the gender gap between men and women.

The Government has reportedly already taken a number of steps to inspire and support women to set up and grow their own businesses, including the £1 million Women and Broadband Challenge Fund, a series of mentoring events and the Aspire Fund.

Last year UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) published a guide for first time exporters aimed at helping women expand into overseas markets.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Government Equalities Office have also launched a new research project to find new ways of reaching out to female entrepreneurs.

The Government will be writing to the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships to remind them of the importance of representing the communities they operate in, with more diverse boards and supporting all businesses in their area.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “I appointed Lorely as ‘women in enterprise champion’ so she could build on the good work we’ve already done and help us increase entrepreneurial aspiration among women.

“Reaching our target of 25% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2015 is now in sight.

The Government is committed

to ensuring that talented women have the tools at hand whether it’s running a business on their own or heading up a corporate board.

“The evidence is clear - gender diversity delivers better business decisions which are vital to securing the future prosperity of the UK.” A report called '100 women to watch' referring to The Female FTSE Board Report 2014, published by the Cranfield University, School of Management, has mentioned 4 women, who are of Asian origin. It includes, Tazim Essani, Bahija Jallal, Manveen Pam Kaur and Sharmila Nebhrajani.

Tazim Essani, who has extensive experience of managing large multicultural projects and diverse groups of people, joined Close Brothers in July 2009 as Group Head of Corporate Development with responsibility for strategy analysis, development initiatives and group acquisitions and disposals.

Bahija Jallal is a member of AstraZeneca’s

Senior Executive Team and an Executive VP with MedImmune responsible for biologics research, development and clinical activities and is tasked with advancing the organisation’s pipeline of drugs targeting several medical areas.

Pam Kaur, a qualified Chartered Accountant, was appointed Group Head of Internal Audit of HSBC Holdings plc in April 2013. She is a Group Managing Director and a member of the Group Management Board. She also reports to the Risk and Audit Committees of the HSBC Holdings plc Board.

Sharmila Nebhrajani, who is currently the Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities, was Executive Director of Finance and performance for NHS Sussex before.

She spent 12 years at the BBC where she was Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director of Future Media and Technology, managing the online business functions, including the launch of the iPlayer.

UK’s largest fixed-price discounter Poundland is bidding to take over its discount rival 99p Stores for £55 million.

Poundland, which was floated in March last year at 300p a share and serves 5million customers a week, said it had signed a conditional deal to buy the rival chain for £55 million.

This will consist of £47.5 million in cash and the issue of new Poundland shares worth £7.5million.

Poundland said that buying its rival - which sells similar products at a penny cheaper - would give better choice, value and service for 99p Stores’ customers. Discounters such as Poundland, Aldi and Lidl have been giving a stiff competition to traditional retailers, including Tesco and J Sainsbury,

as consumer appetite for bargain buying increases.

The 99p Stores chain, which also trades as Family Bargains, owns 251 outlets and generated sales of £370.4m in the year to February 1.

Poundland said that when the two businesses are merged, the “proposed transaction is expected to enhance earnings per share for Poundland’s shareholders”. 99P Stores was founded by Tanzaniaborn Nadir Lalani in 2001.

The purchase has to be approved by UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to become final.

That process could take at least two months, Poundland said, adding that the two companies had already held discussions with the CMA. The deal would include buying

the warehouse and distribution centre of 99p Stores.

Since 1990, Poundland has opened almost 600 shops in the UK, Ireland and Spain, and it plans to open 60 new shops a year for the next two years in the UK and Ireland.

Jim McCarthy, chief executive of Poundland, said the Lalanis would retain some of their investment in the form of Poundland shares if the deal went through.

“Whether the acquisition is completed or not, the board is committed to its existing proven growth strategy of store rollout in the UK and Ireland and in the further development of its trial in Spain, which could lead to further expansion in continental Europe,” said McCarthy.

Tata Steel, the flagship company of the automobile-to-aviation Tata Group, will acquire three strip products service centres in Sweden, Finland and Norway from rival SSAB to strengthen its offering to manufacturers in the Nordics.

About 180 people are employed at the three centres - 60 at Halmstad, Sweden, 70 in Naantali, Finland and 50 at Fredrikstad, Norway. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The three centres process strip products, offering services such as cutting-to-length, slitting and recoiling. SSAB is required to sell the centres as a condition of its $1.6billion takeover of Finnish steelmaker Rautaruukki.

Poundland signs conditional deal to buy 99p Stores

Tata Steel to buy 3 Nordic service units

REAL ESTATE VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

19

Why the right advice can be worth its weight in gold

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

We purchased a prime trophy asset in Portland Place in W1 next to the Langham Hotel, just north of Oxford Street. The property consists of 13,000 sq. ft. and has a grade two star listing. I have been told this is the equivalent of Buckingham Palace in terms of listing.

It was therefore essential to select the right architect to tackle this project. It is always best to go by recommendations, and so I harassed a good building firm who have been in the game for over 40 years and deal in this location and this level of buildings. After several phone calls and chasing I finally managed to get a contact.

I assumed half the work had already been done purely via the recommendation; I met the gentleman in a coffee shop in order to understand his background and experience. He had been involved in some large projects in Mayfair digging out basements and sub basements and I was talking to the principal who will be dealing with the project from the outset and all the way through to completion. He also had experience of dealing with the listed buildings.

I got a quote from him for the planning side, which was around £15k. I was happy with the selection, he had the experience, it came through recommendation, and I had met the man who would be doing the job all the way through to completion.

A good selection - or so I thought. However our in-house project manager wasn't so sure. His suspicions were aroused by the small fee relative to the building and the amount of work involved.

H e h a d a p h o n e c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h t h e a rc h i t e c t a n d a s k e d h o w h e p l a n n e d t o s u b m i t t h e a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e p ro p e r t y, o n l i n e w a s t h e a n s we r b a c k , i n s h o r t h e h a d n o c o n n e c t i o n s i n t h e c o u n c i l o r r a p p o r t wi t h a n y o n e t h e re . W h e n o u r m a n p r e s s e d w h e t h e r h e h a d a n y e x p e r i e n c e d e a l i n g s p e c i f i c a l l y wi t h g r a d e t w o s t a r l i s t e d b u i l d i n g s t h e a n s we r w a s a n e g a t i v e .

To be frank I never even thought to even ask these questions, hence there’s no way I would have got these answers.

Our project manager recommended another firm of architects whose fee just for the planning was £125,000. We invited them to come over and present to us and make the case why they should be selected. This firm clearly was on another level, they came equipped with plans already drawn up and aerial pictures of the property; they had several dealings specifically with these types of buildings, and they knew the right strategy to get planning.

The key to this was in the research and ground work for the building prior to application. The team they had in-house ensured unnecessary time was not wasted in appointing other experts outside who may not necessarily give the same attention.

What impressed me most was how they made use of the internal space. There is a huge winding staircase and a grand entrance, these are no doubt listed and therefore untouchable, so how to make a scheme of flats without losing this square footage?

The building is 13,000 sq. ft. but the internal area will be roughly 9,000 sq. ft. this is the area you can actually sell. Hence there was a lot of wastage going into communal space which we cannot sell. We had resigned ourselves to this space being lost,

though it would add to the grandeur of the entrance to the flats it would not be a direct benefit.

T h e a rc h i t e c t ’ s ro u g h i n i t i a l s c h e m e s h o w e d h o w w e c o u l d i n c o rp o r a t e t h i s e n t r a n c e a n d s t a i r s i n t o o n e o f t h e f l a t s b y m a k i n g i t l a rg e r t h a n a l l o f t h e o t h e r s a n d c re a t e a s e p a r a t e e n t r a n c e f o r a c c e s s t o t h e o t h e r f l a t s , t h e r e b y i n t e g r a t i n g a n o t h e r 1 , 0 0 0 s q . f t . f ro m c o m m u nal spac e and adding t o t he sq. f t. whic h can act uall y b e s o l d . At re s e l l s o f £ 3 , 0 00 p e r s q . f t . t h i s a d d s £ 3 m t o o u r r e s e l l p r i c e . N e e d l e s s t o s a y w e we re s o l d o n a p p o i n t i n g t h e s e a rc h i t e c t s . H o w e v e r, b e i n g I n d i a n s t h e r e w a s n o w a y w e w e re n o t g o i n g t o b a rg a i n o n t h e f e e s . We p ro p o s e d £7 5 , 0 0 0 a n d d a n g l e d t h e c a r ro t o f m o r e b u s i n e s s i n t h e f u t u r e a s w e w e re g o i n g t o l a u n c h a f u n d s o o n a n d t h e y w o u l d b e o n o u r t e a m , t h e n a g re e d t o s e t t l e o n £9 5 , 0 0 0 . We p ro m p t l y a g re e d a n d s i g n e d u p .

I nearly missed a trick here. I’m sure our first choice was competent, and would have been good, but good wouldn't have been good enough. When dealing with these levels it needs to be the best. And perhaps 85% of the work is standard and could have been done by any competent architect but it is the other 15% which would have made the difference.

It is for this reason we insist on using component and expensive solicitors for our conveyancing. Much of the time the work admittedly can be done cheaper by someone outside of London, but when you get stuck on a complex issue you will appreciate you have solid expertise behind you and someone who will talk to you on the other end of a phone.

The Real Deal

St John’s Wood, London Purchase Price: £3.3m l l l l

A large block of four flats on a beautiful street Freehold Two gardens Planning in place to convert into one house and to create a new mansard floor l After extension the area will be around 3,350 sq. ft. l Scope of adding another 200 sq. ft. area by rear extension l Located within the popular and fashionable residential area of St John’s Wood l We expect value of this property after conversion to be around £4.5m Call us now to secure this deal!

Thi s was h ow I first came across th e multiple dwell ing re l i e f w h i c h a J e w i s h l a w y e r p o i n t e d o u t t o u s wh e n w e we re p u r c h a s i n g a f r e e h o l d b l o c k o f t h re e f l a t s . F r o m t h i s o n e p i e c e o f a d v i c e h e m a n a g e d t o s a v e u s £ 2 1, 0 0 0 .

We we re p u r c h a s i n g a f r e e h o l d b l o c k o f f l a t s f o r £ 7 0 0 k wh i c h w i t h o u t t h e f l a t s w o u l d a t t r a c t a s t a m p d u t y o f 4% a t t h a t t i m e , h o w e v e r w i t h t h e f l a t s w e w o u l d o n l y p a y 1 % a s y o u o n l y p a y o n t h e a v e ra g e v a l u e , m e a n i n g £7 0 0 , 0 0 0 d i v i d e d b y t h r e e , s u b j e c t t o a m i n i m u m o f 1 % .

A n d f ro m t h i s o n e p i e c e o f a d v i c e w e w e r e a b l e t o s a v e o u r c l i e n t s e v e n m o re i n s u b s e q u e n t t ra n s a c t i o n s . M a n y l a w y e r s d i d n o t k n o w t h i s re l i e f e v e n e x i s t e d .

0207 993 0103

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

Specialists in

Central London Property Sourcing

info@sowandreap.co.uk

www.sowandreap.co.uk

55 Bryanston Street, Marble Arch Tower, London, W1H 7AA

Follow us online:

Sowandreapuk

SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week l The mantra for property is always Location, Location, Location! Property in a good location will attract quality tenants and strong capital growth l Ex Local flats are excellent for income, with low service charges and long leases they generally won't eat into your rent unlike many other flats

20

LEGAL VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

India set to defer GAAR indefinitely

The government of India plans to defer implementation of the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) until the time the tax administration is able to rebuild trust with companies on the controversial issue.

"Given the low level of confidence in tax authorities, investors fear that the provisions may result in harassment.

The finance ministry is keen to avoid any dent in investor confidence at the moment and is looking at postponing the implementation for now," said a source.

The view that has emerged in discussions so far is that it is best to defer implementation for now and not disturb the positive sentiment. The announcement is likely to be made in the 2015-16

Budget and could act as a major boost to investor confidence.

The Modi administration is working to revive growth and create jobs and getting the investment cycle back on track.

It has taken a number of measures to ensure that tax policies are predictable and the revenue department projects a friendly image. The government wants to shore up the image of tax administration and regain investor confidence over the next few years before implementing GAAR, which is an internationally accepted norm.

Since assuming office, the NDA government has moved to repair the damage caused by the disruptive tax policies unleashed by the previous UPA

regime. It has now urged the revenue department to adopt a non-adversarial attitude towards tax payers.

In recent moves, it has decided against appealing a high court verdict on transfer pricing cases involving Vodafone and Shell. This has been seen as a signal to investors that the NDA government is keen to ensure that tax policies are stable.

The government has also firmed up a framework for resolving transfer pricing cases, involving multinational companies from the US. GAAR rules, which are aimed at minimizing tax avoidance for investments made by entities based in tax havens, was set to kick in from April 1. It was introduced by then finance

minister Pranab Mukherjee to curb tax avoidance in his 2012-13 Budget The rules scared investors and prompted the government to defer the implementation. The NDA government has said it is examining the issue.

GAAR is a set of broad principles-based rules within a country's tax code designed to counteract the perceived avoidance of tax, according to a document produced by tax consultancy Ernst & Young. GAAR is a concept within law that provides the taxing authority a mechanism to deny the tax benefits of transactions or arrangements believed not to have any commercial substance or purpose other than to generate the tax benefit(s) obtained, it says.

