AV 02nd January 2021

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

inside: Dalrymple Junior’s debut book delves into five partitions in Asia SEE PAGE - 09

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

2 - 8 JANUARY 2021 - VOL 49 ISSUE 34

LEFT OUT AND

Food for thought SEE PAGE - 17

MARGINALISED BAME doctors “frustrated” for being left out of the vaccination strategy, warns the government not to repeat mistakes of the past.

Defusing crisis in Ladakh after months of brinkmanship won't be easy

File photo: Meenal Viz protesting outside Downing Street

SEE PAGE - 25

Trump confers “The Legion of Merit” award to PM Modi SEE PAGE - 26

Govt invites farm unions for next round of talks

Priyanka Mehta Healthcare professionals are “frustrated” at the “inconsistent” approach in vaccinating NHS doctors and nurses at Covid-19 frontlines. They are particularly concerned about those staff from the black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are at high-risk and susceptible to the virus yet, not on priority lists. Instead in certain cases, NHS admin staff are being prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine as opposed to those in contact with coronavirus patients. These concerns stem amid delays in the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine and at a time the new coronavirus variant which is 70% more transmissible leaves these doctors at greater risk of contracting the infection.

Concerned at an inconsistent approach in vaccinating NHS staff, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, exclusively told Asian Voice, “Given the speed at which the new strain of Covid-19 is spreading, and the intense pressure on health services, it is vital that healthcare workers are vaccinated as quickly as possible.

This is in line with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which states that frontline health and social care staff should be vaccinated alongside all those aged 80 and over – and those staff at highest risk must be prioritised.

Continued on page 6

The government of India on Monday invited 40 protesting farmer unions for the next round of talks on December 30 on all relevant issues to find a 'logical solution' to the current impasse over the three new farm laws.

The government's invite followed a proposal made by unions last week to hold the talks on December 29. In a letter to the unions, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Aggarwal has invited them for talks at 2 pm on December 30 at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi. So far, five rounds of formal talks held between the Centre and 40 protesting farmer unions remained inconclusive.

Full story on page - 26

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

2 - 8 January 2021

with Keith Vaz

Wedding company ceases to operate after being hit by Covid-19

Varsha Mistry Varsha Mistry was born in Edgware, North West London, however she grew up in Lusaka, Zambia. She came back to the UK aged 15 and attended boarding school in Derbyshire. She then went on to study pharmacy at Aston University in Birmingham.

In 2016 she qualified as a pharmacist and has since worked in a number of community pharmacies of varying size. Currently she is working at a pharmacy that has nearly 10,000 registered patients and provides services such as the Drug User Service, Travel Health, Winter Flu Jab, Malaria Prevention, Emergency Hormonal Contraception, Medicines Use Reviews and New Medicines Service. During her time here she was also attending the University of Reading which enabled her to become an Independent prescriber in July. She aims to use this qualification to help improve patient's access to the healthcare they need.

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

London, as this is where the majority of my family and friends are - also you can never run out of places to eat, which is honestly my favourite thing to do!

What are your proudest achievements?

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Any time that I have made a real difference for a patient; be it just explaining the importance of a medication and how to take it, to helping them when they feel like they have tried everything and everyone else.

What inspires you?

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I genuinely get an immense amount of joy from helping people.

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Sometimes people do not take me seriously, as I look quite young some patients are initially hesitant to talk to me about their difficult situations. However, I feel like once they start talking to me, they are able to get over their initial concerns.

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

My parents: they have always taught me to 'have a good heart’, so I definitely feel that my love of helping people stems from the values they instilled in me.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

In a community pharmacy you do build such a great relationship with your patients, it helps that we are so easy to access, this means they can come to us with

4 5

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a variety of different concerns. Each day is unique, and I love the community vibe we have.

And the worst?

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Occasionally I do feel like patients do not understand the work that goes into getting their medication ready for collection on time. Feel like it is assumed to be an automatic process, but it really is not! This on top of the other services we offer can be challenging.

What are your long-term goals?

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I would like to see pharmacy and pharmacists have more of a role in helping manage long-term conditions, this is already happening as more pharmacists are moving into working within GP surgeries, but I do feel like more can be done within community pharmacies.

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

I would say health promotion is such an important topic and one that I feel is not taught enough to children and adults alike.

So, I would implement a greater focus on this both in schools and in the community as prevention is better than cure.

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

Albert Einstein. He seemed like such a unique character and would love to know what a conversation with a genius would be like. Plus, I feel like he'd be clever enough to figure out a way for us to make it off that island!

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High Court dismisses terrorist's claims for “torture damages” A 45-year-old terrorist who sued MI5 and MI6 for alleged collusion in his torture in Pakistan has had his damages claim rejected by the High Court.

Rangzieb Ahmed, of Greater Manchester, was jailed in 2008 for terror offences and had alleged that he was beaten up during his interrogations in Pakistan before being deported to the UK to stand trial.

Now, it can be reported that his civil case has been dismissed as it "would undermine one of the essential foundations of the decision of the criminal court".

The Manchester Evening News reported that Ahmed, from Rochdale, who was jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years, was the first person to be convicted in the UK of directing terrorism.

Manchester

Rangzieb Ahmed

Crown Court heard he headed a three-man alQaida cell which was preparing to commit mass murder.

But he claimed he was tortured including having three of his fingernails pulled out by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence while in detention between 2006 and 2007.

Ahmed sued MI5, MI6, the Foreign Office, the Home Office, the Attorney General and Greater

Manchester Police, claiming they were all complicit in his torture by supplying questions to Pakistani officers.

But the six defendants applied to strike out Ahmed's claim, arguing that he was attempting to "re-litigate issues that have been decided" before his criminal trial.

Mr Justice Garnham dismissed his claim, saying "the effect of the civil claim, were it successful, would undermine one of the essential foundations of the decision of the criminal court" and that it was "a collateral attack on the decisions" of the trial judge and the Court of Appeal.

He also refused an application to rely on fresh evidence which Ahmed's lawyers argued demonstrated MI5 and MI6's "involvement in the mistreatment of detainees in foreign states".

On 24th December, Thursday couples took to social media groups on Facebook to express their helplessless after being left in the lurch as a wedding event company announced that it had started the liquidation process.

Monsoon Venue Group, in Birmingham, caters for Asian weddings and had struggled to stay afloat as Covid-19 restrictions limited their business and according to some reports some customers were refused refunds and now risk losing thousands of pounds.

In a statement on its website, the company announced, “Following the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the wedding industry, it is with a heavy heart we inform you that Monsoon Venue Group has appointed Insolvency Practitioners to manage the process of liquidation.

“This is not a decision that has been made lightly, but has been forced following nearly a year of trying to keep the business afloat with no new revenue and exhausting all avenues for generating any financial support to sus-

tain the business. As per the Insolvency Act it is a legal requirement for the Director to cease trading once the company becomes insolvent.” Begbies Traynor are now responsible for all of the company’s financial affairs and all means of contact with the business have now ceased.

Couples said had been 'left in the dark' after the Birmingham wedding event company went bust. Speaking on a group, one noted, "I've just heard Monsoon Group has gone bust - and we have not been told anything! Not sure what is happening but it is very worrying."

Jail sentence extended A 33-year-old man who was jailed for life after a string of random attacks, including slitting the throat of a 10-year-old boy, has had his sentence increased, it has been reported.

Carlos Vinodchandra Racitalal, had targeted his victims at various locations in Leicester in January, this year. Last month, he was found guilty of four counts of attempted murder and Racitalal, formerly of Finsbury Road, Leicester,

was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and six months. On Wednesday at Leicester Crown Court, the term was increased to 29 years and six months, the BBC reported.

On 18 January, he targeted a 10-year-old boy who "came within millimetres of death" when he received 10cm (4in) deep gash to his neck as he stood outside his house.

Racitalal handed himself in two days later, after

Carlos Racitalal

CCTV of the attacks was released on social media.

Boohoo cuts ties with suppliers On Christmas eve, 24th December, Thursday, it emerged that fast-fashion king Boohoo have cut off their ties with over 60 suppliers in Leicester. These reports emerge after longstanding investigations, concerns and controversy that Boohoo employed or engaged with suppliers who underpaid their staff whilst employing them in poor working conditions.

In a recent development, the company executives have established details of their plans for a “huge” new Leicester factory. Earlier, Boohoo’s operations director Andrew Reaney told the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee that the company had cut ties with 64 suppliers in the city while reenforcing their commitment to Leicester with a new factory in Thurmaston Lane.

According to Leicester Mercury, Mr Reaney said, “At this point, we have applied for planning permission. The factory itself will be huge. We are talking about potentially 60 machinists, which is equivalent to 85, 90 workers. That is 90 more jobs in Leicester, and we are going to move our own sourcing and ethical and technical compliance team into the same building as well. That is part

of our commitment to Leicester and part of us wanting to demonstrate to the industry that this is what a model for best practice looks like.”

The Government’s director of Labour Market Enforcement Matthew Taylor updated the committee on the Leicester situation and how national agencies and the city council were seeking to deal with problems.

He said, “There has not historically been a very high number of complaints emerging from Leicester.

“The critical issue for Leicester City Council

which I think it is seeking to address now, is a long-term development of relationships with the communities of owners, and particularly of workers, to build trust and confidence so that people feel more able to report concerns, to blow the whistle, not to be as worried as they may be now about the consequences of doing that.

That is a long-term shift.”

There are also reports of tax dodging, welfare fraud, counterfeiting, and perhaps, people smuggling.

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COMMENTS

3

2 - 8 January 2021

Don’t repeat past mistakes Doctors, medics and scientific advisors have warned both the health secretary and the government to not repeat the mistakes they made during the first wave of coronavirus. While the mistake may not be same in that the government has finally been cautious in sourcing adequate Personal and Protective Equipment (PPE) ahead of the UK apparently entering into a Tier 5 lockdown as the country records the highest ever Covid-19 cases since the pandemic.

Yet, it is noteworthy that the government only acted after NHS doctors, nurses and others from black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background ran long-standing campaigns and sounded alarm on the institutional and structural racism that plagues the NHS. Now, as 2020 winds to an end these clinical directors have yet again flagged concerns around “erratic”, “inconsistent” and “discriminatory” practices that are persistent in the vaccination campaign.

Eminent and leading doctor’s forums including BAPIO, BMA and DAUK have cautioned that the government must re-think its vaccination strategy and particularly ensure that BAME healthcare workers are vaccinated. They say this in light of mounting evidence which notes that BAME frontline workers were disproportionately impacted during the first wave, with around 90% of all doctors who have died coming from BAME backgrounds.

In the meantime, a new survey from EveryDoctor has revealed that almost two-thirds of medics who responded to it have still not had the vaccine, half believe its delivery to the NHS frontline has been “ad hoc” and a third have no idea when they will be offered it. They fear the government’s decision to prioritise over80s and care home staff above health workers has left them at risk of catching the disease, especially given the emergence of the coronavirus variant, which is 70% more transmissible.

The wider issue is how the benefits of the vaccination are being communicated to the general BAME communities. There is once more a poor attempt in ensuring that culture-sensitive and culture-appropriate material is circulated across all channels so that people can make an informed choice. We hear this not just from the ordinary person but also from healthcare individuals that they will not have the vaccine, but for the wrong reason.

Perhaps, the significance for appropriate messaging around vaccination is best highlighted by a recent UK study which found that only 57 per cent of respondents from BAME backgrounds (199 respondents) were likely to accept the vaccine, compared to 79 per cent of White respondents.

"We have known for years that different communities have different levels of satisfaction in the NHS and more recently we have seen anti-vaccination messages have been specifically targeted at different groups, including different ethnic or religious communities. But these are exactly the groups which have suffered most through Covid-19. They continue to be most at risk of getting ill and most at risk of dying. So, the government, the NHS and local public health must rapidly and proactively work with these communities. And their most effective ways of working will be with the local community groups," noted Christina Marriott, Chief Executive of Royal Society for Public Health in her study.

The same polling had also revealed significantly more hesitancy among lower income groups, with just 70 per cent of lowest earners likely to say yes to the jab compared to 84 per cent of highest earners. Combined with the warnings of the scientific advisors and medical professionals, it will be best if the government paid heed to the advisory panels and re-considered its strategy on creating awareness around vaccination and vaccinating individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.” – Brian Tracy

Lord Rami Ranger CBE Chairman, The British Sikh Association

We have a deal!

Finally, we have a deal. With our Prime Minister's statement, the nation breathed a sigh of relief. It has been gruelling negotiations stretching over four and a half years. Often, a no-deal was on the card, and finally, on Chrismas eve a deal was struck to the relief of many, especially amongst the business fraternity. The most significant relief to businesses is the removal of uncertainty. Now everyone knows that we can trade with the biggest trading partner as usual.

India to benefit with UK out of the EU One’s loss is another gain. History has been testimony to this age-old idiom. The journey of the UK’s relationship with the European countries can be dated back to the Second World War era when ten West European nations formed the Council of Europe in 1949, the first step towards political co-operation between them.