An over 16 per cent growth in its passenger traffic helped Air India to improve its ticket revenue by 8.4 per cent, which stood at Rs 15 billion in January over the period last year, an airline official said. Meanwhile, the carrier has also lined up sumptuous Indian cuisines, named after popular cricketers, to cater to its passengers on its flights to Australia for ICC World Cup there.

Air India has clocked a higher seat factor on its both national and domestic network during this period as well, the official said. After a long spell of losses, the national airline had returned to profitability in December 2014 with a net profit of Rs 146 million in the month as against a loss of Rs 1.687 billion in December 2013, driven by a healthy growth

in both passenger and cargo revenue.

Saddled with a massive Rs 400 billion debt and combined losses of Rs 360 billion till last fiscal, the airline is surviving on a government bailout package. "The airline registered major gains in

passenger revenue to Rs 15 billion during the reporting month from Rs 13.84 billion in January 2014." Also, the load factor on the international flights rose by three per cent to 81 per cent during the month while the domestic seat factor touched 82 per cent mark from 73 per cent recorded in January 2014.

The airline continued to improve on the availability of the A-320 fleet with one more new aircraft joining its recently while more such planes are likely to join the fleet

by October this year, the official said adding, "These aircraft are in a 186 alleconomy configurations with no in-flight entertainment facilities."

"Thus, AI has adopted a hybrid model of competing with an all-economy configuration on certain

routes coupled with full service model on the high density routes." Recently, Air India has introduced refreshments on all flights even on those with less than one-hour duration.

"We are also planning to introduce dishes, which will be named after popular Indian cricketers, on our flights to Australia during the ICC World Cup to attract more passengers," the official said.

Currently, the Australian sector, which was added in the airline's international network in 2013, is clocking 85 per cent load factor across flights. Indian style chicken served with some fragrant onion pilaf is 'Dhoni's Swashbuckling Super Six' and the rasmalai is christened 'Sachin's Sweet Drive' as part of these exclusive dishes.

done so much to support small businesses.’ He spent over 10 minutes detailing initiatives that the Conservative Government had established to help SMEs, including cutting corporation tax, cutting national insurance bills, increasing bank competition and improving infrastructure. The debate follows hot on the heels of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment (SBEE) Bill, which has passed the House of Commons and the Committee Stage in the House of Lords. It is due to be approved by the House of Lords next month.

The SBEE Bill is focused on making life easier for small businesses, including measures to improve access to finance, make accessing public procurement easier and improving childcare provision. Speaking about the Bill exclusively to Asian Voice, Lord Popat said that “Small Businesses employ 12.1 million people in the

UK. They are the lifeblood of our economy and we are determined to support them. Since 2010 we’ve cut corporation tax, doubled the annual investment allowance and reformed apprenticeships. But there is more to do to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. “This Bill has a whole range of features to help small businesses.

We’re reforming the insolvency laws to move towards the US system, streamlining the company registration process and reforming banking to allow cheques to be deposited electronically and remotely so that they can access their cash quicker.”

The World Bank’s Doing Business 2015 report ranked Britain eighth out of 189 economies - an improvement in our performance of two places on the previous year. Within the European Union the UK is behind only Denmark

A-I reports strong performance in Jan 2015

January in terms of operational performance as compared to the same period in 2014. We on an average carried 16.7 per cent more passenger per day as 51,829 passengers on average boarded our flights, 44,420 passengers in January 2014," the official said.

"This resulted in an 8.4 per cent increase in the

Britain is 'open for business'

Small Businesses in Britain feel “better supported today than at any time” and Britain is “open for business” Lord Risby told the House of Lords following a recent debate in the House of Lords. The recent debate on small businesses, which will be of great interest to hundreds of thousands of Asians running small businesses in the UK, was focussed on what the Government is doing to encourage small businesses to grow.

Peers from all sides of the House praised the impact and importance of small businesses, and many of the Government’s initiatives since 2010, including improving access to finance, cutting red tape, and allowing SMEs to more easily bid for Government contracts were commended. A number of areas where future improvements could be made were also discussed. These included getting more small businesses to export (Lord

Lord Popat

Empey), more support for high-tech start-ups (Lord Freeman) and inspiring more young people to think about a career in business (Lord Borwick).

Responding on behalf of the Government, Minister for Business, Lord Popat stated that supporting small businesses was his ‘favourite subject’. He went onto outline how he’d enjoyed his own career running a small business for 30 years and that ‘Business is […] in my DNA’ as he’d followed his father and grandfather in starting and growing a business. Lord Popat said he was ‘proud to have been a member of a Government who have

Maria Fernandes

The Forces at Work

Speed over quality There are a lot of complaints from Indian nationals in particular that their applications are rejected for flimsy reasons the first time and succeed after re-application. Some say that this is a deliberate ploy to increase the coffers of the Home Office. However what they are describing appears to be happening even within the UK. The reason?

Targets are the new buzz words. The Home Office want to ensure that decisions are made within specific time frames and this has taken precedence over the quality of decision making.

Where there is a right of appeal, this can be challenged but in most cases these days there is no right of appeal.

Therefore no redress.

The new Inspector, friend or foe?

In the meantime the Independent Inspector responsible for policing areas where there are no rights of appeal has been replaced by a new boy on the block. The previous Inspector was a feisty

individual who exposed defects in the system and was the best person for the job ever. What the new person will do in terms of ensuring that the review is thorough and far reaching remains to be seen.

Racism at work Small businesses which contribute billions to the public purse are being needlessly pursued for breaches of immigration law. The naming and shaming policy of the UKVI makes headlines but for the restaurant or care home, which are mainly owned by Indians is wreaking havoc.

Shutting down restaurants may result in the mere loss of jobs but with care homes, what is at stake is altogether different. Homes which cater for dementia patients lose not only their business but patients suffer in the process. Playing politics with these lives is just plainly ridiculous. To cap things, the statistics show that the businesses most affected belong to Asians. Is there another force at play. Dare I say it racism at work?

To contact Maria Fernandes, please email at: info@fernandesvaz.com

Invitation for Golden Peacock Awards

The Golden Peacock Awards, instituted by the Institute of Directors, India in 1991, have not only won wide acceptance among all businesses, but have also achieved unscalable recognition and patronage among peers, globally. They stand out as a unique recognition for acknowledging the exceptional achievements of the very best organizations, through their outstanding contribution in the concerned fields.

Besides recognition, preparation for the award application under its self appraisal reporting method, helps to inspire and align the entire workforce and rapidly accelerates the pace of system improvement in an organisation.

The Golden Peacock Awards Secretariat has invited applications from corporates/industries, including multinationals, SMEs, public, private and government enterprises to be selected for the following awards: Golden Peacock National Quality Award (GPNQA), Golden

Peacock Business Excellence Award (GPBEA), Golden Peacock National Training Award (GPNTA) and Golden Peacock I n n o v a t i v e Product/Service Award (GPIPSA). The last date for submission of completed applications is 10 March, 2015.

The application formcum-guidelines can be downloaded from www.goldenpeacockawards.com.

In case, you are unable to download, please email us at info@goldenpeacockawards.com.

The awards jury is chaired by Justice (Dr.) Arijit Pasayat, former Judge, Supreme Court of India and former Chairman, Competition Appellate Tribunal & Authority for Advance Ruling (Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax).

Other jury members, include who's who of businesses, jurists and policy makers.

The awards would be presented at a special function scheduled for 19-21 April, 2015 in Dubai (UAE).

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

21

Foreign Exchange

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX,

Stronger growth expected Currency Specialists.

Last week Rating agency Moody’s cut the credit rating on five major Greek banks, as fears over the country’s future in the eurozone continue to swirl. The Athens market fell 6%, as bank shares suffer new double-digit falls. Fears that Greece might default also drove yields high into dangerous territory; the three-year Greek bond hit levels not seen since its 2012 restructuring.

Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has warned that it would be catastrophic if the eurozone collapsed. He said allowing the single currency to fragment would be catastrophic stating it is the moral duty of the critics of the Euro Zone to fix it, to make sure it doesn’t collapse because if it does the cost will be immense not just for the Greeks but the Brits, everyone.

According to economists polled there is a one-in-four chance that Greece will leave the euro this year. They also predicted the Eurozone will be in deflation for most of 2015, despite the European Central Bank’s €1.1tn programme of quantitative easing, announced last month. Consumer inflation

is likely to remain negative until the fourth quarter, the poll suggested. Inflation in the 19-member region is currently -0.6% and if economists are correct, it would signal the longest run of falling prices since the euro was first introduced as a currency in 1999.

Standard and Poor’s stated that the risk of contagion from Greece is low. They said that Greece’s risk premium has drastically increased again recently but the panic has not leapfrogged over to other former crisis countries. On the back of uncertainty surrounding Greece and upbeat UK economic data, the pound has hit a seven-year high against the euro.

Italy’s economy stagnated in the three months through December, failing to rebound from its longest recession on record. Gross domestic product was unchanged from the previous quarter when it dropped 0.1 percent. The median forecast called for a drop of 0.1 percent.

From a year earlier, GDP fell 0.3 percent. The euro region’s thirdbiggest economy may halt its slump in 2015 as both domestic

and foreign demands rise. The report was released after industrial output data showed a 0.4 percent increase in December.

George Osborne has warned that the risks of a very bad outcome from the ongoing Greek debt crisis had risen. He said there is a growing danger that the deadlock over Greece’s bailout program spirals out of control, stating that it could potentially cause serious damage to both the European economy and the UK economy.

Britain's economy grew by 2.6 percent in 2014, the fastest growth rate of any big advanced economy, but lost pace towards the end of the year, including in the manufacturing sector which is exposed to weakening demand in the euro zone. Since then, however, there The Bank of England said it expects stronger growth on the back of lower oil prices but it sees little need to raise interest rates this year and could even cut them if inflation proves weaker than expected. BoE Governor Mark Carney said he expected inflation to fall below zero in the coming months due to weak oil, but stressed that this

by itself did not mean that the economy had entered deflation.

Inflation would hit the Bank's 2 percent target in about two years' time, the Bank said, sooner than it forecast three months ago. Carney said that its appropriate to return inflation to target as quickly as possible after the effects of energy and food prices movements have abated.

The UK is not experiencing deflation Carney said in a letter to finance minister George Osborne explaining the difference between inflation - which stood at 0.5 percent in its most recent reading - and the Bank's 2 percent target. However, if global activity weakened and Britain became at risk of a vicious cycle of falling prices, the BoE said it was ready to cut rates, following in the footsteps of other central banks.

The BoE also forecast that lower oil prices would boost growth next year compared with its November forecast. Growth this year is forecast to be its strongest in several years at 2.9 percent. For 2016, the BoE also expects growth of 2.9 percent, up from November's 2.6 percent.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 17th February 2015 @ 2.30pm GBP - INR = 95.44

USD - INR = 62.19 EUR - INR = 71.00 GBP - USD = 1.53 GBP - EUR = 1.34

EUR - USD = 1.14 GBP - AED = 5.63

GBP - CAD = 1.90

GBP - NZD = 2.04

GBP - AUD = 1.96

GBP - ZAR = 17.82

GBP - HUF = 413.48

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Monday 16th February 2015

Monday 16th February 2015

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22

WORLD

Elderly Gujarati man brutally assaulted in US

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Suresh Patel that Eric Parkers' actions did not meet the high standard and expectations of the Madison City Police Department," he said, adding, that he (Muncey) has proposed termination of officer Parker, who has now been arrested for third-degree assault.

The incident occurred on the morning of February 6 while Sureshbhai Patel was walking down the sidewalk in the neighbourhood. Patel "was violently assaulted by a police official without provocation, and left partially paralysed," according to the 11page lawsuit filed.

A day before, Patel had arrived in the United

States to assist his son and daughter-in-law in caring for their 17-month-old child, who was developmentally delayed after a premature birth. In the video, Patel is seen walking quietly in a sidewalk.

He is not seen peeping at any of the houses or garage as was the police told in an non-emergency call it received from a neighbour, after which a police car was rushed to the neighbourhood.

In the video, two police officers are seen approaching Patel and asking him questions like name, address and identity card. Patel is heard saying "No English" and pointing finger towards his son's home. Soon one of the police officer, later identified as Parker, is seen violently throwing Patel on the ground and threatening him not to leave. It is at this time it appears Patel was paralysed, apparently by shock..

Later, Patel has been hospitalised. Now, his health condition has improved and he could speak, his attorney Henry F Sherrod said.

Indians raise $125,000: Meanwhile, the Indian community and concerned citizens have raised over $125,000 to cover his medical expenses, while the cop who allegedly assaulted him was released from custody on a $1,000 bond.

Officer Eric Parker has been charged with third degree assault, which is a Class A misdemeanour in Alabama, rating up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000.

US Hindus concerned: American Hindus are concerned after two incidents - roughing-up of a Hindu grandfather by police in Madison (Alabama) on February 6 and then scrawling of “GET OUT” on Bothell (Washington) Hindu Temple wall - happened in a span of 10 days.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, said that it was shocking for the hardworking, harmonious and peaceful Hindu community; who had made lot of contributions to the nation and society; to receive such signals of hatred and anger.

Washington: In yet another case of intolerance in the United States, a Hindu temple was vandalised in Washington state and hate messages were sprayed on the temple walls, sending shock waves through the Indian-American community in the area.

The incident has sent the local law enforcement authorities into a tizzy and has forced them into launching an investigation to bring to book the unidentified culprits. Some of the city’s top officials also visited the temple to take stock of the situation.

When members of the Hindu Temple Cultural Center in Bothell, 36 km from Seattle, went there on Sunday they found a swastika painted on it and "Get Out" scrawled in large letters with spray paint.

The place of worship is said to be amongst the largest temples in northwest America. The Hindu American Foundation has condemned the incident.

Reports say that lately there have been several cases of vandalism of Hindu temples in the US. The incident will come as a major egg on the face of American leadership, as just a few days ago US President Barack Obama had said that the ‘acts of intolerance’ experienced by religious faiths of all types in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi. There has been a lot of debate over how the US first needs to put its own house in order before commenting on and giving sermons to others.

In the US, white supremacists have adopted the Nazi swastika as an ideological symbol. KING

5 TV, an NBC affiliated station in Seattle, said, "In Hinduism, swastikas signified peace long before it became a Nazi symbol. In this case, temple leaders say it's now being used not just to hurt their believers but a neighborhood." The Bothell temple incident comes 10 days after President Barack Obama criticised India at an interreligious prayer meeting saying intolerance there "would have shocked Gandhiji."

"I was paranoid to say the truth, this just doesn't look right to me," temple member Jay Araman told Seattle's KIRO TV, a CBS affiliate. "He fears the red graffiti, sprawled across the outside of the temple, could be a sign that someone is planning something violent," the station added.

Echoing the fears, Thampipillai Thilakarjah told Q13 Fox TV station that his 11-year-old son was scared to visit the temple.

The Bothell Reporter newspaper reported that the incident was under investigation but no suspect has yet been identified according to Shari L. Ireton, a spokesperson for Snohomish County Sheriff.

"The timing of this crime, occurring before a major Hindu festival Shivratri, warrants special attention from law enforcement," said Jay Kansara, Hindu American Foundation's Director of Government Relations. "We are encouraged by the ongoing thorough investigation of the Bothell City Police Department."

There has been a spate of anti-Hindu incidents across the US in recent months. In August a murti of Shiva at the Vishwa Bhavan Hindu Mandir in Georgia state was desecrated with black paint. The phone lines of the temple in Monroe, near Georgia, were cut and graffiti wits hate messages were written on it.

Dhaka: India has ceremonially handed over to Bangladesh a vintage Dakota aircraft, which played a crucial role in the country's 1971 liberation war. The Dakota aircraft played a crucial role in the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF). It was used for air dropping troops in Bangladesh's Tangail dur-

ing the 1971 war.

"Air Marshal S B Deo, AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command, Indian Air Force, formally handed over the Dakota (DC-3) aircraft to Bangladesh Air Force," a statement by the Indian high commission said. The aircraft was flown in from New Delhi in a dismantled state in an IAF's C-17 Globemaster aircraft and then was re-

assembled by IAF's technical team led by Wing Commander R Deshpande with the assistance of BAF. The aircraft has been installed at the museum in Tejgaon here. BAF began its journey during the 1971 liberation war with three aircraft, including Dakota, offered by India. Primarily, a civil passenger plane, the Dakota was converted into a war plane which the free-

dom fighters used for a crucial para drop operations in central Tangail on December 11, 1971. The Dakota aircraft has special significance for BAF as BAF started its journey from Nagaland, Dimapur on September 28 in 1971 with the establishment of 'K' flight which possessed one Dakota DC-3, one Otter aircraft and one Alluette helicopter.

Washington: One of the two police officers who allegedly assaulted the 57year-old Indian man in Alabama has been arrested and FBI will be conducting a probe into the matter to find out if there were any federal violations in the incident.

Larry Muncey, the Madison City Chief of Police while apologizing to the victim Sureshbhai Patel, who was wrongfully assaulted by two police officers, without any provocation just because he did not know English and was unable to answer to their questions, informed that Federal Bureau of Investigation will also be conducting a probe into the matter.

"I sincerely apologize to Patel, his family and our community. We strive to exceed expectations," Muncey said.

"Additionally FBI would be conducting a parallel inquiry to ascertain if there were any federal violations," Muncey said after he released audio and videos related to the incident. "As a result of the investigations, I found

Hindu temple vandalised in US, hate message painted on wall

India hands over historic Dakota aircraft to Dhaka

In Brief

Jews told to tighten up security

London: Jews in Britain were told to tighten up security after a 14-hour shooting rampage that left two victims dead and five police officers injured in Copenhagen. Security in Denmark had already been increased after the 17 murders in Paris a month ago but a lone gunman was able to kill one man at an event to discuss freedom of speech and a synagogue guard before dying in a hail of police bullets.

19 killed as militants attack another Shia mosque in Pak

Peshawar: Grenade-toting militants attacked a Shia mosque in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens more. The attack comes two weeks after a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in southern Pakistan killed 61 people. Police said four or five gunmen threw grenades before storming the Imamia mosque in Peshawar, the main city in Pakistan's restive northwest, around the time of the main Friday prayers. Doctor Mumtaz Khan of the Hayatabad Medical Complex said that at least 19 people had been killed and 63 wounded.

Smoking strong cannabis responsible for rise in psychosis cases

London: Experts said that people who smoke strong cannabis would develop psychosis up to five times more than those who smoke 'skunk' cannabis every day. They said that cannabis is far from being a “safe” drug and no one under the age of 30 should ever use it. One in four new cases of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia could be the direct result of smoking extra-strong varieties of cannabis, a new study concludes.

True adulthood begins after the age of 25

San Jose: A psychiatrist has claimed that true adulthood does not begin in the western world until 25 because young people are putting off settling down for longer. Although the transition from child to adult is traditionally marked at 18, in fact, crucial neurological changes are now still happening into the mid-20s.

Islamic State kills 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya

Cairo: Islamic State released a video that appeared to show the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that his country would respond to the deaths as it saw fit. Speaking on national television hours after the release of the video, Sisi said Cairo would choose the "necessary means and timing to avenge the criminal killings". The beheadings could stiffen Sisi's resolve in dealing with security threats from militants thriving in neighbouring Libya's chaos who want to topple his US-backed government. Egypt has denied reports in the past that it had taken part, along with its close ally the United Arab Emirates, in air strikes against militants based in Libya. The footage showing the deaths of the Egyptians appeared on the Twitter feed of a website that supports Islamic State, which has seized parts of Iraq and Syria and has also beheaded Western hostages.

Tesco to cut up to 10,000 jobs

London: Up to 10,000 people may lose their jobs at Tesco as boss Dave Lewis wields the axe in an attempt to turnaround Britain’s biggest retailer. The scale of the job losses highlights the challenge facing the company as it tries to recover from a slump in sales and profits. According to reports up to 6,000 jobs will go from Tesco’s head offices and 43 stores that it is closing, while the rest of the jobs are at risk from a dramatic overhaul of how the company runs its stores.

Nut allergy sufferers told to stay away from curry

London: Britain's Food Standard Authority (FSA) has told people who suffer from nut allergy to stop buying curry and other spicy products as they have started investigation into undeclared traces of nut in cumin. The investigation has been launched amid a growing number of product recalls, with Aldi’s Fiesta brand Fajita Dinner Kit becoming the third item to be recalled in the past fortnight on a precautionary basis as it may contain almond protein in the seasoning mix. Trade associations including the Food and Drink Federation, British Retail Consortium, and the British Hospitality Association have been urged by the FSA to instruct their members to carry out tests on all their cumin products.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

In Brief

Couples told to go for counselling before attempting sperm donation route

London: Fertility groups have warned that couples tempted to use sperm or egg donation from their immediate family must receive counselling before going ahead with the technique, or risk potentially serious problems in the future. Portas, the Government’s former adviser on high street regeneration, has disclosed how her own brother helped her become a mother for the third time, after becoming a donor for an IVF procedure.

Portas, nicknamed the “Queen of Shops”, said her brother had been “honoured” to help the couple have their much-wanted child, providing a genetic link from Portas’ side of the family while Rickey carried the baby.

New contact lenses to help people see with inbuilt telescope

San Jose: Swiss scientists say that people with the most common form of sight loss could regain their vision with a new contact lens that has an in-built telescope.

The lens, which could help 500,000 British sufferers of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), increases peripheral vision three-fold. It could be available in two years and is safer and cheaper than surgery, scientists say.

Teetotalism flourishes as young turn their back on drink

London: Teetotalism has become a major force in British life as a number of people are shunning alcohol.

The number of under-25s opting for total abstinence from drink has leapt by 40 per cent in just eight years as young people overtake the elderly as the most sober generation. New figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that more than a quarter of young people do not drink alcohol at all and binge drinking is also in decline. In London, which is both the youngest and most ethnically diverse region of the UK, one in three people is now teetotal.

Financial worries major threat to marriage

London: According to official data, financial worries and long working hours are major threat to marriages now which may drive them apart. Having an affair is no longer considered a major threat to marriage. Only one in three couples said adultery would place a great strain on their relationship, while almost two thirds said paying the mortgage and other financial worries could split them up. Two out of five said that long working hours could derail their relationship, according to new figures published as part of the UK’s official happiness index by the Office for National Statistics.

Households’ disposable income to rise at its fastest London: Bank of England said that families will feel richer this year than they have for more than a decade as spending power soars. Signalling an abrupt end to the six-year decline in living standards, Mark Carney predicted that households’ disposable income would rise at its fastest rate since 2001. The average pay rise would double to 3.5 per cent this year, while cheap oil pushed inflation down to zero or below, leaving families with more money in their pockets, according to projections in the Bank’s quarterly inflation report.

Tory peer criticises Ed Miliband

London: Lord Fink, a former Conservative party treasurer, retracted a threat to sue the Labour leader Ed Miliband over accusations that he avoided tax after admitting to “vanilla” measures to reduce his liability while living in Switzerland. The peer had accused Miliband of making “untrue and defamatory” claims in the Commons, and threatened to sue. Lord Fink said that transferring shares into family trusts was one of the “bland” measures he had taken. He added: “The expression tax avoidance is so wide that everyone does tax avoidance at some level.” Miliband was also forced to backtrack. His allegation that the Tories were supported by “dodgy donors” had never been personally directed at Lord Fink, he said.

Low pay blamed on influx of migrant workers

London: A group of MPs have asked the Bank of England to investigate the data more clearly that migrant workers are depressing wages. The Treasury select committee had heard warnings from the chancellor, a senior member of the Office for Budget Responsibility and a leading economist about the impact of migrant workers on the domestic labour market.

Despite the widely acknowledged benefits of immigration for the labour market, all acknowledged the pressures caused by an influx of workers from the European Union and beyond. In its report, the MPs call on the Bank and the government to examine the data more clearly.

WORLD - INDIA

23

Permanent UNSC seat for India unacceptable, Sharif tells Obama

Islamabad: India's permanent membership in the reformed UN Security Council is unacceptable to Pakistan as it has not complied with UN resolutions on Kashmir, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has told US President Barack Obama. The US president called Sharif and both leaders discussed issues of mutual interest and those related to regional stability and peace for over half-anhour, officials here said.

During their conversation, Sharif expressed reservations about US support for India's bid to secure a permanent UN Security Council seat.

Sharif told Obama that India cannot become a

Nawaz Sharif

UNSC permanent member due to its non-compliance of all the resolutions passed by the UN on Kashmir and has "not fulfilled the commitment to give the right of self-determination to people of Kashmir," officials said.

During his unprecedented second India visit

last month, President Obama had reaffirmed his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member. In his telephonic conversation with Obama, Sharif also said that Pakistan wanted to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Obama, during his India visit, had also reaffirmed the US' position that India is ready for NSG membership.

Sharif asked Obama to impress upon India to resume peace dialogue with Pakistan to address all outstanding issues including Kashmir, the News reported. The two leaders also exchanged

views about bilateral issues including terrorism and Obama congratulated Sharif on the success of operation 'Zarb-i-Azb' to wipe out militants from the North Waziristan tribal region.

The two also decided to meet at a convenient date. The White House, in a statement on Obama's call to Sharif, said, "the President discussed his recent visit to India, and noted the United States supports all efforts by both nations to improve ties."

Obama had also telephoned Sharif before going to India and had promised to take him into confidence at the conclusion of the visit.

positive thing - I just wanted to be the same as everyone else. Gradually, though, Danielle’s interest in discovering more about the history of her family began to grow.

‘When I was a teenager, I started to become more intrigued by my grandfather’s life, although it’s only recently, because my grandmother has passed away, that I’ve really wanted to explore it properly. I was very close to her, and her death made me want to know more about my grandfather and their life.

He said that he was not keeping well.

Kejriwal meets Modi Earlier Kejriwal and his close aide Manish Sisodia met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence. Television reports said that the prime minister and Kejriwal shared pleasantries and had a hearty discussion on how this was a great opportunity for the Centre and state to work in unison for the progress of Delhi.

After Kejriwal’s stunning victory in the Delhi assembly elections, the prime minister congratulated him and invited him for a 'chai pe charcha'.

Agency reports say that Kejriwal emphasised that he is seeking the Centre's support to run the capital and also reportedly brought up the issue of full statehood for Delhi at his meeting with PM Modi.Modi has assured Kejriwal of the Centre’s support to the new Delhi government.