Gradually in 1951, a more progressive block- the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)- was formed which began to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace, after two world wars had started in Europe in the first half of the century. The six founding countries Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed a treaty to run their heavy industries – coal and steel – under a common management. Gradually, the ECSC expanded to become European Economic Community (EEC) with a “common market” operating between these countries. Britain first began talks to join the EEC in 1961.

The UK's applications to join in 1963 and 1967 were vetoed by the President of France, Charles de Gaulle. The UK joined the European Communities along with Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. The EC would later become the European Union and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a keen backer of the “yes” campaign in the 1975 referendum on whether to stay in the European Economic Community (EEC). This is perhaps, when the journey begins for the Euroskeptics. Though Thatcher’s government backed the creation of the single European market, which removed all barriers to trade, in the mid-1980s, Thatcher herself became increasingly hostile to further integration between the European countries. The “us” vs “them” debate started boiling over as the EU legislation started securing the power to over the sovereign legislation of all

European countries. And for Euroskeptics and Brexiters such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it is fundamental that Britain establishes itself as a “sovereign” nation which cannot be dictated by any other other Union.

Following almost half a decade of deadlock between the UK and the EU on a Brexit agreement, Britain has achieved “zero tariff, zero quota” goods trade with its main trading partner. It has also managed to avoid any role for the European Court of Justice in settling trade disputes. On fisheries, the EU has agreed to give up 25 percent of its existing quotas in UK waters over a transition period of five and a half years, after which there will be annual renegotiations.

But amid all the changes in registration and licensing process in the UK-EU export-import businesses, India is likely to emerge as a net gainer from this Brexit deal as services exports from Asia’s third-largest economy are likely to benefit from the curbs on the free movement of professionals between the two markets.

The gains for India are, however, more likely in the services sector because bilateral services trade between the UK and EU is substantial. Indian companies in sectors such as IT, R&D, architecture and financial services are expected to record a boom with huge trade volumes anticipated between the two countries.

Brexit also opens the opportunity for India to sign a Free Trade Agreement separately with the UK. Negotiations for a comprehensive Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement between India and the EU (including the UK) was called off in 2013 after both sides failed to reconcile differences. A trade deal with the UK now seems more plausible as the country reaches out to the rest of the world to rebuild its credentials as a significant trading power. As they say one’s loss is another’s gain.

Johnson’s R-Day visit can enhance India-UK ties The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's acceptance of India's invitation to be the chief guest at next Republic Day celebrations will be an opportune moment for both the countries to enhance the relations between New Delhi and London. Both the countries have a lot of reasons to revamp their relationship as they look to come out of a pandemic-hit year. British foreign secretary Dominic Raab who was in India recently highlighted this when he and India's foreign minister S Jaishankar agreed on a 10-year 360 degree road map for upgrading bilateral ties. Raab listed an enhanced trade partnership next year and a future FTA as the top priority. The latter should be finalised as soon as possible, and used as a template for an FTA with the EU as well.

Such a focus on economic relationships is indeed sensible.

The experience of the last six years shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi investing a great deal in personal diplomacy with world leaders yielded little by way of economic or trade benefits for India, even though there was a clear uptick in some security relationships (accompanied by a sharp decline in some others, such as with China). In this regard, with the UK's economy taking a big hit due to the pandemic and bracing for Brexit’s impact, London is looking to its ties with Delhi to offset the double blows. There already exist many areas of strong cooperation between the two sides, as exemplified by the partnership between Oxford University-AstraZeneca and Serum Institute to produce a Covid vaccine. But more can be done in IT, financial services, manufacturing, climate change and green technology.

Alongside South Korea and Australia, India has also been invited to join next year's G7 leaders' summit, which will be hosted by

the UK. The UK has said it is hoping to work towards a postBrexit trade agreement with India after it formally leaves the EU's trading regime at the end of the year.

The Johnson administration has been willing to take a more proactive approach to the Indo-Pacific, and earlier this year along with France and Germany submitted a Note Verbale to the UN challenging China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. China’s draconian national security law affecting Hong Kong and ending the “one country, two systems” understanding with the UK, as well as London’s move to effectively shut out Huawei from its 5G networks, have put an end to London’s tendency to flirt with Beijing. Both India and the UK have been affected by terrorism too. There are thus many reasons for the two nations to work together. Johnson may use his visit to India to boost cooperation in areas that matter to the UK and that will be priorities for their international engagement throughout 2021 – from trade and investment, to defence and security, and health and climate change”, a statement said.

The UK and India are significant investors and markets for each other’s economies and our growing trade and investment relationship is worth around £24 billion a year, supporting more than half a million jobs. There are 842 Indian companies in the UK with a combined turnover of £41.2 billion, creating jobs in all four corners of the UK, the sttement added. Johnson said: “I am absolutely delighted to be visiting India next year at the start of an exciting year for Global Britain, and look forward to delivering the quantum leap in our bilateral relationship that Prime Minister Modi and I have pledged to achieve”.

Lord-Rami-Ranger and Boris-Johnson

This deal allows Britain to take back control of her borders, laws, and sovereignty. It also, simultaneously, allows trade to flow both ways as usual without tariffs. More importantly, Britain can now negotiate trade deals with any country, especially with the Commonwealth members.

Why I feel the deal is good for the United Kingdom is simple. If a nation cannot control its borders, then it cannot control its destiny either. It is natural for immigrants to flock to a country with a booming economy and better public services.

Since Britain joined the European Community, nearly a million Polish, half a million Romanian and immigrants from the Baltic States, Spain, Greece and Italy have arrived, boosting the British population to the tune of approximately five million. This large influx of immigrants has undoubtedly changed many cities' demography and increased pressure on the NHS, housing and schools. With this deal, Britain can now decide who comes to work according to her needs. It can facilitate targeted immigration based on the points system like that of Australia.

The credit to get a practical deal must go to the Prime Minister and his team. It is never an easy task to reach an agreement satisfactory to both parties. I did not think a deal was possible as it could encourage more members to follow the United Kingdom's example. I now look forward to the ratification of the agreement by both British and European parliaments.

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Bake Off celebrity racially abused, called a “bomber” 32-year-old Great British Bake Off star Ali Imdad was racially abused on a Birmingham bus while travelling on the No.94 service from the city centre when a fellow passenger compared him to a "bomber".

Ali filmed the vile exchange and uploaded it on his social media. In the clip, a woman is heard telling Imdad that Asian people are “everywhere”, as she asked him, “What have you done to the country? All these bombings… people like you.” She then asked him if his parents were “born in this country”, calling him a “liar” in response to his answer.

Imdad tweeted, “Not only was I called a bomber and accused of ruining the country for being Asian, when I challenged the Karen, the driver threatened to throw me off the National Express West Midlands bus. In a packed bus, no one said

a thing. No. Despite the undying urge to, I did not reply with ‘I was on the Great British Bake Off, you can’t get any more British than that.”

The footage was passed it down to the police for the matter to be investigated. The owner of Cocoa By Ali cafe near the Mailbox reportedly said that he was told to leave the bus by the driver before he was allowed to continue with his journey.

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said, "We’re investigating an alleged hate crime after a man was racially and verbally abused by another passenger while on board the 94 bus on Corporation Street, Birmingham at around 6.15pm on Sunday, December 20. In video recorded by Mr Imdad, a woman can be heard in conversation with him saying Asians were "everywhere" and blaming "people like him" for "all these

bombings".

Mr Imdad told BirminghamLive: "I had just got on the packed bus, and a lady came and sat next to me. I had my headphones in and was listening to music but I could hear her moaning about something. I heard to say something along the lines of: 'This country isn't what it used to be'. I thought maybe she was talking about the pandemic but I took my headphones out just in case she meant something else. After the woman got off at her stop, a man said I shouldn't have spoken to her like that. That made me even more angry, I couldn't believe he was being serious. She had just called me a bomber in front of him and others.”

According to him a few minutes later, the bus stopped, the engine went off and the driver came over and tried to order me off the bus. He said, “The driver

Ali Imdad

told me, “If you've got a problem, call the police but don't shout on my bus.'"

He has filed a complaint with West Midlands Travel and also reported the incident as a race hate crime with West Midlands Police. National Express West Midlands told BirminghamLive it was investigating the incident.

Imperial War Museum to commemorate 9/11 attacks The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London will mark the 20th anniversary of the four coordinated attacks on 11 September 2001, which claimed almost 3,000 lives.

It will be the first time the museum has examined 9/11 in detail. In a statement, to The Guardian, Louise Skidmore, head of contemporary conflict, said, “The reason we are choosing to mark the 9/11 anniversary

is because it is an event that really did have a global impact. Beyond just the geopolitical, it went into numerous aspects of our social, economic and cultural lives.

“Everyone remembers where they were. It was such a seismic event. But thousands and thousands of our audience were not alive and will

not remember 9/11. And so, they may, to a degree, look back and say: ‘What does it really have to do with my life? Was it a big

deal?’ It was a huge deal.”

Through a series of events, the museum aims to examine the radical way it has changed lives across the globe. The anniversary programme will showcase some of IWM’s collection, including girders from the twin towers, artwork reflecting the war on terror, and a union flag rescued from Ground Zero, the site of the attack, and given to the UK.

Sikh charity feeds stranded lorry drivers On Wednesday 23rd December, as EU countries isolated UK into lockdown over a new variant of the coronavirus, a group of Sikh volunteers delivered almost 2,000 hot meals to lorry drivers stranded in Kent.

Volunteers from Khalsa Aid have travelled around 210 miles (338km) to take warm food to hauliers hit by the travel ban between the UK and France when almost 5,000 lorries were stuck there.

Speaking to Sky News, Khalsa Aid founder Ravi Singh informed that his group of

Ravi Singh

"amazing volunteers" from Guru

Nanak Gurdwara in Gravesend, Kent helped cook 500 chickpea curry with rice meals and 300 tomato and mushroom pasta dishes. The group reportedly also received a donation of 1,000 pizzas from a local Sikh businessman in Sittingbourne.

He said, "In our faith there's a community kitchen called langar - where anyone can come and eat, regardless of race or religion. That's what inspires us to help people. The drivers are very happy to see us and the food. It's tough for them not knowing what's happening.

With Christmas around the corner, you don't have to be a Christian to believe in the season of goodwill - you can be a Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, whatever… as long as you're a good human being. As Sikhs we pray for the wellbeing of all mankind every day."

Rail, air and sea services between the two countries have resumed after France eased its travel ban. French citizens, British nationals living in France and hauliers are among those now able to travel - if they have a recent negative test.

Sikhs arrested and face extradition to India On Monday 21st December three British Sikhs were arrested in West Midlands on suspicion of a murder conspiracy in India in 2009 when Rulda Singh, leader of a political group in India, was fatally shot in Patiala, Punjab.

In a statement, West Midlands Police said, "Three men were arrested by West Midlands Police following extradition warrants issued by Westminster Magistrates. Two men, aged 37 and 40, were arrested in Coventry and a 38year-old man was arrested in Wolverhampton. They were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to a murder in India in 2009."

The Sikh Press Association

published a statement on behalf of the arrested men. It further alleged that the development is linked with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's visit to India earlier this year.

"If the three are extradited they would almost certainly be tortured and have no chance of a fair trial," claimed Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair of Sikh Federation UK. The Babbar Khalsa International had reportedly claimed responsibility for the said attack. This is not the first time that such arrests were made. In 2011, West Midlands Police had arrested four men on similar suspicions from Smethwick, Wolverhampton, and Coventry.

Bhai Amrik Singh

The recent arrests followed early morning raids on extradition warrants executed by West Midlands Police and all three were granted bail at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London under "strict conditions".

The trio are now expected to undergo proceedings to be extradited to India, with some separatist Sikh groups in the UK claiming that an order for such proceedings has been signed off by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

in brief in brief DATA NOTES COVID-19 DEATHS HIGHEST IN BOROUGHS WITH BAME POPULATIONS Data from London Assembly has demonstrated that higher rates of Covid-19 deaths in more ethnically diverse areas, with higher levels of deprivation and poorer ratings of Dr. Onkar Sahota GP satisfaction.

The Assembly’s Health Committee which began its analysis during the first wave of the pandemic has found that boroughs of London with higher numbers of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) residents had poorer ratings of GP satisfaction and higher rates of Covid-19 deaths than less diverse boroughs. These included Newham, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, Brent and Barking & Dagenham.

In a statement to Harrow Times, Assembly Member Dr Onkar Sahota, Chair of the Health Committee, said, “All the evidence shows that BAME community suffered a greater impact because we are, on average, more prone to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal disease and poor mental health. We are also more likely to live in overcrowded housing, poorer quality housing, poorer neighbourhoods and work in low-paid, public facing jobs. It is also clear that for those who live in areas of high deprivation, there’s the additional challenge of trying to access treatment from underfunded and under-resourced health services.

He has now called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to use his Covid-19 recovery plan to “help restore faith in those vital public services” among BAME Londoners.