I was abused by racist bullies: Danielle Lineker London: Danielle Lineker, a former model,said that she was abused by racist bullies because of her Indian ancestry. Her grandfather was Indian, born in an area of Bengal which later became Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947.

Although he died a year before Danielle was born, his legacy sometimes had a difficult impact during her childhood in Cardiff.

‘Nobody guesses now they just think I wear fake tan - but as a child, I was aware that I looked slightly different from other

Danielle Lineker

children at school,” she says. “I’d ask my mum why my skin was darker than theirs. I was called ‘Paki’ a lot at school, which I now realise was just kids being kids they’ll pick on anything that’s different - but when I was six or seven it was tough. I’d cry to my mum as I asked her why I was different. My grandmother kept my grandfather’s memory alive by cooking Indian food and watching Bollywood films with me, but for a long time I wasn’t particularly interested. I didn’t see my heritage as a

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is sending his top diplomat to Pakistan as part of a regional tour, the first topranking visit since Modi broke off talks last year over the disputed region of Kashmir.

The sign of a thaw in ties comes weeks after a visit to India by US President Barack Obama.

The United States has long privately encouraged dialogue between India and Pakistan hoping that better ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours could lead to cooperation in other areas such as Afghanistan. Modi called his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, early on Friday to wish his country luck in the World Cup cricket tournament and told him that new Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyan Jaishankar would soon visit Islamabad as well as other regional capitals.

Sharif told Modi he welcomed the proposed visit of the Indian envoy to discuss all issues of common interest, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. In Washington, the US State Department welcomed the move. "The relationship between India and Pakistan is critical to

advancing peace and security in South Asia, so we would certainly welcome any resumption of talks between the two countries," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a regular news conference. "We believe that India and Pakistan stand to benefit from practical cooperation and are encouraged that they may resume dialogue aimed at reducing tensions."

India last year abruptly called off talks between the foreign secretaries, incensed that Pakistan's envoy in New Delhi had hosted Kashmiri separatists in the run-up to those talks. India considers the whole of Kashmir an integral part of the country and its decision to halt the talks represented a stiffening of its stand on the 68-year-old dispute over the territory.

Pakistan criticised the decision to cancel the talks and there have since been calls, including from within India, for the two countries to remain engaged. The neighbours have fought two wars over Kashmir since independence from Britain in 1947 and ties remain difficult since a 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistanbased gunmen.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday vowed to make Delhi corruption free in the five years of AAP's rule. Speaking to tens and thousands of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters at the Ramlila Maidan where he along with six others were sworn in, Kejriwal said: "I remember, during Anna (Hazare) agitation we asked for a corruption-free India. Even our opposition agreed that during our 49 days rule, we were able to end corruption in Delhi.

"Now, we are much more confident. We will make Delhi India's first corruption free state," Kejriwal said to thunderous applause.

Earlier, Kejriwal and six ministers - Manish Sisodia, Asim Mohammad Khan, Satyendra Jain, Gopal Rai, Sandeep Kumar and Jitendra Singh Tomar - were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi's lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung at the Ramlila Maidan.

Unlike 2013, Kejriwal did not stop by at Rajghat on his way to the secretariat after the ceremony.

Modi plays cricket Kejriwal vows to make diplomacy with Sharif Delhi corruption-free

24

INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

AIADMK retains Srirangam assembly seat

Chennai: Ruling AIADMK romped home by a margin of 96,516 votes in Srirangam Assembly constituency, represented previously by party chief Jayalalithaa, dealing a blow to DMK which tried hard to clinch the seat from its arch rival.

AIADMK candidate S Valarmathi’s victory margin is more than double than that of the 41,848 vote-margin by which Jayalalithaa had emerged triumphant in 2011 Assembly polls in the same constituency.

Valarmathi secured 1,51,561 votes out of the total valid votes of 2,21,173

while DMK’s N Anand was the runner-up with 55,045 votes and managed to save

his deposit. BJP lost its deposit and could get only 5,015 votes. Also, DMDK did not campaign for its NDA ally, BJP, bringing to the fore chinks in ties.

PMK, another bickering ally of BJP, neither fielded a nominee nor supported any party. CPI(M) too lost its deposit and secured only 1,552 votes. Though traditionally the ruling parties have won in by-polls in Tamil Nadu, the victory in Srirangam is significant as it comes after Jayalalithaa’s conviction in a disproportionate assets case, imprisonment and release on bail

later last year.

Her conviction led to her automatic disqualification as an MLA and Srirangam seat fell vacant and she had to lose the post of Chief Minister as well. The by-poll was held on February 13. By retaining Srirangam seat, AIADMK has signalled to the opposition that it continued to be strong despite its leader passing through a lean phase.

AIADMK cadres burst crackers, distributed sweets and went into a celebration mode after sulking for months following the conviction of Jayalalithaa.

pened amid fields a few km ahead. Mud walls on either side of the track prevented the coaches from rolling over. Loco pilot Fernandes said: “After crossing the Carmelram outer junction near Bidaragere, I reduced the speed on seeing an Sband curve. The engine had almost crossed the band when I heard a loud noise.

When I peeped out of my cabin, I was shocked to see that the fifth and sixth bogies had swayed to the right.” The railway minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 200,000 to the relatives of the dead, Rs 50,000 to those grievously injured, and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained simple injuries.

Hyderabad: The Telangana government will provide one acre of land in Hyderabad and Rs 50 million financial assistance for setting up of a Dalit entrepreneur incubation centre. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced this in response to a demand from the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI).

Rao, while addressing the three-day industrial and trade expo of DICCI, added that Dalit entrepreneurs desirous of taking up new ventures would also qualify for the benefits being extended by the State government to Dalit entrepreneurs of Telangana. “All doors are open... Dalit entrepreneurs can come and invest. We will extend the same benefits to them too,” said the Chief minister. Earlier, founder chairman of DICCI, Milind Kamble, hailed Telangana’s industrial policy as ‘the best’.

“It is also the most Dalit

friendly industrial policy,” he said. Expressing happiness at DICCI’s emphasis that its members want connections and not concessions and on giving jobs instead of seeking jobs, the Chief Minister said the state government had decided to set aside Rs 50 million for a scheme under which margin money assistance will be extended to Dalit entrepreneurs. This decision was taken in view of difficulties faced by such entrepreneurs while accessing bank credit.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman said that with effect from April 1, the public procurement policy, under which a portion of the requirements of government agencies have to be sourced from enterprises run

by SC/ST, will come into force. According to the stipulation, four per cent of the 20 per cent procurement reserved for SME units has to be from SC/ST units.

Chandigarh: Punjab’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance has resolved all issues and has decided to contest jointly the ensuing civic elections in the state. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of statelevel co-ordination committee of SAD-BJP alliance.

The meeting was held to ensure better coordination between party workers to win the municipal elections.

SAD secretary and Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema and political advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Tikshan Sud of the BJP discussed various issues to keep better coordination between party workers and their office-bearers.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting, Cheema and Sud claimed that all the issues, which were discussed at the meeting, have been resolved with mutual understanding. They said the ruling alliance has given a clarion call to its workers and office-bearers to ensure massive victory in the ensuing civic polls.

They further claimed

that there were no differences between the party workers at any level and office bearers and alliance is contesting municipal polls jointly. They said that the local leadership of Tarn Taran and Batala districts would take a decision of contesting polls at their own level while the joint candidates of alliance are contesting elections in 8 Municipal Corporations and 120 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats.

They also said that no party worker and officebearer would contest polls or canvass against joint candidates of the alliance. They said that strict instructions in this regard have been issued to the party functionaries at the ground level.

Both the leaders said that if any worker or office-bearer had filed nominations against joint candidates of the ruling coalition, they should withdraw their nominations before February 16.

They warned of strict disciplinary action against those who would not follow the directives issued by the party high command.

S Valarmathi

9 killed as train derails near Bengaluru

Bengaluru: At least 9 people were killed and over 40 people were injured when eight coaches of BengaluruErnakulam Intercity Express derailed near Bidaragere village, 40 km from Bengaluru.

Among the injured was a Polish couple.

At 7.45 am, passengers heard a loud noise. Eight coaches, including two AC bogies, derailed and D9, a reserved sitting coach, telescoped into D8. All the dead are reported to be from D8, while many passengers from other coaches were also injured. A preliminary investigation has not been able to confirm the cause of the accident, railway minister Suresh Prabhu said. The South Western Railway has ruled out overspeeding as the reason. An inquiry has been ordered and commissioner of railway safety (southern circle) S K Mittal would conduct the probe.

The accident could have been worse if it had hap-

Ashutosh Maharaj case hearing adjourned

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court adjourned till March 19 the hearing on the cremation of Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan sect head Ashutosh Maharaj, while allowing the petitions filed by four women disciples. Earlier, the bench had stayed the order of a single judge on cremation of Ashutosh.

As the matter came up for hearing, a division bench of the court comprising acting Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar and Justice Augustine George Masih allowed the four petitions moved by 'Sadhvis' against the order of single bench and fixed the next date of hearing in the case.

On 1 December, Justice MMS Bedi, the single judge of the court, had ordered that the sect head be cremated within 15 days. The Sansthan had on December 30 moved an application before the court seeking extension of time for 30 days to enable it to challenge the order passed by the single judge of the court on performing last rites of Maharaj.

Ashutosh Maharaj

On January 29 last year, Sansthan doctors had declared Ashutosh alias Mahesh Kumar Jha clinically dead, after which the Sansthan management kept the body inside a deep freezer, stating that he had gone into 'samadhi'. One of the petitioners, Dalip Kumar Jha, had moved the high court in April, seeking the release of mortal remains of "his father" to him for performing last rites and also a probe to ascertain the cause of his "mysterious death".

Another petitioner, Puran Singh, claiming himself to be the spiritual head's former driver, had also approached the high court, seeking a CBI probe into the death of Maharaj.

Telangana extends helping hand to Dalit entrepreneurs

SAD, BJP to contest civic polls jointly

South Brief

AP, Telangana Legislative Council polls on March 16

Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for polls to the Legislative Council seats from two graduate constituencies in Telangana and two in Andhra Pradesh. The poll will take place on March 16 and the results will be declared on March 19.

The Constituencies are: Warangal - Nalgonda Khammam and Hyderabad - Ranga Reddy Mahabubnagar in Telangana, while KrishnaGuntur and East and West Godavari are the Teachers' Constituencies in Andhra Pradesh.

8 kg gold seized at Chennai airport

Chennai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials seized over eight kg of gold from two passengers at the Chennai International Airport last week. According to reports, the officials, acting on a tip off, booked the passengers on charges related to smuggling. The two suspects were travelling to Muscat and Riyadh respectively. The value of the gold seized has reportedly been around Rs 25 million.

Kannada actress absconding after car accident Bengaluru: South Indian actress Pooja Gandhi, who is a big draw in Kannada and Tamil movies, is reportedly absconding after her car rammed a two-wheeler and seriously injured the rider. The police are now on the lookout for the actress who, incidentally, has switched off her mobile phones. The accident took place when the actress was returning home with her family members. Her high-end car rammed into a two-wheeler and its rider Varsha (50) fell down. Pooja played the Good Samaritan and immediately rushed Varsha to a hospital. The victim is still in the ICU. Pooja reportedly quietly slipped away after dropping her at the hospital.

North Brief

Graft case: Ex-Punjab minister jailed for three years

Chandigarh: Former minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sucha Singh Langah was sentenced to three years imprisonment in a corruption case and fined Rs 10 million by a court in Mohali town, 10 km from here. The court found Langah guilty in a disproportionate assets case registered against him in 2002.

Langah was public works department (PWD) minister in the government of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from 1997 to 2002. He was also the agriculture minister in the Badal government between 2007 and 2012. He was considered close to Badal earlier.

Brawl between Shiv Sena and Damdami Taksal supporters averted

Amritsar: On the birth anniversary of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, radical Sikh leader, a major brawl between the supporters of Sher-ePunjab Shiv Sena and Damdami Taksal (Ajnala jatha) was averted by police at Amritsar. The Shiv Sena workers were heading towards prominent hall gate for burning the effigy of Bhindranwale but they were stopped by taksal supporters and situation became critical. Both sides were equipped with sharp edged weapons. With the swift intervention of police, situation was controlled soon and many leaders of both factions were arrested from the sides.

Haryana probing Hooda govt's recruitments

Chandigarh: The Haryana government is investigating thousands of recruitments that were made by the previous Congress government in Haryana led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar told the media in Ambala that irregularities committed in the recruitment procedure during the tenure of the previous government were being investigated. He said that appointment letters have been issued to the Patwaris (village accountants) after investigation, whereas the selection of JBT (junior basic teacher) teachers is being investigated.

TRAVEL - INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Santokbaa Award for Lord Bhiku Parekh

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25

Political philosopher and scholar Lord Bhiku Parekh, philanthropist Sudha Murthy and Jesuit priest and mathematician Father Carlos Valles were conferred with Santokbaa Award for year 2015 at Surat recently. The award which carries Rs 2500,000 and citations to each were presented by Kathakar Morari Bapu.

Lord Bikhu, as he was commonly called, said it was not easy to give away your hard-earned money but many were doing it in the western countries.