48 YEAR OLD MAN WALKS 800,000 STEPS TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Sarabjit Singh

A 48-year-old man of Slough has been fundraising money to support women suffering from domestic violence, honourbased killing, forced marriages and female genital mutilation.

In October, Sarabjit Singh, of Harrow Road, Langley, became increasingly worried about the number of people approaching him for advice because of domestic violence they were suffering at home.

The leading member of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Slough began his initiative to raise £500 by walking around Slough and Windsor on October 22. Within a few days of setting up the challenge on Local Giving page, he had reached his target.

Slough MP, Tan Dhesi and Slough local councillors have also donated to this cause to break the silence of domestic violence.

October was domestic violence month and he decided to walk 600,000 steps to raise money for the True Honour charity, which educates communities about hidden abuses such as all honour-based violence, forced marriages and female genital mutilation.

Speaking to Slough Observer, the father of three said, “This was not an easy challenge, but I wanted to help victims of domestic abuse, so I decided to walk to raise awareness."

He is now up to 800,000 steps and has raised £2,256.50 after walking from Langley to every town over a wide area

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LEFT OUT AND MARGINALISED Continued from page 1 “It was deeply distressing that BAME health and care staff were disproportionately impacted during the first wave, with around 90% of all doctors who have died

Dr. Chaand Nagpaul

coming from BAME backgrounds – the NHS must protect them.

“We are therefore very concerned that we are seeing an erratic and inconsistent approach to vaccinating staff - including in some cases not prioritising staff who are most at risk, including those with underlying health conditions and of BAME backgrounds. While we understand that supplies of vaccines may be limited, renewed efforts must be put into protecting frontline staff in a systematic and prioritised way. Not only does the NHS owe it to its frontline staff to protect them when they are exposed to such a deadly disease, but if staff do contract the virus even mildly and have to take time off sick, they are unable to care for

patients when services are at their most stretched. We cannot afford for doctors to become ill and end up with fewer medics able to work at this moment of unprecedented pressure.

A recent survey of 1,316 doctors by EveryDoctor revealed that almost two-thirds of medics who responded to the survey have not been vaccinated. Half of them noted that the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine to the NHS frontline has been “ad hoc” and a third had no idea when they will be offered the jab. They fear the government’s decision to prioritise over-80s and care home staff above health workers has left them at risk of catching the disease. This is all the more concerning as the UK reported 41,385 new lab-confirmed cases on Monday, the highest figure yet for a single day. This means that there are now more coronavirus patients in England’s hospitals than there were during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. Health officials in Wales and Scotland have also said they fear becoming overwhelmed.

BAPIO writes to JCVI urging re-consideration of the vaccination strategy The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) has written a letter to Professor Andrew Pollard, Chair of JCVI, emphasising that government must not repeat errors from the first wave of Covid-19.

The letter, signed by BAPIO

Dr. J S Bamrah

Dr. Ramesh Mehta

President Dr. Ramesh Mehta and Chairman Dr. JS Bamrah, “We understand that the advice from JCVI is that the vaccination programme will not target the BAME community specifically. The advice notice which we presume has been sent to all Trusts and CCGs wrongly states that ethnicity is not a risk for catching the virus. This is unfortunately against the existing evidence from our own study as well as other groups, that ethnicity is indeed a risk factor. It also flies in the face of the existing data on morbidity in BAME doctors and nurses for example. We know that over 90% of doctors and over 70% of nurses who died from the virus were of a BAME origin. Not all of them had existing co-morbidities.

“Given that BAME healthcare staff already feel undervalued we think it is important to get the messaging as well as the strategy right. Time and again there are failures in doing exactly that, and this again is a lost opportunity.

“So, we are writing to ask you

to review the strategy and to ensure that ethnicity is taken into account when making decisions to vaccinate healthcare workers as well as the general population.

We appreciate that you may not have personally been involved directly in the discussions due to your declared interest in the Oxford vaccine but as chairman of the committee we believe that you have an overriding responsibility to ensure that policy implementation in these matters which are of enormous importance to the public, especially the BAME community, are done so to protect the vulnerable community.”

DAUK writes to the Health Secretary The findings, from the EveryDoctor survey, arrived as the UK’s medicines regulator prepares to approve the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Leading doctors and NHS chiefs believe the second vaccine’s availability will enable a dramatic increase in the number of people who are vaccinated, including

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The campaign was devised by Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne who stated that ‘enough is enough’ when it comes to the abuse of shop-

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Families of Sussex shopworkers have flagged up concerns around the abuse of their loved ones that they have faced during the pandemic as part of a unique Christmas campaign.

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health professionals. In the meantime, the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has also written to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, over concerns that many frontline staff had not heard when they would be vaccinated. A poll by the group found that 70 percent had no idea when they would be protected. It comes as hospital staff has reported being told to ring GPs to ask if they had unused supplies of the vaccine.

Duranka Perera, an A&E physician, and treasurer at DAUK, said, “How is it right that hundreds of staff - BAME included – working in A&E, as paramedics, porters and domestics aren’t getting top priority and are having to ring around for spare doses? We cannot repeat the errors of the first wave when so many healthcare workers were lost in the line of duty.”

All these concerns arrive amid reports that NHS admin staff and those working in Boots pharmacies in north-west London were given the vaccine at the weekend, ahead of doctors and nurses dealing with Covid-19 patients daily.

While the NHS trusts have been instructed to start preparing to use the overflow hospitals in the coming weeks bosses have reportedly failed to explain how they will be staffed. Most fundamentally healthcare professionals are concerned that institutional racism and mistakes made during the first wave of Covid-19 are not repeated.

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For 32 years, Mrs Pratibha Paleja has been the owner of a small newsagents in Hastings with her husband who was recently diagnosed with dementia. She is now a full-time carer as she continues running of their family business.

In the film, her daughter Mita describes her mother as a superwoman and tells of the abuse she has faced during the pandemic: “My mum is just trying to do her job. She has been threatened with a knife, verbally abused and pushed. She fractured her wrist as a result of that.

I’m worried about her safety. Please consider to be kind this Christmas, there is a family behind every busi-

workers.”

PCC Katy Bourne said, “The rise in assaults and abuse against shop workers is getting out of hand. This pandemic has shown how important our local businesses and their staff are to our communities.

Intimidation, verbal abuse and violence of any kind against our shopworkers cannot be tolerated. I’m seriously concerned about the impact a Covid-19 Christmas may have on our local stores. We have all had an incredibly challenging year but we cannot stand by and watch those who have helped keep our country going be abused in this way.”

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PROFILE OF THE WEEK

De-mystifying the legacy of Parsees in Britain Priyanka Mehta Very few British Indian historians have documented the darker shades of The Empire as an anti-dote of the rose-tinted version presented in mainstream media. Fewer have succeeded in writing best-selling novels around those forgotten heroes when even the British history curriculum failed to teach Britons about these icons. London based journalist-historian Shrabani Basu has accomplished both ends by weaving together her passion for telling lesser-known stories and her love for history in her immersive writings.

Asian Voice caught up with the biographer ahead of her upcoming publication 'The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer'.

Q: How did you embark on your upcoming title 'The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer'?

Can you please shed some insight into the process of unearthing facts, sifting through pre-existing literature including investigative reports among others?

A: I have always been interested in uncovering the hidden stories of Indians in Britain.

Princess Anne and Shrabani Basu at the My previous books include Spy unveiling of the Memorial to Noor Princess, on WWII heroine Noor Inayat Khan and Victoria & Abdul about the relationship between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim.

I have always been a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle and the Sherlock Holmes stories, and I did know that he had donned the hat of Sherlock Holmes to investigate only one crime himself. The fact that this crime involved an Indian made it all the more fascinating. I began my research into the story in 2015, as I discovered some new material on the subject.

My books are all non-fiction, so I believe in extensive research into private papers, archival material and newspaper reports. It takes me many years to write each book. I like to travel to the area I am writing about. Often it includes covering different countries, so it’s all a labour of love. I like to combine my journalistic skills along with historical research.

Q: Institutional racism has been a focal point of debate in the western society more so, in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protest and following George Floyd's death. How does George Edlaji's story illustrate his struggles around race, religion and class?

A: George’s story is set in the period between the late Victorian period and the early Edwardian era, yet it is strikingMystery of the Parsee Lawyer ly relevant today. Here was a man, who became the victim of racial prejudice in a small mining town in the Midlands. His was the only Indian family in the village. It led directly to his arrest and conviction. It reveals racism in the police forces and how the establishment closed ranks to protect their own. Yet, no less than Arthur Conan Doyle jumped in to fight George’s case.

It is a fascinating story of racial prejudice at the time of The Empire, but also looks at those who stood by George to fight it.

Q: How is this book different from your previous works around Noor Inayat and Victoria and Abdul?

A: The characters are totally different. Noor Inayat Khan is a brave young woman of Indian origin who made the highest sacrifice in the fight against Fascism. She was a writer and a musician and was posthumously awarded the George Cross, but her story and contribution had been forgotten over the years. Victoria and Abdul is about an unusual friendship between the English Queen and her Indian servant.

The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer is about a crime and trial that takes place in the Midlands in 1903, and the subsequent investigation by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The only thing similar about Abdul and George are that they both face racism. Their circumstances are totally different. Abdul is a humble clerk from Agra, arrives for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and stays on at her will. He moves in Royal circles and is given titles and land by the Queen. George is born in a village in the Midlands. He is the son of a Vicar. His father is a Parsee convert to Christianity and his mother is English. He himself is a successful lawyer till his world turns upside down.

They are all different people from different backgrounds, inhabiting different worlds. But they all made a significant contribution to the history of Britain.

Q: There hasn't been much historical literature on the legacy of the Parsees and their migration to the UK, at least not quite in the mainstream media. How do you believe this book will alter the genre?

A: Parsees have played a major role in British history. The first Asian MP, Dadabhai Nowrojee was a Parsee. He was followed by two other Parsee MPs, Mancherjee Bhownagree and Shapurji Saklatavala. Cornelia Sorabjee was the first woman to graduate in law from Oxford in 1892. In Britain today, the Tatas own Jaguar Land Rover and TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) are major employers. Karan Bilimoria of Cobra Beer, sits in the House of Lords. It would be good to raise awareness of Parsees in Britain and their rich legacy.

Labour publishes action plan for tackling anti-Semitism The Labour Party has published the action plan for tackling antisemitism within its ranks after gaining approval from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Reports indicate that the plan was developed in six weeks after the EHRC report was published and has now been released in full.

It commits the party to having an independent complaints process “up and running” and being used to determine all antisemitism complaints by December 10th next year. This allows time for a party conference to be held. Labour also plans to “pursue independent elements” of the process in the meantime, however, which can take place without rulebook changes requiring a conference. Such elements include independent scrutiny of complaint handling.

The reforms are summarised in the plan as follows: m Leadership committed to zero-tolerance of antisemitism, culture change and action against offenders m Independent antisemitism complaints handling process to be set up as soon as possible m All national executive committee and national constitutional committee antisemitism panels to be assisted by external lawyers m Consultation with the Jewish community will be built into all aspects of the action plan. With immediate effect, we will establish a high-level advisory board and a reference group to work closely with the Labour Party and act as a sounding board m Summary of case decisions to be posted on the Labour Party website m Strengthen due diligence checks on candidates

Jeremy Corbyn

m Labour Party website to be updated with dedicated pages for antisemitism complaints m Develop a complaints handling handbook for all staff and to especially guide those handling antisemitism complaints m Strengthen social media guidelines to make clear that sharing or liking antisemitic content will be subject to disciplinary action m Deliver, alongside Jewish stakeholders, appropriate antisemitism training for all staff m Protocol to be published governing the Leadership’s interaction with disciplinary and complaints procedures In the plan’s foreword, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner note, “First, we will change the way complaints of antisemitism and all other forms of racism are handled. We will be establishing an independent process to investigate complaints of antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, sexual harassment and any discrimination based on protected characteristics. “To implement this action plan effectively, we will set up an advisory board composed of members from the Jewish community and a reference group to act as a sounding board and critical friend.”

8 COMMUNITY

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BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha UK wins Threlford Memorial Cup for promoting Gujarati On Wednesday 23rd December, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in the UK was awarded with the prestigious Threlford Memorial Cup for 2020 by the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

The Threlford Cup, awarded annually since 1935, is presented to individuals or organisations that have demonstrated a significant contribution in fostering the study of languages. It is part of the Institute’s wider initiative to “celebrate the importance of language and cultural understanding as well as excellence in language learning”. This award recognises the important and impactful contribution to the development of tools, resources and training to promote the learning of the Gujarati language.

The award was accepted by Rahul Bhagvat on behalf of a team of creative and dedicated BAPS volunteers who spearheaded a number of projects to develop new Gujarati resources.

Rahul Bhagvat said, “Gujarati is an integral component of our services for children at BAPS. It is inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s teaching that “Bhāshā jashe to sanskār jashe” – “If language is lost, culture is lost.” We

thus endeavour to ensure that our children have the highest standard of resources available to help them learn Gujarati in the most effective and enjoyable way, thereby facilitating their all-round cultural, academic and spiritual development as part of our service to the community.”