This should be the ethos of a modern society, he added. Lord Bikhu is an eminent political theorist in Britain and an active member in the House of Lords. During his tenure, he has contributed immensely towards societal changes that were once a major cause of concern to Britain's culture in the early 70s. He has pioneered many concepts on multiculturalism, collective rights and responsibility and other socio-cultural issues that have influenced the governance in UK. Lord Bhiku has worked to bring about a

non-interventionist and tolerant political view where people of different ethnicities could live in harmony. It was through his ideologies and his unrelenting dedication towards his work that he managed to bring a significant understanding of Indian culture on a global platform. During his lifetime, he has been conferred with a number of awards such as the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize, Distinguished Global Thinker Award, Padma Bhushan, etc. by many international forums.

Achievements & Awards: Lord Bhiku has earned fellowships in a number of well-known institutions such as University of Oxfords, Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences in 1999 and the British Academy. He has won a number of awards for his work, some of them being Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize (2003) by the Political Studies Association, UK, the Life Peer in 2000 which earned him the title as Baron Parekh and BBC's

Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Asians in 1999. Bhiku has also earned a honorary doctorate from the University of Essex and in 2007, he received the Padma Bhushan from the Indian government.

Sudha Murthy said, "I learned it very early in my life that if you want your country to progress, you must become an entrepreneur. I love the spirit of entrepreneurship of Gujaratis."

Father Valles, who is from Spain but has authored over 70 books in Gujarati, said, "I was sent to learn and teach Gujarati in the newly opened St Xavier's College in Ahmedabad.

However, I began teaching Mathematics later as some locals objected to my teaching Gujarati."

The nonagenarian is now settled in Spain after retirement.

Santokbaa award is instituted in the memory of the mother of Diamond baron Govind Dholakiya, who runs Shree Ramkriskhna Foundation and SRK Exports, a Rs 60 billion diamond export firm.

Christian missionaries meet Jashodaben; invites her to join them

A team of Christian missionaries recently visited Prime Minister Narendra Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estranged wife Jashodaben, according to a report. Brother Peter Paul, who was one of the visitors, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have heard about her prayers and her loneliness. Her soul-touching story affected me. I heard through newspapers that she is in Mumbai. I searched for her whereabouts and went to meet her with my colleagues.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have worked with Mother Teresa for 10 years. I saw a glimpse of Mother Teresa in Jashodabenâ&#x20AC;?, Paul said.

He also added that Jashodaben has same positive aura as Mother Teresa had around her.

Peter and his team also invited Jashodaben to join their mission. The report further states that Jashodaben showed her willingness about joining the team. She appreciated the invitation and said that she would like to

Jashodaben with a group of Christian Missionaries

work for the mission.

However, she added that the final decision would be taken by her family.

Peter stressed that he was not advertising religious conversions, but he wanted Jashodaben to help lots of destitute and helpless Hindus by teaching Geeta and Ramayan to them. He believes that it would also help Jashodaben to get liberation from the lifestyle she is living.

It is interesting to note that while Hindu groups are maligning their names

by getting involved in redundant regressive proceedings like Ghar Wapasi or Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day diktats, Christian missionaries are smartly spreading their messages by helping people to liberate through social activities and selfenlightenment.

If Hindu reformer groups keep prioritizing trivial issues over important issues like women uplift, they will surely be sidelined by all the communities over a period of time.

26

INDIA

Govt will not allow any group to incite hatred: Modi

Narendra Modi addressing religious leaders in New Delhi

In an all out effort to reach out to the Christians and other minority communities, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that his government will not allow any group to incite hatred. "My government will not allow any religious group belonging to the majority or minority to incite hatred against any other group," Modi said while speaking at a celebration function of Elevation to Sainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Mother Euphrasia in New Delhi.

"We believe religion is personal choice of every citizen," Modi stressed, adding fanaticism will not be tolerated. The Prime Minister, who has been accused by opposition and Christian groups of turning a blind eye to a string of recent attacks on five churches and a Christian school in Delhi, said his government "gives equal

respect to all religions".

"My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence.

"My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly.

Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions," he said at the function. In a stern warning to fringe elements, he said, "We cannot accept violence against any religion on any pretext and I strongly condemn such violence. My government will act strongly in this regard." "World is increasingly witnessing division and hostility on religious lines, this has become a matter of global concern.

In this context the ancient

Indian play of mutual respect for all faiths is now beginning to manifest in global discourses," said the Prime Minister.

Observing that the world is at crossroads, he said if not crossed properly it "can throw us back to the dark days of bigotry, fanaticism and bloodshed". He further said that harmonious convergence among religions could not be achieved even when the world entered the third millennium.

Invoking Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, Modi said that equal respect for all religions must be in the DNA of every Indian. Seeking harmony, the Prime Minister appealed to all religious groups to act with restraint, mutual respect and tolerance in the true spirit of the ancient nation which is manifest in the Constitution and in line with the Hague Declaration.

Continued from page 1 may have an impact on Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka raised this matter after the Fukushima disaster, and the two sides have had several rounds of discussions.

After the bilateral talks at Hyderabad House, Modi, reading from a prepared text, said, “The President and I also agreed to expand our defence and security cooperation. We welcomed the progress in our maritime security cooperation, including in the trilateral format with Maldives.”

“The bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation is yet another demonstration of our mutual trust. This is the first such agreement Sri Lanka has signed. It opens new avenues for cooperation, including in areas like agriculture and healthcare,” Modi said at a joint media appearance with Sirisena.

The nuclear pact would facilitate cooperation in the transfer and exchange of knowledge and expertise, sharing of resources, capacity building and training of personnel in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including use of radioisotopes, nuclear safety, radiation safety and nuclear security. It would also facilitate

cooperation in radioactive waste management, and nuclear and radiological disaster mitigation and environmental protection.

Modi said the two leaders attached the “highest importance” to the issue of fishermen. “It affects livelihoods on both sides. We agreed that there must be a constructive and humanitarian approach to the issue.” The two countries also signed three other pacts, including cooperation in the field of agriculture. Another MoU was signed to enable Sri Lanka to participate in the Nalanda University Project.

Modi said he believed that destinies of the two countries were “interlinked”, and that “our security and prosperity are indivisible”.

“We are at a moment of an unprecedented opportunity to take our bilateral relations to a new level.

His visit today has set us firmly in that direction,” the Modi said while congratulating Sirisena on his historic victory in the election.

On the question of economic engagement, Modi said the two countries were committed to “unlock” the vast potential of economic cooperation. “We are pleased to be Sri Lanka’s largest trading

partner. I know that India enjoys a huge trade surplus. I expressed my support for a more balanced growth in trade in both directions,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he had conveyed to Sirisena India’s readiness to promote greater flow of Indian investments and tourists into Sri Lanka.

“We also intend to further improve air and sea connectivity between India and Sri Lanka,” he said.

Modi said they discussed expansion of cooperation in the energy sector, both conventional and renewable, and that the commerce secretaries of the two countries would meet soon to review trade ties.

Indian assisted projects for internally-displaced persons in Sri Lanka have made excellent progress, Modi said.

“This includes the Housing Project, under which more than 27,000 houses have already been constructed.

The President and I expressed satisfaction with the progress.

“I assured President Sirisena of India’s commitment to its development partnership with Sri Lanka. This will continue to cover a broad range of areas, including infrastructure,” he said.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

The big fat wedding of Sanjay Hinduja at Udaipur

A bevy of celebrities from business tycoons to Bollywood and Hollywood stars descended on Udaipur for the wedding of UK-based billionaire Sanjay Hinduja. He tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Anusuya Mehtani, fondly called Anu, on Thursady last the Jag Mandir, a 17th century palace built on an island in Lake Pichola.

According to reports, Dabok airport authorities were forced to park many planes at airports in Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Delhi.

The Udaipur airport is not equipped to accommodate the 123 chartered planes, including 20 from abroad, which carried 750 guests to the city of lakes for the wedding. Singer Jennifer Lopez arrived on Wednesday with her boyfriend Casper Smart.

The celebrities who arrived included industrialist Laxmi Mittal and his wife Usha, Bollywood stars Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, Malaika

Sanjay Hinduja and Anu Mahtani

Bollywood stars at wedding Grimson, and internationArora, Raj Kundra, Sohail Khan and music director al pop star and former Pussycat Doll Nicole Vishal Dadlani, President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Scherzinger, Indian indus-

trialist Gautam Adani.

The guests were entertained by international celebrity Jennifer Lopez and a host of Bollywood stars at the Jag Mandir.

Most heritage properties in the city were booked for the guests as the wedding celebrations began on Tuesday. The festivities began with the haldi ceremony at the Zenana Mahal of City Palace, property of the Udaipur’s ex-royals. The mehendi was organised at Shiv Niwas followed by sangeet at Manak Chowk and Zenana Mehal that witnessed a performance by Nicole.

Ranveer and Arjun rock the stage: Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor proved that they are an entertaining pair when they rocked the chat show 'Koffee with Karan'. Since then, the duo has been in demand for shows and events. On Thursday, Ranveer and Arjun, the two 'Gundays' of Bollywood, rocked the stage with a full-spirited dance performance.

Pooja Dhingra, 28, is the owner of three macaroon shops in Mumbai. She is planning to set up three more shops this year and has plans to expand her business, Le 15 Patisserie, across India. She talks about how she fell in love with the small, colourful circular cake made from ground almonds and filled with cream or icing.

Dhingra was studying law at Mumbai University.

Then she realised that it was not her calling and wanted to do something more creative and decided to quit study. She convinced her parents to let her go to Switzerland to study hospitality and management. After three years at a Swiss catering college, Dhingra did one year at the well-known Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. In 2008, while she was studying to be a pastry chef, one day her friends took her to one of the best macaroon shops in Paris. After tasting it, she has taken a decision to open her own macaroon

and female meant she faced additional challenges. The biggest problem was to get people to take her seriously.. "For example, if I had to sign a lease for a place, or buy machinery, I would have to ask my father to make these calls for me."

Dhingra also found it difficult to deal with Indian red tape. "My education in Switzerland, and working in hotels there, gave me a good idea of what working in hospitality would be like, but dealing with the bureaucracy is extremely difficult when starting a business in India." She now employs 40 people across one central kitchen and three shops.

Jennifer Lopez

India- Lanka stronger link

Pooja Dhingra-India's macaroon queen

store in Mumbai.

After graduation she returned to Mumbai and started making her own Macaroon recipe at her mother's kitchen. It was not smooth sailing initially for the young Dhingra. With the Mumbai weather being hotter and more humid than Paris, she struggled for half a year, as the heat and humidity makes it difficult to make the delicate cake. It took her around six months of research and 60 failed recipes to finally get something right. When she finally had a recipe, her businessman father agreed to invest the initial funds she required to set up the business. Yet being both young

27

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

HEALTH WATCH

Some ways to get a perfect smile How to deal with knee pain E

veryone wants a perfect smile, especially when you see celebrities smile confidently. To get that picture perfect smile we have to opt for corrective dental procedures and go for teeth whitening sessions. Here are some ways to get that perfect smile and maintain it, without burning a hole in your pocket.

Lighten up: Brushing daily with toothpaste that contains baking soda helps in maintaining the whiteness. It will always build up your confidence in maintaining the perfect smile.

Get gorgeous gums: Your gums are at focus every time you smile and so to keep them pink you should use whitening floss, following up with a quick gargle of brightening.

Eat fibrous foods: Fibrous foods like apples and carrots have an exfoliating effect and help remove surface stains which help in maintaining the whiteness of your teeth and in turn enhances your smile.

Check your cracks: Grinding teeth can also be a major cause of cracked teeth. Consult your dentist to determine if you are clenching or grinding your teeth, and if you could benefit from a protective thin night guard.

Fill the spaces: Spaces between the edges of the teeth are unattractive and might ruin the smile.

People view your smile and dark spaces can be disturbing to the eye.

Therefore consider cosmetic dental bonding to close spaces and enhance your Smile.

Protect your teeth and gums: Getting your teeth and gums camera-ready

H

requires a bit of behindthe-scenes preparation.

Correct cracked, broken, or missing teeth by visiting a dentist on regular intervals.

Replace missing teeth: Missing teeth limits you from smiling whole heartedly. The most obvious form of dental neglect is a missing tooth, as it instantly draws somebody's attention to the mouth. So it is advisable to replace the missing teeth and smile the way you want.

Whiten your teeth: Teeth get stained by either chewing tobacco or due to old age or hereditary.

Discolouration is expected for most of us who smoke, drink lots of tea and coffee leading to a dull smile that's lost its radiance.

Whitening strips or laser treatment aids in whitening your teeth. This encourages you to smile brighter and bigger.

Eat fruits & vegetables: Fruits and vegetables, along with a balanced diet, have been noted for decreasing tooth decay and promoting oral health. A number of fruits and vegetables are good sources for vitamin C, some contain iron and cal-

cium, and they don't contain added sugars. Fruits and vegetables are also composed mostly of water, and it provides a moist environment that is not conducive to bacterial growth.

Safeguard your mouth: Do not neglect dental check-ups, loose tooth, sensitivity or pain in your gums. It is very important to keep a check on all of them. Brushing can also help prevent decay.

Flossing: Proper flossing removes plaque and food particles in places where a toothbrush cannot easily reach, under the gum line and between your teeth. Building up of plague can lead to tooth decay and gum disease, hence daily flossing is very essential.