This latest accolade, in addition to others received in the past, pays tribute to the efforts of many BAPS volunteers who have transformed the learning and teaching of Gujarati into an enjoyable, accessible and innovative experience. Games and resources have been developed that have infused modern education techniques with traditional Hindu values to provide a system of ‘gammat sāthegnān’ or ‘knowledge through enjoyment’.

The multifarious resources include an eight-book comprehensive Gujarati syllabus to GCSE level. Many interactive board and card games, such as Gujarati Whiz, Gujarati Spinner, Gujarati Flash Cards and Gujarati Strips, as well as games and resources

for pre-school children, including a wooden Gujarati alphabet board and wooden Gujarati cubes, are available through the BAPS online gift shop.

The accessibility, scalability and simplicity of these resources have helped upskill the knowledge and performance of teachers around the world, enabling centres to replicate the methods and standards for their own schools across the UK and in Europe as well as in North America, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, the UAE, and even Gujarat. The dedication and collective endeavours of the volunteers have produced exceptional results for children taking GCSE and A-levels in Gujarati who have passed their papers with excellent scores.

Free school meals for underprivileged children in Harrow On Wednesday 23rd December, volunteers of the Bhaktivedanta Manor community gathered in the kitchens of the Avanti Schools to cook 5000 nutritious free meals for the underprivileged children across Harrow. The volunteers strictly followed all social-distancing rules as frozen meals were made ready for collection from a hub at the Avanti Secondary School, Wemborough Road.

The scheme is funded by Bhaktivedanta Manor and the Avanti School communities with a major contribution from the Shree Kutch Leva Patel Community (UK).

In the meantime, in his attempt at ending child poverty footballer Marcus Rashford MBE and the Child Food Poverty Taskforce have launched a new website (www.endchildfoodpoverty.org) with two main aims.

It helps vulnerable families and children to find support over the Christmas holidays via an interactive map that signposts to the available

to turn when faced with the toughest winter on record.

In partnership with Co-op and Google, we have develVolunteers of Bhaktivedanta Manor oped a central hub for those local support in their area. who need help and those Local authorities, businesswho want to help. That seces, food banks, NGO’s and ond function was really charities and sporting organimportant to me – everyone isations have all signed up, has a role to play in ending presenting their offers of child food poverty in the UK food support to young peoand we wanted to support ple and families throughout those who want to make a the winter period and difference. There is still so beyond. The website also much more to be done but contains information on the least children deserve how people can offer supthis year, after loss and disport, either through donatruption, is a Christmas dining money or volunteering. ner on the table.”

In a statement, Marcus Several major UK food Rashford, said “Following businesses and members of the Government investthe Child Food Poverty Task ment, it was important to Force have rallied together me that we supported by to tackle child hunger this communicating on the help winter, with the website available in local areas, being a central point for working closely with Local information on support Authorities, so that our vulschemes available. The webnerable families know where site has been built by digital

Lessons learnt from the year that was Rohit Vadhwana Let's welcome the New Year 2021 with lots of hope and expectation but certainly we should not forget the year that has just gone, the year 2020.

We all agree that the year 2020 has been a dreadful dream and no one wants to have it again in their lifetime nor in the lifetimes of the generations to come. But can anyone just erase the year from their memory? Didn’t we learn many lessons from the year? Didn’t this show us our limits as mankind and as a society?

While there are articles and videos describing both good and bad of the year 2020, let us just look at the year that is coming. Let’s remember five lessons forever: We are not supreme: Human being is not the supreme power of the universe. We are so vulnerable that an invisible virus has changed the way we have lived for years. The all-mighty human race was not and is still not able to control the virus even after a year of concerted efforts. With due respect to all science, technology and capital that we have been proud of, it is evident that Mother Nature is the supreme power.

We can live at a slower pace: Fast-paced life had suddenly halted during the first lockdown. We tried to make the most when the lockdown was lifted.

But again we have seen a resurgence of virus and most of the countries have gone under a series of lockdowns.

It has slowed down our lives and still, we are living. It has made it evident that we can live at a slower pace.

And slowing down has actually not affected us adversely. Rather it has improved our lives in many ways.

People are good, people are bad: During this pandemic, we have seen people giving selfless service to others. At the same time, we have come across cases of cheating, corruption and misuse of pandemic situation. Many people have contributed from their personal wealth, skill and time, others have preyed on government packages, charity donations and other resources fraudulently. So there is a mixed bunch of people on this planet. Some are good, some are bad. Let’s accept this reality and live with it.

Survival is the final aim: Those who have suffered in health and financial losses, are grateful that they survived. Had there been no pandemic, such loss of job or money would have been a prime concern, but seeing over one and half million people dying, we have realised that survival is the final aim of our life. Maybe we are poorer, maybe we are weaker, but if we have survived, we are the winner. No loss is bigger than the loss of life.

Continuity makes things better: Maybe we have suffered a bad year, but if we continue in our efforts in the coming years, we will become prosperous and better. We will be healthier and richer if we continue to focus on them. Discouragement should not stop us from trying again. There should be no full stop ever.

The Year 2020 was just a coma, and we need to re-start and continue in life. A journey towards success and a better version of ourselves.

These are the five simpler lessons that we have always known but not followed in our daily lives, our decision making and our personal philosophy. If we can imbibe them, perhaps our outlook towards the world and life will be different.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Marcus Rashford

agency 89up with support from PLMR and Web Geo Services. It was funded by Co-Op and Google. Ongoing funding will be provided by the Rapid Relief Team.

The Government recently announced £170 million was to be given to Local Authorities in the emergency winter grants scheme, as the country prepares for one of the most challenging Christmas periods ever with millions struggling to feed their families. The #endchildfoodpoverty website includes details and links in order for people to access the support being offered by their local council.

5.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

Food for life launches UK’s first electric food van to help the homeless Food for Life London, the food distribution initiative from London’s Hare Krishna Temple has introduced the UK’s first fully electric food van to serve Londoners.

Launched on 20th December, this will be the UK’s first 100% electric food van with the aim of ending hunger for the homeless.

Last summer hundreds of well-wishers joined a 10-

mile sponsored walkthrough iconic sites of Central London, including St Paul’s Cathedral, Hyde Park, the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster and City Hall. They successfully

raised £65,000 for a van to aid this tremendous and much-needed service.

Food For Life London’s chief organiser Acytya Charan dasa OBE shares, “When giving out food, we see people from all walks of life; homeless, rough sleepers, and people who are unable to sustain themselves.

During the pandemic we have seen numbers increase dramatically and we aim to reach as many people as possible with our new electric van.”

The program is an affiliate of the Hare Krishna Food for Life global charity which is the world’s largest vegetarian food distribution program, serving millions of meals daily, with projects in

over 60 countries with loving intention. It has been feeding the needy in London for over 25 years.

Jai Nitai dasa, RadhaKrishna Temple’s President, adds, “With homelessness being at a record high in London, the efforts of Food for Life are needed more than ever. We are constantly looking for more ways to make a more profound

impact - and with the new ULEZ emissions criteria coming into play, we thought it is a perfect opportunity to raise funds for an electric food van which is 100 percent electric. The Eco-Van will allow us to continue serving the hungry and needy by increasing the number of locations we visit whilst being mindful of the environment.”

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ART & CULTURE

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

2 - 8 January 2021

in brief AMISH TRIPATHI DECODES THE MEANING OF LIFE IN HIS LATEST PUBLICATION

Amish Tripathi

On Monday, 28th December, best-selling author Amish Tripathi launched his second non-fiction book titled "Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Meaningful Life". The book offers practical, philosophical lessons drawn from ancient Hindu epics and is coauthored by Amish's sister Bhavana Roy. Written in the form of conversations between characters set in modern-day India, the book provides different practical philosophical lessons from great Hindu epics. In this genre-bending book, the first of a series, Amish and Bhavna dive into the priceless treasure trove of the ancient Indian epics, as well as the vast and complex universe of Amish’s Meluha (through his Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series), to explore some of the key concepts of Indian philosophy.

What is the ideal interplay between thought and action, taking and giving, self-love and sacrifice? How can we tell right from wrong?

What can we do to bring out the best in ourselves, and to live a life with purpose and meaning, not just one fuelled by the ego and material needs? The answers lie in these simple and wise interpretations of our favourite stories by a lovable cast of fictional characters who you’ll enjoy getting to know.

SAMPAD RECRUITS SOUTH ASIAN ARTISTS IN COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE

Sampad South Asian Arts & Heritage has joined forces with Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 on its major new project, ‘Abundance’. This project aims to uncover the hidden talent in Coventry and Warwickshire’s South Asian communities.

Are you a poet who’d like to perform? A costume maker with flair and talent – would you like to design for a parade? A dancer who can choreograph and enthuse others to perform? Could you make and design lanterns that could be carried for a carnival parade? Are you a DJ? Do you have ideas and want to see how they could translate into an outdoor performance space? Are you looking for collaborators to work with?

Successful applicants will form part of a network of artists and have the opportunity to be part of the co-creation of next year’s spectacular Carnival of Lights procession with communities in Coventry. Anyone who is selected for Abundance will get a seed commission of £1000 to develop their idea, alongside an 8-10 week programme of workshops, mentoring and support.

Dalrymple Junior’s debut book delves into five partitions in Asia Eminent British historian William Dalrymple’s son Sam will examine and chronicle the five partitions in Asia. Expected to publish in 2022, his book ‘Five Partitions: The Making of Modern Asia’ promises an important corrective to the history of Asia and the root causes of the tensions the region faces today. In a pre-emptive co-publication deal with HarperCollins India, the book offers a new assessment of Indian independence as Sam explores history the Partition of Burma, the Great Partition, the Partition of Princely India, the Partition of Arabia and the Partition of Pakistan.

The narrative weaves original testimonies from survivors, as it chronicles an era when India was the heart of Britain’s imperial project.

Explaining his interest in the South Asian history, Sam Dalrymple says, “Growing up in Delhi and studying South Asian

languages at Oxford, the spectre of Partition has been present in much of my life. In my work with Project Dastaan, I gradually realized that Partition’s tragic legacy looms over a much wider region than is generally understood. It’s an extraordinary story that explains so much about what is still unraveling today, from the insurgencies in Kashmir to the Rohingya Crisis.

Bizarrely it’s never before been told as a single tale. I am thrilled and honoured that Harper Collins has agreed to publish it.”

During the 1930s, ‘India’ stretched from the Red Sea off the coast of Africa to the borders of Thailand, unifying a quarter of the world’s population into a single colony governed from the Viceroy’s house in New Delhi.

The history of how this vast territory fought for independence has been dominated by the partition of 1947, when millions of refugees were forced across hastily erected borders between

Hindu-majority India and the newly created Muslim-majority Pakistan. In just six months, eleven million people had been driven from their homes and two million killed. Some eightythree thousand women were abducted and raped. But, as this new book argues for the first time, this was just one of five partitions.

As British rule disintegrated, ‘the Raj’ was partitioned five times between 1937 and 1971.

These breakups and the manner in which they occurred are crucial to understanding the modern world. Each left violent legacies, many of which plague Asia today – including civil wars in Burma and Sri Lanka, the ongoing insurgencies in Kashmir, Baluchistan and North East India, the Iranian Revolution, the rise of the Taliban and the Rohingya genocide.

Arabella Pike says, “From his pioneering work for the Dastaan project and many years spent

Sam Dalrymple

living in India, Sam Dalrymple brings a fresh perspective to the legacy of Britain’s imperial past across Asia. His first book is an ambitious, brilliant conceived history and we couldn’t be prouder to be publishing him.”

Sam Dalrymple has been published in The New York Times and Conde Nast Traveller, and worked with BBC Radio 4, The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Turquoise Mountain.

He graduated as a Sanskrit and Persian scholar from the University of Oxford where he served as president and cofounder of the Oxford University Silk Road Society.

BBC Asian Network looking for new presenters The BBC Asian Network has they are also welcomlaunched a talent search for new ing applications from presenters and is looking for new people with and withvoices who “live and breathe out previous radio British Asian culture”. Applicants experience. and candidates are expected to The station plans have a passion for reporting on to whittle the applimusic, current affairs and entercants down to a final Ahmed Hussain tainment. twelve who will then host four two-hour Sunday shows each The search focusses on applicants whose between March 2021 and February 2022. strengths lie in presenting and on those who Ahmed Hussain, Head of BBC Asian have strong foothold on music, entertainNetwork, said, “Asian Network is all about ment, Social Media and celebrity gossip. But

your voice and I’m excited to hear from the next generation of presenters from right across the UK. This is a chance to represent what you’re really about and what you can bring to the Asian Network. We’ve created a brand new two-hour slot on Sundays to ensure that we give the best opportunities to our stars of tomorrow. The great thing about this is that you don’t even need previous radio experience!”

Applications are now open via the uploader on the BBC ASian Network website and will close at midnight on 24 January 2021.