Eat healthy: Eating high sugar content or high calorie food can lead to decay in the teeth.

Brushing or rinsing your mouth with water is essential to maintain the structure of your teeth and moreover your smile.

Avoid aerated drinks: Aerated drinks and even diet drinks have many acids that can over a period of time, cause loss of tooth making the enamel

how coconut consumption when coupled with regular exercising can prove beneficial in combating high blood pressure. "The possibility of using coconut oil as an adjuvant to treat hypertension adds to the long list of benefits associated with its consumption," said co-author Valdir de Andrade Braga from Federal University of Paraiba in Brazil. The reduction in blood pressure might be explained by the improvement of the reduced baroreflex sensitivity and by the reduction in oxidative stress in the serum, heart and aorta key factors regulating blood pressure, the researchers said.

The team conducted

experiments on spontaneously hypertensive rats for a span of five weeks. It was found a combination of coconut oil and exercise training was able to reduce weight gain as compared to those rats that were given saline but were not exposed to the exercise training. "Our next step is to start some clinical trials in order to verify whether we can reproduce those findings in hypertensive human patients," Braga said. "This is an important finding as coconut oil is currently being considered a popular 'superfood' and it is being consumed by athletes and the general population who seek a healthy lifestyle," he added.

Coconut oil may reduce high blood pressure

ealth benefits of coconut are not unknown to the world.

Coconut oil, in specific, has been dominating the health and beauty market since quite some time now.

From its indispensable space in the culinary word to being a star ingredient in most beauty products health experts have, for long, vouched for its innumerable benefits.

A recent study shows

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement it. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

weak and more acceptable to decay which leads to imperfect smile.

Say no to smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco: These habits lead to risk of oral cancers and moreover it can also have adverse effects on your teeth like discolouring your teeth and bad breath.

Chewing sugar free gum: Using sugar free gums can help in removing bacteria and germs from your teeth. They are proven to be helpful in prevention of decay which in turn leads to maintaining the perfect smile.

Avoid eating between the meals: The cakes, chocolates, junk and other sugary foods that we eat between meals can cause tooth decay. Some sugary foods have a lot of fat in them.

Brush your tongue: Sometimes bad breath can be a major problem and so your tongue that actually forms a layer of its own bacteria must be checked and taken care of. It does a great deal in helping to reduce overall oral bacteria and maintain oral hygiene.

Avoid oral piercing: Oral Piercing often leads to pain, swelling, infection, increased flow of saliva, and injury to the gums and due to all of this it plunders our smile.

Check your diabetes: If you have diabetes, you have a greater risk of developing certain oral health problems.

Controlling blood sugar levels can reduce the risk of these effects and in turn will help maintain your perfect smile.

Sleep well: A good sleep relaxes your mind and body. It naturally makes you feel good and hence boosts your smile.

F

K

nees are the most commonly injured joints in the body and the pain is among the most excruciating ones. They are throbbing inflammations and cause stiffness of the joints. Severe knee pain will never go away 100%. But you can make it negligible by taking few precautionary measures.

For most forms of knee pain, applying ice is the first step to recovery. Ice also acts as an anaesthetic to soothe the ache. Use an ice pack or ice cubes inside a plastic bag. Just make sure the ice pack is wrapped in a towel, so it does not come in direct contact with your skin.

Avoid the knee bashers.

Some activities, such as running and hiking over hilly terrain put a greater demand on the kneecap than others.

Examine your shoes, no heels, no awkward bumps and no hard materials. If there's any difference in the lengths of both your legs, ensure you get insoles so your body posture is balanced.

Muscle up your leg muscles: To strengthen the quadriceps, the thigh muscles that hold your knees in place, start with straight leg raises. Consult a physiotherapist for more exercises.

Work your hamstrings: To rehabilitate an injured knee, it is essential to build up strength in the hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh.

Following food items give excellent support to your knees: berries, ginger, avocado, flaxseeds and soy.

To get the most from your knees keep a good posture especially while at

work. Attention is to be paid to the chair you are sitting on. If the chair is too low the knees are in flexion constantly, not good. If the chair is too high you are struggling for foot support. Get a chair ideal for your height where your knees are bent at a comfortable angle, allowing you to sit down and get up easily. Sitting cross-legged and using low furniture can usher in knee problems over the years.

Excessive sodium is to be avoided as it contributes to water retention and swelling, which puts pressure on your knees and causes pain. The nightshade family of vegetables should be had in moderation; particularly if your knee pain is caused by arthritis. Nightshade vegetables include green peppers, cayenne, eggplant, paprika, tomatoes, and potatoes, all of which contain sotanine, a toxin to which arthritis sufferers may have a particular sensitivity.

Vitamin C is great for your knees. Ensure you stock up on this 'powerhouse' vitamin to keep your knees in shape

Sleep deprived participants consumed close to 1,000 calories during overnight wakefulness.

They consumed a similar amount of calories the day following sleep deprivation as they did the day following a good night's sleep. However, when comparing the macronutrient intake between the two days, researchers found that healthy adults consumed a greater percentage of calories from

fat and a lower percentage of calories from carbohydrates during the day following total sleep deprivation. The researchers also found that sleep deprived participants displayed increased connectivity within the "salience network," which is thought to play a role in determining contextually dependent behavioural responses to stimuli that can be either internal or external.

Moreover, increased connectivity in the salience network correlated positively with the percentage of calories consumed from fat and negatively correlated with the percentage of carbohydrates after sleep deprivation.

Why sleep deprivation could lead to weight gain

ollowing a night of total sleep deprivation, a brain region known as the "salience network" may lead us to eat more fat, new research has found.

"Although this study examined the effects of acute total sleep deprivation, similar changes may occur in response to the chronic partial sleep restriction that is so prevalent in today's society," said study's senior author Hengyi Rao from the University of Pennsylvania.

The study involved 34 sleep-deprived participants and 12 controls in a sleep lab for five days and four nights for round-theclock monitoring.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

If I direct, Vijay would be my hero: Dhanush

ust a day before the 'Anegan' release, Dhanush had taken some of his busy time to interact with his fans via social medium and here we present you some of the interesting things he mentioned.

Dhanush had reaffirmed once again that it was Vijay, who suggested his name to K V Anand for 'Anegan'. In his view, Dhanush considers, 'Shamitabh,' 'Pudhupettai,' 'Aadukalam,' and 'Maryan' are the films which offered him most challenging roles that he ever played in his career. If I decide to direct in the future, my hero would be Vijay, provided, if he likes my script. A com-

Kamal Haasan scouting locations in Mauritius

Rahman’s nephew makes music debut

E mercial film wouldn’t offer much scope to perform, but ‘Anegan’ story had offered me enough space to showcase my skills. And, that’s the reason I’m waiting eagerly for the response from the audience.

R Azhar Kaashif, nephew of double Oscarwinning composer A R Rahman, is making his musical debut with the Tamil single titled "Kannaley", which was unveiled on Valentine's Day. “Music is my passion since my childhood. I often visit my uncle’s studio to learn music composition. This is my first music video and it has been a big dream for me. Wishes of Rahman uncle and my brother G V Prakash are with me,” Azhar said in a statement. The single has vocals by Javed Ali and Saranya Srinivas, and its music video is directed by Ashwin.

A

ctor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, who has three films ready for release, is scouting locations in Mauritius for his next yet-untitled Tamil project. In a video, shared on Kamal Haasan’s official Youtube account, he has revealed that he’s busy searching locations for his next film in the scenic environs of Mauritius. He also announced that his much awaited Tamil film “Uttama Villain” will have its audio launch on March 1 and that it will release in theatres. Kamal also awaits the release of “Papanasam” and “Vishwaroopam 2″. According to industry insiders, he’s also likely to reprise actor Aamir Khan’s role in the Tamil remake of “PK”.

Nayan to work with Balakrishna again

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ayanthara, who had shared the screen space with Tollywood top star Balakrishna in 'Simha' and 'Sri Ramarajyam', is expected to work with him once again. If sources are to be believed, the actress and the actor would come together for a film titled 'Dictator', to be directed by Sriwass. It is said that the action entertainer would be shot in Hyderabad, Delhi and Europe, and the heroine's character has been given more importance. This is Balakrishna's 99th film.

'Badlapur'

“Badlapur” is an upcoming Bollywood film which has been directed by Sriram

Raghavan. The movie is produced by Saif Ali Khan and co-produced by Eros International with Dinesh Vijan's Illuminati Film. The movie features Varun Dhawan, Yami Gautam, Hema Qureshi and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It is a revenge drama thriller film. As per reports, Huma will be palying the role of a prostitute and Yami will play Varun's wife.

'Meeruthiya Gangster'

“Meeruthiya Gangster” is an upcoming Bollywood crime-thriller film directed by

Zeishan Quadri, produced by Prashant Tiwari, Prateek Tiwari and Shoeb Ahmed under banner of Prateek Group and Friday to Friday Entertainers. This film’s director Zeishan Quadri has also worked as actor and writer, his popular movie is “Gangs of Wasseypur.” Jaideep Ahlawat, Brijendra Kala, Aakash Dahiya, Jatin Sarna and Vansh Bhardwaj are playing lead roles in this film.

Akshay Oberoi learns Haryanvi for ‘Gurgaon’

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fter Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Fitoor’, a special appearance with Deepika Padukone in ‘Piku’ and IndoBrit film ‘Bombairiya’, Akshay Oberoi, who made his debut with ‘Pizza 3D’, is now starting his shoot for Jar Entertainment and Mukesh Chhabra’s ‘Gurgaon’. Interestingly, Akshay will be seen in a totally new avatar in ‘Gurgaon’, as he plays a local Haryanvi boy living in city. And since his character has a very rustic look and feel to it, he’s been asked to learn the local language by director Shanker Raman (national award winning cinematographer). In fact Akshay has been training to learn Haryanvi language/diction by a local Haryanvi tutor and has been watching few famous Haryanvi movies to get the accent and nuances correct. If that wasn’t enough, the actor even breaks into Haryanvi at times while talking to his friends and family to practice the language perfectly.

Gauahar Khan gets ‘selective’ about work

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odel-actress Gauahar Khan, who hogged limelight with her dance performance in the song ‘Jhalla walla’ from ‘Ishaqzaade’, now wants to do selective work. Besides, she is open to doing more dance numbers. “Right now I am doing selective work. I don’t want to do just a song. People love me for my dance and I hope that something great comes up,” Gauahar said. “If I get a really interesting dance number, I will definitely want to do it,” added the successful model, who had first showcased her dancing prowess in reality show ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’. Meanwhile, the former ‘Bigg Boss’ winner is also set to make her acting debut with Rajeev Jhaveri’s film ‘Fever.’

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Asian Voice meets the stars of The Second Best Exotic New British youth drama sees UK Marigold Hotel premiere on Community Channel Rupanjana Dutta

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Rani Singh

T

he first Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film was a surprise hit, grossing a total of $140 million dollars at worldwide box office. Now a companion film, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is likely to be another popular win for Fox Searchlight Pictures in collaboration with others.

Both films were directed by John Madden.

The original cast has some additions. The players are Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Tina Desai, Diana Hardcastle, Lillette Dubey, Tamzin Grieg, Shazad Latif, David Strathairn and Richard Gere. The screenplay is by Ol Parker.

It’s a meaningful film set in India in a hotel.

Sunny, played by Dev Patel, has expansionist plans and wants to succeed in his hotel entrepreneurship. A motley collection of guests, each with an important backstory, arrives to play out a fascinating narrative.

Sunny lives in the shadow of his handsome, rich, clever cousin and is about to get married to Sunaina, played by Tina Desai. They, along with Dame Judi and others, are reprising their characters from the first Marigold

film. Except that each of their natures is explored in a deeper way and they all travel some sort of dramatic arc. The audience is carried along and easily engages with each character’s journey.

The Asian Voice was invited to meet the director and a few of the principal actors. Through the course of an afternoon after a preview screening, we spoke to each person for around half an hour each.

John Brennan said that he had been able to collect much of the original cast and crew, and that shooting in India was “A good experience in every way.” Shooting during the marriage season posed challenges- one wedding party even borrowed the set for the on screen wedding of Sunny and Sunaina for its own real-life nuptuals! Mr Brennan praised Dev Patel’s energy and comic timing.

Actor Bill Nighy said that he took “Yorkshire tea bags and Marmite” out with him to India.

This paper asked Dev Patel if there was going to be a third Marigold film.

He replied, “We only came back because we enjoyed the first one so much. The offer to come back for me was a nobrainer. It’s a dream for any young actor to perform with these legends.

It’s a dream role...it’s a lot deeper. I don’t know if we can top this.” He said that in India, he stays with his best friend, called Ragu, who lives in Juhu. He also said that he doesn’t enjoy dancing on film.

The Asian Voice also asked who the movie is aimed at. “It’s not now aimed [just] at the over 40s. They put a lot of screen time on me. It’s a triumphant film about growing up, marriage, young love.” Dev found Richard Gere “very Zen, into yoga and meditation, very collaborative.”

This paper asked the question on every girl’s lips; “Are you single?” Mr Patel volunteered, “I am,” before saying that his “ideal woman is confident. I like being tested. I like a woman who is ambitious and has her own thing going for her.

That’s productive, a great driving force, very attractive.”