Ahmed worked with a deaf advocate for Sound of Metal British MC and actor Riz Ahmed is famously known for rapping and reciting lines, but for his latest release Sound of Metal, he had to learn a new form of communication. Ahmed portrays the role of a drummer who goes deaf and to prepare himself for the role, Ahmed reportedly immersed himself in deaf culture and worked with a deaf advocate to learn American Sign Language.

“The thing I realized very quickly in researching this world is there is no representing hearing loss at large. Hearing loss is a unique experience that’s different for everyone. I tried to take an emotional approach. Ruben swings between seeing deafness as a loss and a disability and realizing that deafness is actually a culture and an opportunity to connect more deeply with

himself and others. The deaf community taught me the true meaning of communication,” Ahmed said in an interview with USA Today.

Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal questions identity through the journey of a musician Ruben who discovers he is going deaf.

Ruben and his girlfriend Lou are touring in their RV, playing gigs with an album on the way and everything is perfect until Ruben suddenly realises he is losing his hearing.

When the doctor tells him his condition is progressive, Ruben feels his life is coming apart. Sound of Metal is a deep dive into loss and grief, and what we do with ourselves when our lives change irrevocably.

Riz Ahmed's parents emigrated to England from Pakistan in the 1970s. He

Riz Ahmed

started rapping as a teenager on pirate radio stations in London, and later competed in rap battle competitions while he was a student at Oxford. Ahmed records rap under the name Riz MC and with his group the Swet Shop Boys. His films include The Road to Guantanamo, Rogue One and Nightcrawler, and he won an Emmy for his performance in HBO's The Night Of.

Birmingham gallery hosts world premiere inspired by pandemic As 2020 comes to an end, Birmingham’s Ikon hosted the world premiere of year zero (2020), a new audio-visual artwork by British artist Haroon Mirza and supported through Art Fund.

It was produced during the Covid-19 lockdown and inspired by smartphone footage of Italians singing from their balconies and windows at the start of the pandemic. The piece documents an evening performance outside Mirza’s studio (hrm199) for his neighbours during the UK’s second national lockdown in November 2020.

In a statement, Haroon Mirza said, “For this commission I was somehow compelled to think about a very local community and how we can connect to another community elsewhere through music, performance and

storytelling. I saw it as an opportunity to both develop the fictional narrative of my modular opera but also bring something meaningful to being at home. As I developed the piece it became very much about breathing – the unconscious process we do at all times yet take for granted.”

Part recital, part voice experiment, year zero is performed by vocalist Sarah-Jane Lewis, wearing a costume designed by Osman Yousefzada, and accompanied by an electronic score performed by musician Jack Jelfs. The work also features a performance

by Alessandro Ravasio, a musician based in Bergamo, the Italian city most severely impacted by the first-wave of the pandemic.

Peter Knott, Midlands Area Director for Arts Council England, said, “Despite the

challenges and personal tragedies that the pandemic has brought, it is heartening to see Haroon Mirza and Jack Jeffs that artists like Mirza, have been inspired by the situation to create something positive and new.

“Being able to explore our experiences though art helps create connections between artists and audiences everywhere, and we’re proud to support Ikon as they showcase new work from their gallery in Birmingham to the wider world.”

Watch the premiere with Ikon Gallery on YouTube until 14 February 2021.

10 READERS' VOICE

AsianVoiceNews

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2 - 8 January 2021

Farmers’ Protest or Shaheen Bag 2.0!!!

France’s dog in the manger attitude!

Asian Voice’s AIJA initiative

The recent Farmers’ protest, in Delhi, clearly portrays its anti India propaganda. Suddenly out of nowhere, the whole Congress Party, the Khalistani Movement, most of the Muslims and the Tukde-Tukde Gang have come together protesting against PM Modiji and the current government.

Poor farmer is being used as a scapegoat here. All the wealthy middlemen, who used to exploit poor farmers, are affected by the new farm reforms and hence why have joined their hands in these protests.

During the pandemic & lockdown, no one was this much generous. Most of these people relied upon & criticised the Modi govt. However now suddenly these protesters have over 6 months worth of ration. Such a VIP Protest consisting of countless mattresses, kambals, dry fruits, live pizza counters, roti making machines, langars, biriyanis coming from Muslim organisations, ability to sanitise the whole location regularly, a gymnasium, large movie screens, etc. Some protesters were seen with photos, banners and demands to release the anti India goons who were arrested during the Shaheen Bag protest & infamous Delhi riots. Photos, banners and flags of pro Khalistan movement are clearly seen. Few of my friends, from a particular community, who would never react on social media when something big happens in India; be it good or bad.

Currently their Social Media accounts are full of images of the Farmer Protests, supporting farmers, standing with the farmer, etc. I love and stand with farmers too; if there is a genuine concern. My question is why suddenly this much support & showing off! That itself says it all; this is a clear propaganda!!!

Devang Bhatt, London

France is the most ungracious nation on earth. It does not hesitate to bite the hand that feeds it; Britain is no exception!

No wonder many Brits feel that it was a mistake to liberate France from the clutches of fascist Germany under Adolf Hitler, wishful thinking!

Since end of WW2, France has behaved like a dog in the manger, mostly out of jealousy, the humiliation it suffered at the hands of Germany who over-ran the country in a week!

France folded like house of cards and has not come out of this humiliation which still lingers-on today in their subconscious mind!

So closing of border on the whim, rather than wellplanned operation; stopping British trucks from entering France, an act of commercial vandalism, should not come as surprise to anyone, especially our politicians who should have known better. Then our politicians live in a world of their own, out of touch with reality at ground level!

Closure has caused unmitigated disaster to lorry drivers and other motorists who had to wait in the queue, in cold vehicles, short of food and other facilities. Many were East Europeans citizens going home to spend Christmas with their family members, a lost cause!

Britain is green and fertile land, capable of growing most food we consume, especially green vegetables and soft fruits like latus, tomatoes, peas, runner-beans, carrots, cauliflowers, aubergine and cabbage we import from Netherland, not forgetting fresh flowers, nation with similar climate, where these products are grown under giant green-houses, exported throughout the world! It has turned agriculture into an art-form!

One such super agricultural Dutch operator wanted to build giant greenhouse in Devon that would produce enough such items for home consumption, as well as for export.

Unfortunately they were denied permission on the pretext that it would spoil countryside beauty! Is assumed beauty more important than becoming self-sufficient, thus reducing dependency on EU and avoiding such chaos at Euro-tunnel! Would our politicians ever learn!

In Gujarati, AIJA is a call for people to gather together. It evokes the community to pool their strengths and resources together to confront what maybe perceived as a threat by others. An editorial in Asian Voice recently used this abbreviation to describe the Quad 2+2 formation where America, Australia, Japan and India came together to confront the growing expansionist challenges posed by China. The challenges presented by the pandemic and the way countries across the world have responded to the coronavirus has illustrated the need for sustained co-operation and the significance of dispensing accurate and correct information at all times.

But the pandemic has also demonstrated how expansionist, autocratic and dictatorial countries like China have created panic across the world. And to confront her expansionist powers, it is important that unions and initiatives such as AIJA come together and present a united front. The message needs to be delivered that developing countries such as India cannot be taken for granted. If required first world countries whose economic and political forums have been disrupted by corrupt and malicious Chinese activities can stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with India in combatting the rising superpower only if to maintain world order. Asian Voice should be lauded in their efforts of bringing the community together.

Stay out of India's internal matters Sir, It is indeed important and timely article to read “Stay out of India’s internal matters” (AV 19-25 Dec 2020). The BBC and the mainstream media of the UK have rarely given good coverage to positive news from India. They are more interested in tarnishing the image of the country. Even if they print some good news about India, it is in a small corner in the newspaper. It has been rightly mentioned in the AV that they should stop meddling in the internal affairs of India which is also the largest democracy of the world. The Labour party should be extra careful in making any provocative statements about the internal matters of the country. MPs of the labour party have right to comments but should be appropriate and justifiable. Earlier also the Labour party has made irresponsible resolutions on Kashmir.

The Prime Minister of the UK Mr Boris Johnson has kindly accepted the invitation from Mr Narendra Modi to become the Chief Guest on the 26th January 2021 at India’s Republic Day parade. This is a proof that at this critical juncture when no-deal Brexit is the most likely scenario, the relationship between the UK and India is in a very crucial stage.

All the political parties of the UK should support these diplomatic ties to reach a new height. This is the time where the UK needs India more than India needs the UK. India is one of the major democratic countries which can provide skilled manpower which is not only hard-working but also honest and law-abiding. Irresponsible behaviour of the Labour MPs will keep Indian voters away from them and may have a detrimental impact on the future of the Labour party. India is a peace-loving democratic country governed by an elected party by the majority of the voters. In such a large country, protests and demonstrations will be there in one or another part but how they are projected and with which magnitude by the foreign media is important.

Hitesh Hingu London

Indian farmer's agitation A great PM of India Narendra Modi is sadly facing a vigorous protest for the well-intended Farm Reform Laws. The bill for this reform had been initiated by the congress party some twenty years ago but did not go ahead due to the lack of their political will. It is skeptical as to why these ambitious reformed laws are unacceptable to Punjab and Haryana whilst the other states are in favor. The government has held several rounds of talks with the farmers union to address their concerns. The offer of making some amends and a written assurance for the protection and wellbeing of farmers are all rejected. The union is adamant on their stand and are hell-bent to repeal the law. This no doubt raises a question on their integrity. It is unfortunate that some Indian original nationals in the UK and other parts of the world come out in support of the farmer's agitation and stage a protest in front of the Indian High Commission Embassy in thousands thus violating lockdown restrictions imposed on them.

Punjab and Haryana are the backbones of India. The proud Sikh community's historic sacrifices and contributions for the country culturally, socially, militarily. economically and all other sectors are unmatchable. These states' cooperation for the development, security, and stability of the country is vital.

The few misguided people cannot let the country down.

Niranjan Vasant

Bhupendra M. Gandhi

Angles In Disguise It seems coronavirus has done one favour to us, to the community. It has distinguished, separated loving and caring friends and family members from superficial, selfish, hanger-on, moon light peripatetic friends nowhere to be seen on a dark, moonless night when they are most needed, delivering worthless sugar coated compliments.

Then this is the law of nature, balancing act that nurtures society. After all we could not have too many Gandhis, Mandalas or Martin Luther Kings’. Society needs occasional Hitler’s, Mao’s and Mussolini’s to distinguish good from bad, kind and caring from selfish and self-righteous persons to balance the nature!

Where we live, 90% of our neighbours are of Indian origin. Yet not a single person has knocked on our doors to enquire about us. In sharp contrast, some of the people we only know superciliously have come to our aid, offering to do all our shopping, especially one lady I would call Gopika who works for supermarket, in an ideal place to do all our shopping and help us in each and every way she can! We are not alone in her good book!

My thanks also go to our Councillors, MP, Lord and London Assembly Member, in particular Brent Council who is active and efficient on helping elderly, disable and needy, with frequent telephone calls and offer of help, including financial help.

Last but not least Editor and hard-working members of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar who have excelled in delivering their weekly papers on time, full of interesting news, views, articles and Reader’s letters that raise our spirit and help us pass time when confined indoors, in sharp contrast to some ethnic publications who have gone into hibernation!

The myriad vaccination process is in full swing, some of our elderly friends have already received first dose, second dose will be delivered in New Year. Let us pray and hope this dreadful Chinese import will be confined to history come next summer!

A happy Christmas and healthy New Year to friends, family members and readers of AV/GS. Kumudini Valambia.

New coronavirus variant Dear Sir, The discovery of a new Coronavirus in Britain has caused a turmoil around the world. As a precaution, night curfew has been imposed in Maharashtra. This is ridiculous on the part of the Thackeray government because the virus will not stop from spreading and we have to be without jobs and eat stones and mud for another five years.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

Ramnik Shah Southgate, London

Good columns My father is a subscriber of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar for years. I have read this newspaper over the last 10 years and I feel it is getting more and more topical. It talks about issues faced by our community. Good coverage on Indian affairs and international stories. I love the Women’s voice and Art & Culture section.

There are some very good articles by your journalists and a mix of informative news and light-hearted Bollywood reads. Last week you had many interesting columns that were rather exciting to read. An article by Nitin Mehta on Rishi Sunak caught our eyes.

Your columnists Rohit Vadhwana, Alpesh Patel, Ruchi Ghanashyam write on very topical issues. I absolutely loved your feature piece on page 16 and 17 in the issue of AV 5 Dec. The health tips by Lavina were a great help. Her sessions with her mother-in-law Nishaben is so inspiring. Look forward to many such features in the coming issues.

Kirit Parekh Birmingham

Campaign for Uighurs Asian Voice has consistently written several articles about the atrocities on the Uighur Muslims in China. There has been plenty of coverage in the mainstream media including investigations by the BBC among others which have pressurized the government in trying to exert some pressure on China in protecting basic human rights and not violating them. Yet, there is little that the government is doing in challenging the dragon as it continues to oppress the Uighurs in detention camps. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has proposed BNO for Hong Kongers fleeing from the Chinese dictatorial legislation.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) is opposed to giving UK courts preliminary power to determine whether genocide is occurring in Xinjiang, or elsewhere, saying this decision rests with competent international courts rather than national governments. With two Commons select committees, the foreign affairs select committee and the business select committee, looking into allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law in Xinjiang, British fashion chains are moving to clear up their supply chains as well. The government is also waiting to see whether the Biden administration in the US will drop the aggressive anti-China rhetoric and economic measures of the Trump government.

Earlier Asian Voice had reported how Uighurs and other Muslim minorities would be given the right to petition a UK high court judge to declare that genocide is taking place in China, requiring the UK government to curtail trade ties with Beijing, under proposals brought by MPs and peers. But nothing is being done for the common people. Us Rohingya Muslims understand what it is like to be uprooted from our native country and seek asylum. We are grateful to the UK for providing us the refuge and we hope the same for our Uighur brothers and sisters.

M. Ali Bradford We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit. Please keep contributing as always. If you are new, then write to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com - AV

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2 - 8 January 2021

Eye screening tool wins national innovation challenge award A business that “wants to make avoidable blindness a thing of the past for everyone, everywhere” has been heralded as a star of the future after winning at the annual MSDUK Innovation Challenge Awards.

VUI Diagnostics was announced as the winner after the 12 finalists presented their innovations to potential investors, buyers, and industry experts via an intensive, live online pitch at the MSDUK Virtual Business Expo. The awards are the culmination of the biggest event of its kind, showcasing the best of ethnic minority businesses and championing diversity in the supply chain. Four category winners and the overall winner were chosen by a panel of judges who scored the finalists on criteria including relevance, quality of innovation and marketing strategy.

CTO of VUI Diagnostics, Dr Uddhav

Vaghela said, “1.3 billion people suffer from avoidable blindness worldwide. At VUI we have a plug-and- play imaging device and software to help doctors detect eye disease early. Winning a major award such as this is obviously a very proud moment for us as a team and a business. More importantly perhaps, this is the chance to spread the message about our goal of tackling this challenge with simple, affordable retinal imaging for anyone, anywhere.

We thank MSDUK for the award and this wonderful opportunity.”

Over 100 award submissions were made from across the UK, including Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Cardiff and 43% are female founders. This year’s finalists also come from a wide spread of ethnic backincluding grounds Bangladeshi, Indian, Caribbean, African, Chinese, and Arab. VUI Diagnostics

won the overall award and their category, receiving a £5,000 cash prize plus introductions to MSDUK’s global investor network and workshops. The other category winners were; Brarista (Advanced Digital Technologies category), Solaris Kit (Social Innovation category) and Pip & Henry (Sustainable Futures category).

By allowing earlier and easier detection of eye diseases in primary care, VUI Diagnostics’ “ViewEye” aims to enhance opportunistic community retinal screening to promote timely patient accessibility to specialist eye care services.

Sponsored by Cummins, GSK, Accenture, EY, Digital Catapult and Eaton, this year’s theme was ‘Better Ideas for a Better World’ and entrants had the opportunity of entering any of four categories; Advanced Digital Technology, Healthcare & Wellbeing, Social

Uddhav Vaghela

Innovation, and Sustainable Futures.

Headline sponsor and Challenge judge James Johnson, from Cummins, said, “The innovations this year, especially from VUI Diagnostics were fantastic, and having been involved in the Innovation Challenge from the beginning I can see the growth in reach and quality each time. At Cummins we are proud to be the headline sponsor for the fourth year and long may it continue”.

Hospital celebrates firstborn on Christmas Christmas is a festival that celebrates the birth of a child. So, what better way to mark the occasion than to recognise the first babies born in our hospitals.

The first baby delivered on Christmas day 2020 at Hillingdon Hospital was a daughter to first-time mother, Preeti Lather and new father, Gurjant Singh. The little girl, born at 04.24 on 25/12/2020 and weighing 3460g / 7lb 6oz, is as yet

Preeti Lather, and new father, Gurjant Singh with their firstborn

unnamed and is their first baby.

At The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust we think that all of the babies born every year are pretty special. This year a bag of gifts will be given to the family of the first-born child on Christmas Day and New Year's Day in the Labour Ward and the Midwifery-Led Unit in the Maternity Department at Hillingdon Hospital.

Midwife, Ann Palmer, who was on duty for Christmas eve and morning, said, “We always look forward to greeting our Christmas babies; it’s an exciting time for all midwives and families on the ward. This year we have a special bag of gifts for this little girl to welcome her. I wish the family all the best for the future and a very Happy Christmas to everyone working today.”

Home Office delays prevent migrant doctors from helping the NHS Migrant doctors in the UK are being blocked from working due to Home Office delays, and associations have raised alarm that this could exhaust the NHS which is already at a breaking point being under increasing pressure due to surging numbers of coronavirus cases.

The Doctors’ Association UK has written to the Home Secretary Priti Patel regarding two issues that are adversely affecting the NHS frontline’s efforts to combat the escalating coronavirus pandemic. They are protesting against delays in issuing Biometric Residency Permits for doctors with valid visas to work in the UK and the ongoing delays in refunding the Immigration Health Surcharge as promised earlier this year. Delays in issuing BRPs are preventing qualified doctors with valid visas currently in the UK from starting work in the NHS and helping to mitigate the increasing effect of

staff sickness from the escalating rates of covid-19.

Dr Dolin Bhagawati, a Neurosurgeon working in London and Editorial Lead for DAUK said, “These prolonged and ongoing bureaucratic delays are simply unconscionable. We have trained doctors in this country who are ready and willing to help combat the pandemic but unable to work due to the Home Office not doing its job and supplying appropriate documentation.

“Meanwhile promises made by the Prime Minister and the cabinet regarding refunding the IHS to NHS staff continue to remain unfulfilled. How can the NHS attract the best and brightest to the UK if the world sees a government unable to fulfil straightforward promises?

Unfortunately, the immigration rhetoric and policies of the recent past has led to many of our valued colleagues feeling crestfallen, unappreciated, and exploited. This country must

Priti Patel

reward those that come to its aid in its time of greatest need. We call on the government to do its job to allow the NHS to do its part in leading the country through this national emergency.”

This is exemplified by Dr Ahmad Ussaid, a respiratory specialist doctor with a visa approved who is currently in Leicester and is unable to start work due to an ongoing delay providing him with a BRP, despite multiple contacts by email and telephone in addition to intervention by his MP. Meanwhile numerous doctors have also contacted us

Dr. Dolin Bhagawati

regarding delays in refunding the Immigration Health Surcharge.

A flagship promise made by the Prime Minister and reinforced by the cabinet was to refund the IHS. However, for many charged such as Dr Aqsa Ghanzanfar who has emailed the Home Office thrice, they still await refund of this for no clear reason. Others have been refused as they have paid form bank accounts from their country of origin which have been understandably closed on arrival to the UK.

Goodbye 2020.

Welcome 2021!

Ruchi Ghanashyam As we ring in the new year with this column, let me wish all readers a very happy, safe, peaceful and prosperous new year. Perhaps, human beings have never looked with so much anticipation to the start of a new year, nor would any other year have been so anxiously awaited.

Everyone is hoping that with the vaccination process having already started in the UK, with a number of vaccines on the anvil, the trauma of the pandemic can be firmly put behind us in 2021. UK's trade deal with the EU has been received with relief. These give hope that 2021 has an auspicious start.

It is an understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year. With around 80 million cases globally, over 1.7 million deaths, and numbers continuing to climb, the human impact of the pandemic is enormous.

The suffering from the disease has been compounded by the devastation caused to the global economy. Job losses and vanishing or reduced incomes have shattered many lives. Loneliness and mental distress caused by isolation imposed by the pandemic has affected millions, as fear and stress of the situation seems all pervasive. The vulnerable have been impacted most of all.

While I feel for everyone, the suffering brought upon the elderly has probably affected me the most. The elders in any society struggle with lonely lives, often battling a sense of increasing irrelevance as they begin to need others much more than others need them. Many elderly people in Western societies live alone or in care homes. In many Eastern societies, the joint family system remains intact, providing some family support base to the elderly; even there, increasing urbanisation, long travel times for the younger generations and pressures of modern living, have meant greater isolation of the elderly. Increased longevity, an achievement of our times, brought care homes to the forefront of elderly care.

Unfortunately, it is the care homes that became early victims of the pandemic. For the first time grandparents couldn’t even hug their children and little ones learnt that they had to protect their beloved grandparents by staying away from them.

There are many lessons that one should take from this devastating year. Perhaps most important is the reminder that life is fragile; re-examining our priorities must be on the top of our list. Ambition and hard work are absolutely essential, but one needs to make time for oneself, the family and our elderly. The pandemic has shown us that much of what we do can be done from home. Many sectors are planning to reorient their future operations by continuing with the existing arrangements. This would be a good outcome as it would bring down vehicular traffic and resultant pollution. While continuing with ‘work from home’, the human impact cannot be overlooked. Human beings are social animals and our work place often serves as our emotional hub, where we have ‘pals’ and ‘buddies’. We will need to find ways to continue human bonding at the work place.

We’ve also realised the importance of friends, whom we can call for no reason and at any time. Let us find ways to thank those who are always there for us. Most of all, we can be thankful that we survived the rigours and challenges thrown at us by 2020. Hope this experience has made us stronger and more humane.

The pandemic follows humanity’s long rush towards materialism and modernity. Our experiences of this last year remind us that it is time to reflect on the future of our planet, our mother earth. The current global population is over 7.8 billion. In 1950, we were just 2.5 billion people. This explosion in our numbers has adversely affected our planet and its flora and fauna. Pollution of water, air and soil are reaching alarming proportions. A recent study has found micro plastic in human foetus.

Our generation has exploited nature, but forgotten to give back. If this pandemic makes us pause and think of where we are going, or rather where we are taking our planet, the suffering of the last one year wouldn’t have been for nothing. Let us wish success to the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.

Let us not waste this challenge.

You can follow me on Twitter: @RuchiGhanashyam (Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK. With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including Ghana, before arriving in the UK. She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK-India relations).

12 MEDIA WATCH

AsianVoiceNews

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2 - 8 January 2021

SCRUTATOR’S PSLV-C50 places communication satellite into orbit Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) last week marked the second successful mission of the year with its reliable workhorse PSLV-C50 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) placing India's 42nd communication satellite CMS-01 precisely into its intended orbit. Isro’s next mission PSLV-C51 will unlock India’s potential in the space sector and initiate a new era of space reforms as it will launch three satellites built by private entities. Around 20 minutes and 12 seconds after the lift-off, PSLV-C50 successfully placed CMS-01 into a sub-geosynchronous orbit. Addressing scientists, Isro chairman K Sivan said, “The solar panels of the satellite have been successfully deployed. Later, the satellite was placed in the specified slot in the geosynchronous orbit after a series of manoeuvres.” With a mission life of seven years, CMS-01will provide communication services in the extended-C band of the frequency spectrum. The extended-C band coverage will include Indian mainland, Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. CMS-01 will go on to replace GSAT12 launched in 2011. (Agency) PM Modi condoles death of Sharif's mother

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to Nawaz Sharif expressing condolences on the death of the former Pakistan PM’s mother Shamim Akhtar last month. Official sources said the letter was delivered to Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz by the Indian high commission in Islamabad.

Conveying his heartfelt condolences, Modi said in the letter that Akhtar’s simplicity and warmth was indeed very touching. Modi had met Sharif’s mother when he dropped by in Lahore on his way back to India from Afghanistan on December 25, 2015. This was weeks after India and Pakistan announced in Islamabad the resumption of the composite dialogue process under the new name of comprehensive bilateral dialogue. This dialogue couldn’t take off because of the terror attack on Pathankot airbase barely a week after Modi’s unannounced visit to Lahore.

(Agency) UP teacher making poor kids ‘literate’ in 30 hours

For the last five years, Sunita Gandhi, an educationist in Lucknow, has been making poor kids literate free of cost in just 30 hours. Over the next year, she will replicate her model in other parts of India. “We hope to take this to 20 states by the

end of next year, hopefully reaching out to 20,00,000 outof-school children,” Sunita said. The Global Dream Project is entirely volunteerdriven. It’s all based on a simple principle - ask children what they know and build on it. So, instead of a uniform structure for all students, it breaks things down for each child. “Some of my students are unlettered despite having attended school.

They have been told they are ‘nalayak’ (useless) and beaten up. But it’s not that they don’t know things,” said Tom Delaney, literacy programme trainer with the project. “They can recognise pictures, know sounds for words. We take them from what they do know to what they don’t.” Each session, no longer than 15 minutes, relies heavily on asking children questions instead of telling them things that they repeat.

When it comes to recognising words, for instance, it isn’t just about identifying letters. The toolkit starts by relating pictures to syllables. Those syllables are then combined to make words.

In bite-sized pieces with visual and auditory cues, each child is then taught to recognise words.