So naturally, The Asian Voice needed to ask Tina Desai how she found her on- screen Romeo.

She said that Dev was always full of energy, always rushing around wanting to do things like go bowling. But romance?

She dispelled that illusion quickly. “We have zero chemistry off camera, he’s such a goofy boy. He tries hard at flirting but he’s hopeless as hell,” she laughed.

Diamond necklace stolen Salman Khan treats his from Sonam's home team with biryani

A

c t r e s s S o n a m Kapoor registered a complaint with the Mumbai after she found a diamond necklace missing from her bungalow. The Juhu police have registered a theft case against unknown persons and have begun investigations. According to police officials, Sonam and her mother Sunita approached them on February 5 to lodge a complaint of theft. In her complaint, Sonam has said that on February 4 she had attended a party in Bandra when she was wearing the necklace and other jewellery, and returned late in the night. She then kept the necklace in a drawer in her room at 2 am, but later the same day she found it missing.

B

ollywood’s ‘Dabangg’ actor Salman Khan, known for his generosity and doing something out of the box, recently hosted a biryani party for the entire cast and crew of his upcoming film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan'. Earlier the actor had done the same for his ‘Prem ratan Dhan Payo’ team.

Salman has been busy shooting for his films ever since he left the reality television show ‘Bigg Boss’. Juggling between two films, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ and ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’, Salman does not forget to do something special for his teams. As the reports suggest, the shooting of the movie was in full form when the actor asked his personal chef to cook biryani and other mutton items for the entire cast and crew.

ommunity Channel's first ever British youth drama funded by Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign will be aired for the first time on 22 February at 10pm.

PREMature is a graphic and emotional series that looks at the challenges young people face.

The first episode in a gripping coming of age drama, PREMature follows the life of a troubled teenager, Prem, who is of British Asian background, as he struggles to cope following the death of his grandmother and traumatic divorce of his parents.

Set in Greater West London, this potent and graphic ensemble series, sees a teenager attempt to carve his own path to manhood, as both he and those around him venture in to the light and dark sides of life.

With turbulence in all parts of his life coming to a head, high school loner Prem is about to discover some harsh realities of growing up.

Led by an outstanding cast of British newcomers, many of who are British Asians, PREMature has an absence of stereotypes and token ethnic representations. Each strongly individual episode drives the story forward, to entertain and absorb, whilst hitting

the viewer hard with moments of dark humour and surreal psychedelic sequences.

Rohith S. Katbamna, PREMature’s Producer, Director and Writer, explained the thinking behind the series’ concept: “PREMature came about from two variables: A drama series I would want to see; and a rare experimental approach towards television content.

“PREMature is in this sphere of creation where passion is the centrepiece.

Narratively speaking, it's a story that I took from points of my own life, applied real life situations, surreal and psychedelic sequences, asked the public for support, obtained a broadcaster and continued down the road less travelled.”

PREMature initially raised £35,000 through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014.

Katbamna speaking about the difference that crowdfunding makes to a

new series like PREMature, said: “Instead of applying for funding judged by a small group of people who are likely not to be the demographic consumer of your content, and more inclined to stick with conventional, high concept easy-to-sell projects, crowdfunding has allowed project creators to go directly to it's potential audience, and gauge a realistic and sometimes brutally honest response and realisation of how your project may be received.

“Crowdfunding can be as cutting and testing as the TV industry, but a sense of fulfilment washes over you - especially when a network of supporters outside of your friends and family, want to know more about what you're wanting to achieve.”

The first episode of PREMature will be aired on Sunday 22nd February 2015 at 10 PM GMT on Community Channel (Sky 539, Virgin Media 233, Freesat 561, Freeview 63)

Farah Khan to host choreography and film direction masterclasses in London

D

ance has been an integral part of Indian cinema for as long as anyone can recall, one cog of a trio of elements - timeless music and romance being the other two- that have thrilled fans, particularly of Bollywood, for more than a century.

This March, one of Bollywood's most prolific choreographers, and filmmakers, is set to thrill audiences in London when she holds filmmaking and choreography masterclasses as part of the London Asian Film Festival 2015 (LAFF) to be held in London from 19-29 March 2015.

On the first day of the 2 day workshops, the multi-talented Farah Khan, director of the 2014 smash hit 'Happy New Year' will focus it on choreography and take part in a fun 'Bollywood Razzmatazz' at a special screening of her 2007 blockbuster romance 'Om Shanti Om' in Central London. On the second date she will feature a directing and filmmaking masterclass.

During her master class Khan will shed light on her

Farah Khan with her friend and colleague the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan

remarkable Bollywood journey - from a self-taught dancer to becoming one of Bollywood's most soughtafter choreographers and the director behind such evergreen romances as 'Om Shanti Om' and 'Main Hoon Na', not to mention innumerable appearances on TV from 'Dance India Dance' to hosting 'Bigg Boss', the Indian version of Big Brother.

The day after her master class, Farah will lead fans at the Princes Charles Theatre in Leicester Square in a singand-dance-along in a first for the London Asian Film

Festival, Europe's oldest showcase for South Asian cinema.

Dr Pushpinder Choudhary, Festival Director said: "We're honoured to have Farah Khan as our chief guest this year at our 17th programme. She's a true role model for female film makers, in this macho centric world of cinema, she's had phenomenal success in directing blockbuster Bollywood movies that entertain the masses with quality story telling".

For more information please see www.tonguesonfire.com.

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

BAPS celebrates Mahashivratri

Mahashivaratri – the auspicious Hindu festival in reverence of Lord Shiva – was celebrated with piety at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, London on Tuesday 17 February 2015.

Sadhus at the Mandir began the festivities by performing Maha Rudrabhishek the ritual bathing of the Shivalinga in the morning.

Devotees and visitors throughout the day paid their respects to an ice Shivalinga displayed in the Haveli entrance. The Shivalinga, a representa-

Sadhus bathing the Shivalinga

tion of the Hindu deity Shiva symbolising his energy and potentiality,

provided a reminder of the sacred pilgrimage town of Amarnath in India where

a natural ice Shivalinga exists.

As part of the celebrations at the Mandir, devotees and visitors had the opportunity to offer Shivapuja with bilva-patra (bael leaves) and perform abhishek (ceremonial bathing) of the Shivalinga with milk throughout the day.

A colourful annakut (religious offering of food for thanksgiving) was artistically arranged, in which a variety of ‘falahar’ items were offered at the shrines of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and ShivaParvati.

Watermans brings India’s new hit show ‘Boiled Beans on Toast’ to the UK Watermans is delighted to present the UK Premiere of Boiled Beans on Toast, a new hit show by Primetime Theatre Company, one of India’s best known companies working in English language theatre and a regular at the venue.

Written by the award winning contemporary playwright, screenwriter, director and actor, Girish Karnad, Boiled Beans on Toast is a sharp and witty observation of Indians living in a modern world.

Set in Bangalore, the

A scene from Boiled Beans on Toast

The Sun travels through your twelfth house now, marking a time of retreat and regeneration. This also heralds a time for research and unfinished behind-the-scene activities. Matters which have dragged on for a while should now be re-assessed and put to rest. Some of you will be looking to spiritual enlightenment and take up yoga and meditation.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

The Sun illuminates your sector of friends, social gatherings and group activities. You will be in constant demand and will be in a position to network with new-found friends who will promote your cause. Personal relationships are also to the fore and some of you might even find true love. This is a time to follow your dreams and ideals, and to plant a seed in the form of a wish for the future.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

More than any other time of the year, your focus is drawn to your career and standing in the society. This is the time when you are more interested in, and focused on, accomplishing something important. Contact with authority figures is more likely during this period. Recognition will come your way whether you ask for it or not, and the responsibility that goes with it.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

You are feeling most adventurous and willing to achieve higher knowledge and spiritual growth. This is a good time to broaden your horizons through travel and higher learning. This may take you to far off lands in pursuit of your new-found goals. You must distance yourself from the mundane grind of life and take on something which is more meaningful for your inner growth.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

story follows the intertwining lives of six people and is an insightful sliceof-life portrayal of different classes of Indians coexisting under one roof.

Coming Events

l Sun 22nd Feb 2015 - 3.00pm Bhajans by Shree Raaj Gambhirand his group followed by Aarti and Maha Prasad. Adhya Shakti Mataji Temple, Cowley, Middlesex UB8 2DZ, Tel: 07882 253 540 l LNDYM presents H.H. 108 Lalji Shree Nrugendraprasadji Maharaj satsang sabha on Sunday 22nd February 4-8pm at White Cross Hall, Kingsbury, NW9 9TA. Contact Narayanbhai Soni on 07830979829 l Gujarati school parents day, GHS, Preston PR1 8JN, Sunday 22 February 2015, 3-6pm.

Contact: 01772253901. l Bhavan presentsYakshagana, Sat 28 Feb, 6:30pm, 4a Castletown Road, London W14 9HE. Contact: 020 7381 8086 l Malawi Shiv Satsang Mandal presents Shivratri, Sunday 22 Feb 12-5pm. Contact: 020 8504 8117 l Yoga classes at HCS Bhavan, Friern Barnet, London N12 0LX. 10am-11:30am.

Contact: hcslondon@hotmail.co.uk Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Business Development Managers: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad.

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Performed in English, the characters include a grand-mother who discovers a passion for horse racing; a not very bright maid who learns to answer back; a bored-housewife who fulfils herself by undertaking charity work – all life is there in this searing saga of a modern metropolis.

Boiled Beans on Toast is a brilliant contemporary Chekovian comic drama, examining aspects of a

changing India.

The cast features the best talent from Indian stage and screen Joy Sengupta, Meenal Patel, Deepika Amin, Avantika Akerkar, Maneesh Verma, Swati Das, Avnish Mehra and Gillian Pinto.

Duration: 120 minutes Age: 12+ Date: Tuesday 10th March to Sunday 15th March

The Sun energizes your sector of change, transformation and regeneration.

On a more practical level, you may be dealing with joint finances and shared resources now more than usual. You should also make sure that your tax affairs are in order along with your investments. You are more willing than usual to explore and delve deeper into life's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 As the Sun transits your seventh house, you have a greater need than usual to be in a relationship. The emphasis is on "us" rather than "me".

Social interactions of a personal nature are highlighted. This is likely to be an extremely busy time for most of you. Use tact and diplomacy in your dealing, otherwise you are likely to come across as over confident and egotistical.

The Sun transits your solar sixth house and highlights your health and also makes you take pride in your day to day work. Hence, you should enhance your skills, get organized and take up a health regime for your well-being.

This transit highlights the need for efficiency and as such you should bring in the new and get rid of the old ideas that do not work.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 After a period of relative inactivity, you are coming out of your shell, ready to perform and to express yourself creatively. This is a very progressive period of the year, when you are inspired emotionally. You take more pride in your your love affairs, your children, and your hobbies and are generally very sociable and make friends easily.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

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With the Sun transiting your solar fourth house of family and home, these areas are highlighted during this period. Buying or selling of property or even renovating it will be uppermost in your mind as you will be trying to put your roots down permanently. It is also a time when family life will be charged with emotions so be diplomatic and respect other people's views.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 You are exploring and searching now, making connections, and paying attention to your immediate environment. Socially you are very popular and your communications strengthen your connections. You will be busy with errands, paperwork, phone calls, and light socializing. Siblings, neighbours, close relatives, friends, and co-workers may play a more important role than usual in your life during this period.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 The Sun highlights your second house of finance, and your focus is on material affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. Your communications are extremely high making it easy to close those lucrative deals. Also, a good time to pursue any romantic liaisons that might present themselves.

The Sun transits your first house and this affects your personal identity, appearance, outward behavior, and selfexpression. This marks the peak of your physical solar cycle, and you are in the position to make an impression on others, and to assert your personal influence. Increased energy and a renewed feeling of confidence is with you now, so take advantage of your charisma to achieve your goals.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

Dutch man Paul van Ass appointed Indian hockey coach

Outspoken and controversial Paul van Ass may be the complete opposite of Terry Walsh, but like the Australian the 54-yearold’s impeccable coaching record was reason enough for Hockey India (HI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) to appoint him as the chief coach of the men’s team.

Former assistant coach of Australian women’s team and head coach of Australian men’s developmental squad, Anthony Thornton of New Zealand was named as the women’s coach. The decision was taken following a meeting between Hockey India and SAI officials with Hockey India president Narinder Batra.

Van Ass, who was released as Holland coach after his contract ended last year, led the team to silver medals at the London Olympics and the World Cup. Van Ass never played internationally but following

Paul Van Ass

his rapid rise as a coach, he has asserted his status as one of the best in the business.

He was surprisingly chosen ahead of the seasoned Marc Lammers as Holland coach in 2010 following his exploits with the junior national team and Dutch club HC Gazellen-Combinatie.

His appointment, however, was criticised for he did not possess the necessary coaching certificate and lacked international experience.

Van Ass further

fuelled the fire by axing two of the senior-most Dutch players and icons of the game, Teun de Noojier and Taeke Taekema, from the squad after he found them to be unfit to feature in his scheme of things. Following a public backlash, he had to reinstate them in the team but omitted them again from the Olympic-bound squad.

The Oranje, however, blossomed under him, playing with speed and strength that few countries could match. He stabilised the team which looked to be on the wane and turned them into world-beaters in a short span, which earned him the plaudits.