The toolkit has 30 lessons - 60 short videos, books, alphabet cutouts and stationery items.

(The Times of India) Man kept in jail for missing middle name in bail order The Allahabad High court has warned the superintendent of district jail, Siddharthnagar to remain careful in future in the matter of release of applicants on orders passed by it. The jail superintendent had kept a man in illegal confinement for eight months after he was granted bail by the HC as his middle name, Kumar, was missing in the bail order. As per an earlier direction passed by the court, Siddharthnagar district jail superintendent Rakesh Singh appeared before it

and filed an affidavit stating the applicant had been released from the prison on December 8, 2020. The court took the affidavit of compliance on record. Justice J J Munir said, “This court has perused the affidavit filed by the jail superintendent. The explanation furnished for noncompliance of this court’s order, and, in consequence, delaying release of the applicant is reluctantly accepted. He is warned to remain careful in future.” The applicant’s name in bail order was mentioned as ‘Vinod Baruaar’ instead of ‘Vinod Kumar Baruaar’. (Agency) Astrophysicist from Gujarat elected TWAS fellow Well-known astrophysicist and provost of Charusat

University, Pankaj Joshi, has bagged a global recognition for his work. He has been elected as a fellow at The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Joshi’s election has been backed by American theoretical physicist and a Nobel Laureate, Kip Thorne, and other internationally reputed scientists. “The nominee has made fundamental contributions in black hole physics, gravitation and cosmology, which have brought him an international acclaim,” the TWAS said in an announcement. Joshi’s extensive analysis of general relativistic gravitational collapse has been widely recognized as providing key significant insights into the final fate of massive collapsing stars in the universe, space-time singularities and cosmic censorship, it said. Apart from Joshi, a senior professor from Physical Research Laboratory, Srubabati Goswami, has also been elected this year as a TWAS fellow. “Goswami has made outstanding contributions in analyzing and interpreting the results of solar and reactor neutrino experiments,”

according to a statement by TWAS. (The Times of India) Gold-plating Somnath temple kalash After gold plating the pillars, the Somnath temple administration in coastal Saurashtra has decided to undertake similar type of work on 1,450 kalash or stone spires now. The temple trust has already received donations from 500-odd families who are sponsoring the gold plating of 500 spires. More are expected to join this initiative. “The work of turning the entire spires golden will be accomplished by 2021 end,” claimed temple trustee P K Laheri. The work had begun after lockdown. Temple administrators said that a little over 129 kg of gold has already been used to gold plate the sanctum sanctorum, pillars and the door leading to the sanctum sanctorum in the temple.

Temple manager Vijaysinh Chavda says, “The new project will ensure an overall golden look for the shikhara of the Somnath temple. There are large, medium and small spires and each set of these spires have unique and fixed donations for gold plating.” Rs 151,000 has been fixed to gold plate large pillar, Rs 121,000 and Rs 111,000 for medium and small sized spires respectively. (Agency) Provoked lion shows who’s boss A king disturbed in his siesta

is a dangerous proposition - a fact a wildlife photographer has learned almost at the cost of his life. But foresters claim the accused went too far near the sleeping lion and tried to provoke him pose for the lens -

which made the lion lose its temper. A video that went viral reveals how the intruder tried to video record a fully grown male lion resting in a farm. The person, who was hiding behind a wall of stones, then teases the lion trying to make it look at the camera. At this, the king of the jungle was irritated and showed its displeasure through its body language and roared aloud.

However, the man ignored it all in his greed for a good shot and continued to record, which truly irritated the lion. It decided to end the nuisance and sprang to its feet with a roar and with such ferocity that the intruder ran for his life. While the forest department is still trying to confirm where the video had been recorded, it is also probing whether this amounts to harassment of the animal and also if the person should be booked under wildlife protection Act. (Agency) Muslim boy thrashed, arrested for accompanying Hindu girl A Muslim boy has been put in jail in Uttar Pradesh for 10 days as he accompanied a Hindu girl home in a village one night after attending a friend’s birthday party. It appears to have begun with an allegation of “theft” which, turned into one of “love jihad”. At 11pm on December 14, the two were walking through a street in Nasirpur village. “Locals spotted them, attacked him and handed the two over to police,” the boy’s mother said. In a purported video of the incident, the mob is seen armed with rods and sticks, beating him up.

There had been a theft at the village earlier that day. “They suspected us of being thieves and stopped us and beat him up,” the girl, 16, said. “Four members of her family, including her father, said they wouldn’t press charges.” An hour later, the father filed a complaint saying: “The boy had told my daughter he was Hindu and would speak to her on the sly … (That day), he was running away with her to marry her and convert her.” However, the girl said, “He was not trying to convert me.” The police took action under the newly enacted UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance. (Agency)

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2 - 8 January 2021

Doctor couple’s litigation forces government to concede In early March during the onset of the first wave of coronavirus, an Indian-origin doctor couple sounded alarm around the inadequate provision of Personal and Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline medics at the NHS. Dr Nishant Joshi and his six months’ pregnant wife Dr. Meenal Viz were at the frontlines treating Covid-19 patients and raised their around PPE shortages. At one point, Amnesty International noted that the UK had one of the worst rates of healthcare worker mortality in the world. Thus, with support from both the BMA and BAPIO, Dr Joshi and Dr Viz pressed ahead with a judicial review with the assistance of Bindmans LLP. Following the review, the government has adopted significant changes into its policies around the provision of PPE and has re-instated committees and advisory groups that can provide better guidance to the NHS England.

Commenting on their victory Dr Joshi and Dr Viz in a joint statement, said, "Our judicial review shows that healthcare workers have a voice. Doctors, nurses and carers have been the backbone of our pandemic response - we deserve to know that we are safe when we are going into work, and our families deserve to be safe when we come back home. We have lost far too many of our colleagues, and we continue to seek accountability for this national tragedy.

"Once a detailed enquiry is completed it is likely that the PPE omnishambles will be remembered as a national scandal. It is shocking that as frontline doctors expecting our first baby during a pandemic, when we raised our concerns with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), there was no attempt by the Health Secretary to engage with

Dr. Meenal Viz

us. Instead, we were threatened by legal action and costs, hoping that we would go away. We offered constructive solutions to the government as far back as April.

“Regrettably, we must note that the DHSC legal department sought to discredit our right to raise a judicial review, and it is our opinion that they were notably hostile in trying to prevent both BAPIO and the BMA from joining as interested parties in our judicial review. Both the BMA and BAPIO were incredibly supportive and we are most grateful for their assistance in helping to protect healthcare workers. Surely Matt Hancock and his department should be trying to engage with both frontline doctors and our representative organisations?”

The Government made the following changes/concessions in respect of PPE during the course of this litigation: 1. The revoking of a controversial 'Acute Shortages Guidance' that encouraged the reuse of PPE such as surgical face masks, even in high-risk areas. Evidence was presented to show that this policy was putting healthcare workers at risk of being infected with coronavirus, including multiple examples of expired PPE being handed out to frontline workers.

2. Through representations from both the BMA and BAPIO,

the NHS BAME Clinical Advisory Group, chaired by the Chief People Officer of NHSEI, was formed to provide a forum for discussion and advice to NHS England.

3. An AGP committee was constituted to assess evidence of AGP and risk associated with it, first met on 27th July.

Commenting on the success of the campaign, Dr Ramesh Mehta, President of BAPIO said, “When we became aware of the bold decision by Dr Joshi and Dr Viz we lent our full support to the case and instructed Sarah Dodds of Medical Defence Shield and Barristers Nadia Mortaghi and Alex Shellum of Old Square Chambers to draw up grounds of support. My witness statement with detailed addendums were filed in the High Court along with the grounds.”

Meanwhile Dr Chaand Nagpaul, Chair of BMA council said, "What Dr Joshi and Dr Viz have achieved is a really important win and will help establish clear obligations on government and the NHS to protect healthcare workers, including preventing the unacceptable re-use of PPE and the use of out-of-date PPE. The impact of this success will be felt throughout the remainder of this pandemic and in future and we are proud to have been able to offer the support of the BMA.”

Majority BAME children held in custody on remand Recent figures have demonstrated that nearly nine out of 10 children held in custody on remand in London are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background.

According to statistics obtained

by The Guardian under freedom of information requests by Transform Justice and the Howard League for Panel Reform show 87% of children on remand in the capital between July and September were from an ethnic minority background.

Individuals held on remand are awaiting court hearings after being charged with an offence.

The percentage of BAME children on remand in the same period in England and Wales had reportedly risen from 54% to 57%, while 33% were black. BAME people account for 15.5% of the population in England, according to 2016 figures.

David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, in a statement to The Guardian said, “The government’s failure to act on racial disproportionality across the justice system is resulting in unfair treatment for black, Asian and minority ethnic

David Lammy

people. The government must now implement the Lammy Review recommendations it ignored and go further to ensure that all people – regardless of their racial background – are treated the same. The justice system must be fair for everyone.”

In 2017, the Lammy Review found evidence of racial bias across the criminal justice system. He said at the time there was “greater disproportionality” in the number of black people in prisons in England and Wales than in the US. In June, Boris Johnson was

accused of misleading MPs in the House of Commons after the prime minister claimed 16 of Lammy’s 35 recommendations had been put in place, when in fact only six had been fully implemented.

Previous research also found more than half of boys in young offender institutions) – prisons for boys aged 15 to 17 and young adult men aged 18 to 21 – identified as being from a black or minority ethnic background.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson in a statement to The Guardian said, “We are working across government to tackle the deep-rooted causes of BAME children’s over-representation in the criminal justice system. This includes reviewing the disproportionate use of remand, along with improving legal advice and developing schemes for early intervention.” The president of the supreme court, Lord Reed, had recently also said that the appointment of a justice from a BAME background to the highest criminal appeal court in England and Wales should happen within the next six years.

Alpesh Patel

My Article with Priti Patel At the stroke of the Midnight hour (well, one hour before), when the world sleeps (well, everyone will be up for New Years Day), Britain will awake.

It’s timely I share this article the now Home Secretary and I wrote following the Brexit Referendum, when she was Employment Minister.

Although we were both on opposing sides of the Brexit debate, one the Employment Minister and the other a businessman, asset manager in London’s financial centre, one thing is absolutely clear – we have opportunities ahead and exciting times for Britain and jobs to get on with to ensure Britain can be as great as we always believed – despite wishing to take different routes to that same destination.

Regardless of our past views, we have no time to waste in what might have been – it’s time to get on and seize the day.

We are not merely talking up Britain and reminding the world that Britain is open for business with some of the most talented highly skilled workforce in the world, investment opportunities for phenomenal growth from infrastructure to life sciences, the best research facilities, greatest global brands, world-class business centres and one of the easiest places in the world to conduct business.

We are highlighting the new opportunities the world and Britons may be missing whilst admittedly many remain in a state of shock.

First up, businesses. If you’re an exporter or have the potential to export, you have a once in a lifetime opportunity to take advantage of an oversold Pound to boost your sales globally. Governments around the world have been desperate to weaken their currency to boost exports. For Britain, a trading nation, a boost in our exports will help balance our trade deficit but more importantly create more new British exporters and boost sales and profitability of existing ones. Of course importers will have a tighter cost straightjacket imposed on them for a time, and it would be glib to say there will be productivity gains as a result, but that is the opportunity.

Of course we have to be mindful of the employees and businesses concerned about uncertainty, but the best thing politicians can do now is communicate a clear vision and plan of action, and the best thing for business is to do what it always does, see opportunities in all environments and never say die. We are not closed to hurdles and pains that exist even in the best of times, but the support that was available from Government agencies before the vote still exists – please use it, whether for as a member of the workforce or business person.

The stock market falls will give those fortunate enough to be part of the shareholding democracy a chance to buy great British companies at a huge discount just as we did after the far worse falls of the credit crunch. There is no way our cash-rich biggest international banks are suddenly worth 40% less than they were a week ago.

Time and again patience favours the brave. Panic usually means overselling and an opportunity for those on the ball.

At the other end of the economic scale, those who need our help the most - if you’re disillusioned fed up of no opportunities and yours was a protest vote, don’t forget all the government programmes for retraining and reskilling. Use them. The New Enterprise Allowance for instance has seen 85,000 business launched since it was unveiled in 2011 for jobseekers wanting to start their own firm and access government funding. And know that in future without EU prohibition on State subsidies Government will be able to support businesses suffering from short-term decline with financial assistance – especially in the industrial heart lands of Britain which have seen the most decline because Government hands have been tied. Business and Politics are well aware, more than ever due to the Referendum results of what worries the people the most.

And know we are redoubling our efforts in becoming an even more international country into bringing more global investment into all parts of the United Kingdom to create more opportunities and jobs for young and old and getting the message out around the world about the opportunities. Our vision is to make doing business in Britain easier than in any other country and so more growth, more jobs, all sides of the debate know this is a worthy goal.