In his four-year stint as Holland’s chief coach, Van Ass’ high points were the final of the London Olympics and last year’s World Cup. But they were also his pitfalls. Germany, to whom Holland lost in the Olympic final, became their bogey team while a 7-1 roasting at the hands of

Australia in front of home crowd in the final of the World Cup last year resulted in the Dutch hockey federation not renewing his contract.

India, however, will be a challenge that will be unique from his past assignments and the responsibilities will be far-reaching. He inherits a team that is high on confidence after a memorable 2014 where Terry Walsh guided India Asian Games gold medal.

The fact that India is the first team to have qualified for next year’s Olympics will give him the cushion. With no major tournaments lined up this year, India will be participating in the Azlan Shah Cup in April followed by a tournament in New Zealand, the World League in Belgium in June, a home test series against Australia and exposure trips to Europe. The year concludes with the World League Final, which India will host in December.

rounds of the auction.

They might still find a buyer in the final round of bidding.

Indian pacer Zaheer Khan, who initially went unsold, suddenly saw a dramatic change in his fortunes when he was brought back in the pool as he went for a hefty Rs 40 million to Delhi Daredevils.

In all, 88 players went under hammer, of which the franchises bought 67. 23 of the players sold on Monday were overseas picks. The franchises shelled out Rs 876 million in purchasing the players.

Surprisingly, former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who was bought for Rs 90 million last year by DD, could get just Rs 20 million as he was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the base price.

Other players sold in the auction were India Test opener Murali Vijay for Rs 30 million (to KXIP), England's Eoin Morgan (Rs 15 million by SRH) and New Zealand's Kane Williamson (Rs 6000,000 by SRH).

New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult also fetched an impressive sum of Rs 38 million from his base price of Rs 5000,000 as he was bought by SRH who joined in after initial bidding between RCB

and MI. There was also intense bidding for Indian pacer Praveen Kumar, who was bought by SRH for Rs 220 million. SRH also strengthened their squad by buying England all-rounder Ravi Bopara for Rs 10 million.

Two other allrounders in West Indian Darren Sammy and South African David Wiese went to RCB for an identical Rs 280 millione. RCB also bought young Australian pacer Sean Abbott for Rs 10 million.

Veteran Australian Michael Hussey returned to Chennai Super Kings at his base price of Rs 15 million.

Indian-origin Australian pacer Gurinder Sandhu, who has played just two ODIs so far, was the surprise pick for Rs 1.7 crore by big spenders Delhi Daredevils who also bought pacer Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 1.1 crore. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha also returned to Mumbai Indians for Rs 50 lakh.

Besides CSK, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals were the other franchises who did not spend much in the auction. RR bought South African all-rounder Christopher Morris for Rs 14 million.

Delhi Daredevils grab Yuvraj for Rs 160 mn

Discarded Indian allrounder Yuvraj Singh set a new record as he emerged as the costliest ever buy in the Indian Premier League by going for a whopping Rs 160 million to Delhi Daredevils while an unheralded K C Cariappa was a surprise pick in the eighth players' auction.

Yuvraj triggered an unexpected bidding war with four teams vying for the 33-yearold cricketer's services before Delhi clinched the deal for a record price. That Yuvraj, who had been bought for Rs 140 million by Royal Challengers Bangalore last year, went for such a big price came as a huge surprise given the fact that he is no longer in the Indian team. His current form, however, has been good which could have led to the franchises showing interest in him.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik was another player, who commanded a massive price, going to RCB for Rs 105 million at a glitzy auction attended by business bigwigs, Bollywood stars like Preity Zinta and former cricketers such as Anil Kumble, Ricky Ponting, Stephen Fleming and VVS Laxman - part of various teams' support staff.

A 20-year-old Cariappa, an off-spin-

Yuvraj Singh

ner who has not even played a first-class match, was a stunning pick by the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Cariappa was bought for a Rs 24 million in what was perhaps the most shocking buy in an auction where veterans such as Kumar Sangakkara went unsold despite being brought back in the pool thrice.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathew (Rs 75 million to DD), New Zealand pacer Trent Boult (Rs 38 million to Sunrisers Hyderabad), Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra (Rs 35 million to DD) and Australian opener Aaron Finch (Rs 32 million to Mumbai Indians) were among those who fetched a good price at the auction.

Sri Lankan stalwarts Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Indian pacer Irfan Pathan, South African batsman Hashim Amla and New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor went unsold in the initial

SPORT WORLD

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Lahiri wins biggest career title at Malaysian Open

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri claimed the biggest victory of his career with a gripping one-stroke victory over Austrian Bernd Wiesberger in the $3 million Malaysian Open recently. The 27-year-old Lahiri, who trailed by five strokes heading into the fourth and final round, closed with a four-under-par 68 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club's West Course to lift the Seagram trophy and win the $500,000 cheque.

His sixth Asian Tour victory and first co-sanctioned title on the European Tour is likely to propel him into the world's top40, putting him in prime position to qualify for the Masters Tournament in April, the year's first Major, and also the International Team for the Presidents Cup later this year.

Coming off his career's best year where he won twice and finished second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Lahiri fought gallantly to reel in overnight leader Wiesberger and then holed an audacious 50-foot birdie putt from off the 17th green which ultimately proved decisive.

Wiesberger, with three top-6 finishes in his last three starts,

started strongly with two opening birdies but a double bogey on five stopped his momentum and further bogeys on 12, 15 and 17 meant that he needed to birdie the last to force a play-off with Lahiri, who finished on 16under-par 272. However, the 29year-old Austrian, who was seeking a fourth career victory, left his birdie attempt from 25 feet well short of the hole. "This is very special. This is the sixth time I've won and it is my first on the European Tour; that's what makes it more special. The other thing that sets this win apart is that I finally won a big event. The first three events were $300,000 events in India. They gave me a lot confidence. Without those wins, I wouldn't be where I am today," a jubilant Lahiri said.

Four persons have been injured when a brawl broke out between cricket fans watching the tense India-Pakistan World Cup match on television at a Sydney club. Police said the fight at the Merrylands RSL club involved up to 40 people. Three people were taken to Westmead hospital and another was taken to Auburn hospital for treatment to non-life threatening injuries,

ABC News said on Monday.

Police are now reviewing security camera footage of the fight but no arrests have been made so far. Merrylands RSL club CEO Bryn Miller said nearly 180 people gathered to watch the live televised match in one of the club's rooms. He said the CCTV footage shows two people started the brawl by throwing a stool before running out of the club.

Anirban Lahiri

India, Pak cricket fans clash

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule Date

Feb 18, 2015 Feb 19, 2015 Feb 20, 2015 Feb 21, 2015 Feb 21, 2015 Feb 22, 2015 Feb 22, 2015 Feb 23, 2015 Feb 24, 2015 Feb 25, 2015 Feb 26, 2015 Feb 26, 2015 Feb 27, 2015 Feb 28, 2015 Feb 28, 2015 Mar 1, 2015 Mar 1, 2015 Mar 3, 2015 Mar 4, 2015 Mar 4, 2015 Mar 5, 2015 Mar 6, 2015 Mar 7, 2015 Mar 7, 2015 Mar 8, 2015 Mar 8, 2015 Mar 9, 2015 Mar 10, 2015 Mar 11, 2015 Mar 12, 2015 Mar 13, 2015 Mar 13, 2015 Mar 14, 2015 Mar 14, 2015 Mar 15, 2015 Mar 15, 2015 Mar 18, 2015 Mar 19, 2015 Mar 20, 2015 Mar 21, 2015 Mar 24, 2015 Mar 26, 2015 Mar 29, 2015

Match

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh United Arab Emirates vs Zimbabwe New Zealand vs England Pakistan vs West Indies Australia vs Bangladesh Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka India vs South Africa England vs Scotland West Indies vs Zimbabwe Ireland vs United Arab Emirates Afghanistan vs Scotland Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka South Africa vs West Indies India vs United Arab Emirates New Zealand vs Australia England vs Sri Lanka Pakistan vs Zimbabwe Ireland vs South Africa Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates Australia vs Afghanistan Bangladesh vs Scotland India vs West Indies Pakistan vs South Africa Ireland vs Zimbabwe New Zealand vs Afghanistan Australia vs Sri Lanka England vs Bangladesh India vs Ireland Scotland vs Sri Lanka South Africa vs United Arab Emirates New Zealand vs Bangladesh Afghanistan vs England India vs Zimbabwe Australia vs Scotland United Arab Emirates vs West Indies Ireland vs Pakistan 1st Quarter-Final: TBA vs TBA 2nd Quarter-Final: TBA vs TBA 3rd Quarter-Final: TBA vs TBA 4th Quarter-Final: TBA vs TBA 1st Semi-Final: TBA vs TBA 2nd Semi-Final: TBA vs TBA Final: TBA vs TBA

Venue

Canberra Nelson Wellington Christchurch Brisbane Dunedin Melbourne Christchurch Canberra Brisbane Dunedin Melbourne Sydney Perth Auckland Wellington Brisbane Canberra Napier Perth Nelson Perth Auckland Hobart Napier Sydney Adelaide Hamilton Hobart Wellington Hamilton Sydney Auckland Hobart Napier Adelaide Sydney Melbourne Adelaide Wellington Auckland Sydney Melbourne

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SPORT

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 21st February 2015

India beat Pakistan for 6th straight win

India consigned Pakistan to a humiliating 76-run defeat in their first match of Cricket World Cup 2015 in Adelaide on Sunday.

This was India’s sixth straight World Cup win over their arch-rivals.

Defending champions India rode on Virat Kohli’s brilliant 107 to score 300/7 after skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat.

Mohammed Shami took 4 for 35 to send Pakistan crashing.| Sunday’s result was India’s first big victory in almost three months the team has been in Australia. India had lost the Test series against Australia 2-0 and didn’t qualify for the tri-series final. Australia defeated England to win the championship.

Pakistan started well but lost their way due to poor shot selection.

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq’s 76 went in vain as Pakistan lost wickets in bunches and never recovered. Indian bowling was backed by smart fielding as Ravindra Jadeja and

Suresh Raina took some match-winning catches.

Opener Ahmed Shehzad (47) and Haris Sohail (36) blew good starts and veteran batsmen Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi failed to come to the party. Afridi, typically, was out to a booming loose stroke.

Earlier, Kohli scored an imperious century to steer India to an imposing 300 for seven as they opened their World Cup defence in a frenzied atmosphere at the Adelaide Oval.

New Zealand tame Scotland: New Zealand huffed and puffed to a

three-wicket win against a spirited Scotland and jumped to the top of Pool A with their second consecutive victory on Tuesday. The Kiwi pacemen, led by Trent Boult (2/21), set up the win as they bundled out Scotland for a measly 142 in 36.2 overs after winning the toss at University Oval ground. Veteran spinner polished of the lowerorder after pacers Boult, Tim Southee (2/35) and Corey Anderson (3/18) had unsettled the Scotland innings. Scotland owed their total to Matt Machan (56) and Richie Berrington (50), who

struck fighting fifties. It was too small a total to defend but Scotland paceman came up all guns blazing as they removed half of the Kiwi batting line-up in 21 overs.

Ireland stun West Indies: Ireland caused the first shock of the World Cup with a four-wicket triumph against West Indies in their opening Pool B match in New Zealand. It is the fifth successful World Cup chase in excess of 300 and three of them have been by Ireland.

Ireland, ranked 11th, reached the second group stage in 2007 and now have matches against the UAE, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India and Pakistan to try and secure a top-four spot in Pool B and a place in the quarterfinals. Their intrepid fielding and accurate seam bowling after choosing to field quickly led to two wickets falling in the eighth over.

Miller, Duminy rescue SA: David Miller and JP Duminy both scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge

from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday. Miller (138 not out) and Duminy (115 not out) rescued the Proteas' innings after they had been in trouble at 83 for four, as they put on a world record fifth-wicket stand of 256 to guide their side to 339 for four. Elton Chigumbura's side, however, also showed that they would be a dangerous opponent for many sides with opener Chamu Chibhabha (64), Hamilton Masakadza (80) and Brendan Taylor (40) showing they were all highly competent international batsmen. They had been on 214 for three and well set to push on for the final 15 overs before Taylor's dismissal effectively ended their resistance and they were bowled out for 277 in 48.2 overs.

Australia thrash England: Mitchell Marsh proved the unlikely bowling star and Aaron Finch blasted the first ton of the World Cup as Australia crushed England by 111 runs at the Melbourne

Cricket Ground on Saturday. The tournament favourites ruthlessly swept to victory in their opening Pool A match by posting their highest-ever One-day International total against England of 342 for nine.

They then dismissed their hapless arch-rivals for 231 with more than eight overs to spare.

New Zealand defeat Lanka New Zealand cemented their status as genuine contenders for the World Cup with a dominating 98run win over Sri Lanka in Saturday's opening match in Christchurch. Co-hosts New Zealand piled up 331 for six after losing the toss at a chilly Hagley Oval, with skipper Brendon McCullum (65) and Kane Williamson (57) laying the foundations for a big score before all-rounder Corey Anderson smashed 75 off just 46 balls at the finish.

The most astonishing feature of the innings, however, was that Sri Lanka spearhead Lasith Malinga, went wicketless in an expensive 10-over spell costing 84 runs.