And if you want to see this at work in its early stages – look at the comments from the Indian press - India one of the largest investors in Britain, and their business persons on how a future trade deal outside the EU would hugely benefit the UK. If you’re an overseas investor you’ve got once in a lifetime bargain low prices because of the exchange rate, buy when others are fearful remember. By investing here you tap into a hugely talented skilled workforce, some incredible intellectual property, facilities for worldclass R&D. Of course we need a calm stable balanced economy in which all sections of society share in our prosperity and the vision from politicians and business must to be move in the same direction together and unified to deliver on both prosperity and the greatness of this country everyone on all sides of the political and economic divide believe in. Our roads may have diverged, but our destination is the same.

Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, Minister of State for Employment

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South Asian businesses welcome Brexit trade deal The EU and the UK government have narrowly clinched a deal just a week before the transition period was to come to an end before 31st December. The deal, comes to more than 1,250 pages and is hailed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a “new starting point” for the UK’s relationship with the EU. He said, “We looked forward to the formal ratification of the agreement and to working together on shared priorities, such as tackling climate change.”

It came after ambassadors representing the 27 EU member states unanimously approved the trade deal, which was secured on Christmas Eve just days before the 31 December deadline. The approval means the trade deal can take effect provisionally, though the European Parliament will formally vote on it in January. New business travel rules will mean fashion models and musicians may need work visas for Europe and that Britons will not be able to live or work in the EU. Welcoming the end to a long-standing deadlock, Dr. Nik Kotecha OBE, Chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals and a CBI Regional Councillor, said, “Uncertainty has dogged the UK’s business community and the wider economy since the referendum in 2016; so it is great news that a deal has been agreed with the European Union just before the Christmas break.

Lord Karan Bilimoria

“This deal delivers certainty and will enable companies to finally be able to make long term plans, as well as invest for the future, and what a bright future it could be. It also means that the UK will be able to continue to trade with minimal tariffs and disruption with the EU, which is by far our largest and closest trading partner. Saying this, the way we trade with the EU is changing and things will not be how they were, from the start of 2021.

“I am a great admirer of how UK businesses are able to adapt and innovate, as their operating environments evolve. As an independent sovereign nation there are likely to be many opportunities for businesses to grow into new markets, as the UK continues to sign trade deals around the world.

“Morningside was established as an 100% export-led business in the 1990s, supplying Aid to lower to middle income

Dr. Nik Kotecha OBE, Chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals

countries via international Aid Organisations. We have since become a leading manufacturer and supplier of generic medicines to the NHS, hospitals and pharmacies in the UK; so I have seen first-hand the opportunities which are out there, and the huge benefits on offer for UK Plc. “On December 31st 2020 the Transition Period will end and there will still be some big changes, which UK businesses must prepare for now. But they can be confident that the New Year will bring a fresh start and most importantly of all – certainty - for the first time in a long while.”

The new UK-EU trade deal and the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA), will be introduced with the powers to make legally binding decisions. There will be a partnership council (PC), a political body that will be comprised of representatives of the European commission and

UK government ministers. It will consider “any issue relating to the implementation, application and interpretation” of the TCA. It even holds the power, in certain circumstances, to amend the agreement itself.

Beyond tariffs, quotas and fish, the TCA also contains a variety of provisions. Among those with implications for everyone engaged in business travel are the rules governing what Britons entering the EU are, and are not, allowed to do from 2021 onwards. And even as a deal has been hammered out, businesses continue to remain in the dark with regards to licensing, documentation and registration processes required following 31st December. Yet, most Asian businesses are relieved that the UK has not collapsed out of the EU with a no trade agreement.

Welcoming the certainty around Brexit, Lord Karan Bilimoria said, “Following years of fierce debate, the torture of waiting on deal or no deal is over. Both sides deserve praise for reaching an historic UK-EU agreement. This is a big step and a mighty relief for many firms.

With a trade deal agreed, vaccine roll-outs starting and rapid mass testing, this can be a springboard to make 2021 a year of recovery.

Importantly, a deal provides a platform on which to build and strengthen the UK-EU relationship in the years to come.”

Former company of Issa brothers fined with safety breaches A company co-owned by the billionaire Issa brothers who are buying Asda was fined for "appalling" safety breaches, it has emerged.

A BBC investigation found that one worker lost a finger in a bubble wrap machine in 2012, and another lost four fingers in 2015, weeks after the brothers resigned as directors of Europlast (Blackburn) Ltd. The company reportedly showed "a total lack of care about the safety of its employ-

ees", according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

In 2014, the Lancashire packaging firm was fined £50,000 at Preston Crown Court for an incident two years previously, when a worker got a hand trapped between rollers while trying to clean a bubble wrap machine. He suffered burns and crush injuries, requiring skin grafts, and lost the top half of his middle finger.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the

Zuber and Mohsin Issa

billionaire petrol station bosses who have recently acquired Asda for £ 6.8bn were co-owners and directors of the company at the time, according to filings at Companies House.

Two months after Mohsin and

Zuber Issa resigned, in August 2015, another worker lost four fingers while cleaning a bubble wrap machine. The company was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to this incident in 2017, paying a fine of £60,000.

The court was told of two previous hand injuries at the company, which had been warned as early as 2009 of the need to guard dangerous machine parts, according to a press release issued by the HSE.

Race and Equality thinktank accuses Tory government of ignoring BAME community The head of a race equality thinktank has accused the government of pursuing a divisive “white nationalist” agenda as it prioritised the white working class at the expense of ethnic minorities in an attempt to win votes.

Recently appointed director of the Runnymede Trust, Halima Begum in her interview with The Guardian stated that ministers had failed to respond meaningfully to the “seismic shifts” represented by Black Lives Matters (BLM) protests and the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on black, Asian minority ethnic (BAME) Britons.

Halima Begum

She said, “I think the government’s long-term plan is to work up white nationalism for the next elections. What we should

be saying is that working-class black and white communities have been left behind, because they’ve seen industries demolished in the north of this country. We haven’t seen the economies built back, we haven’t seen investment in our education system for years so that our black, white and Asian workingclass children will thrive. What I see instead is the Conservatives pushing through [a narrative of] a white working class that’s been left behind, which by the way is where [Donald] Trump was at about six years ago.”

She alleges the government of being slow in addressing the

increased risk to ethnic minorities from Covid-19 and had used BAME appointments to its commission on race and ethnic disparities. It also followed the same pattern of appointments to ministerial roles to propagate its denial of structural racism, citing as an example the equalities minister Kemi Badenoch's dismissal of non-existence of racial divides.

According to her while white working-class communities were disadvantaged, “they are not discriminated against because of the colour of their skin and that is what we mean by structural racism”.

in brief PRAMOD MITTAL HOSPITALISED FOR COVID-19

Indian-origin steel tycoon Pramod Mittal, brother of Lakshmi Mittal, has withdrawn his second appeal against his bankruptcy order on Thursday, minutes before the hearing was due to commence, it is reported.

The 64-year-old tycoon had been very unwell and had been hospitalised for Covid19 and pneumonia the chancery division of the high court heard. He was declared bankrupt by the London high court in June earlier this year after failing to settle a judgment debt against him of $166 million which led to Moorgate Industries UK, to whom he owes the debt that arose from a personal guarantee, presenting the bankruptcy petition.

The Times of India reported, that Kate Rogers, representing Moorgate Industries UK, said, “Moorgate considers it unfortunate this notice has come at the eleventh hour without us having the opportunity to ask which position Mr Mittal is going to adopt with regards to his assets.” She then requested Moorgate’s costs be paid for costs be paid for the hearing, which Justice William Trower agreed. He said, “This is a bankruptcy of some complexity on any view and there is so much money at stake.”

PROTESTING FARMERS WRITE TO BRITISH MPS DEMANDING CANCELLATION OF JOHNSON’S INDIA VISIT Farmers protesting the agriculture legislation in India have reportedly that emails will be sent to Punjabiorigin British Boris Johnson MPs and Parliamentarians with the aim of pressuring British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson to cancel his scheduled visit to India. Indian PM had earlier extended an invite to Johnson for him to be part of Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2021.

“The UK Prime Minister is scheduled to visit India on January 26. We are writing to British MPs asking them to stop him from visiting India till the time farmers’ demands are not met by the Indian government,” farmers’ leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu has been quoted by ANI. Thousands of farmers across India have been protesting against three laws passed by the centre in September even as the Indian government says the laws will help farmers get better prices for their produce.

Earlier, protests had erupted across different parts of the UK including out the Indian High Commission in London and Birmingham.

Additionally, as many as 36 British MPs across political parties had earlier written to Foreign secretary, Dominic Rabb, to convene a special meeting with them to “discuss the deteriorating situation in Punjab and its relationship with the Centre”. Describing the new farm laws as “death warrant” to “India’s food basket”, the MPs had called on Rabb to write to his counterparts on the Indian side to convey their displeasure, and the impact of the new farm laws especially on British Sikhs and Punjabis.

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Lonely people helpline breaks record number of calls A nationwide call to stop this year being the loneliest Christmas in memory has gone out after a record number of requests for help have been made through a helpline.

The NHS Volunteer Responders programme, run by the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), was created at the start of the pandemic to find people willing to run errands for someone in need, or to make a simple “check-in-andchat” call to cheer someone up.

Volunteers have an app on their phone that they can set to “on duty” and then be alerted to requests in their area for help or a chat. The RVS, whose president is the Duchess of Cornwall, said it

had recorded an 89 per cent increase in requests for support since the government cancelled the planned Christmas relaxation.

The charity said there had been a 71 per cent rise in the number of volunteers registering this month but that it needed more to meet demand.

Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the RVS, said “One of the toughest Christmases in most of our lifetimes. For those who live alone is worryingly high and that is why we are appealing all our Volunteers to stay ‘on duty’ to support those isolating by themselves. We are incredibly grateful for the selflessness and dedication our volunteers have shown

Loneliness

so far. Now, more than ever, your community needs you.”

A survey for the RVS found that one in five over-

seventies in Britain has no friends or family nearby to support them. A third of respondents said that they

would miss being surrounded by relatives and friends this winter.

The charity’s “No one should have no one” campaign calls for vital donations after a survey found that almost two million older people were expecting to feel lonely this Christmas, including almost a third of older widows and widowers.

In response, the government announced a £7.5 million funding package to tackle loneliness over winter. It aims to provide immediate and targeted relief to those most at risk by funding sectors that are well known for bringing people together, such as the arts, libraries, charities and community radio.

Arts Council England is to receive £5 million, £3.5 million of which has been awarded to the charity The Reading Agency which runs reading groups for isolated and lonely older people.The new funding will give £2 million to extend the government’s Loneliness Fund launched in May and £500,000 to be distributed to the Audio Content Fund and the Community Radio Fund.

The package builds upon the £4 million Local Connections Fund announced this month, will provide charities such as book clubs and walking groups that reduce social isolation. Applications will open in January.

Young Generations becoming more religious Members of Generation Z in their late teens and early twenties are more likely to believe in God than millennials in their late twenties and thirties, according to polling that suggests the trend for younger people being less religious is changing.

It has been suggested that the ease with which young people can access information about faith and find likeminded people online may have helped to build and bolster their faith. Experts said they faced less “stigma” from their peers for being open about their religious beliefs and may have been driven to think more about them during the pandemic.

The survey by YouGov also found, however, that religious and spiritual belief in Britain has declined overall during the pandemic, with the proportion of peo-

ple citing faith in God or some kind of “higher spiritual power” falling from 49 per cent to 44 per cent between January and November this year. The proportion of atheists and agnostics increased from 51 to 56 per cent over the same period.

The survey, conducted at the end of November, asked 2,169 people about their faith and gave them four options, asking if they believed in God, if they did not believe in God but did believe in some kind of higher spiritual power, if they believed in neither, or if they didn’t know.

The poll found that those aged over 60 were most religious, with 36 per cent saying that they believed in God. This fell to 26 per cent of 40 to 59-year-olds and fell again to 19 per cent of 25 to 39yearolds.

The figure increased for the youngest age group, to 23 per cent of 16 to 24-YEAR-OLDS. This was a rise from 21 per cent in January, when the question was asked of 18 to 24-YEAR-OLDS. The past three times YouGov has asked the question, in August 2019 and January and August

2020, the youngest age group was the least religious.

Overall, the proportion of people who said that they believed in God dipped b e t w e e n January and November from 28 to 27 per cent, while the number who said they believed in a “higher spiritual power” fell from 21 to 17 per cent.

The proportion of atheists, who believed in neither, rose from 40 to 41 per cent, while the proportion of agnostic “don’t knows” rose from 11 to 15 per cent.

Religion experts said it was hard to tell from a single survey if a new trend was emerging but Linda Woodhead, a professor of religion and society at Lancaster University, said she had noticed young people now faced less “stigma” over their religious views. “I know from my students that the internet has made it easier to search and find people like you.

Stephen Bullivant, a professor of the sociology of religion at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, said the YouGov figures “buck the long-term expectation” that age groups are “progressively less religious” the younger they are and said there was likely to be a larger proportion of 16 to 24-YEAROLDS who were born into “relatively religious” households from “Muslim, immigrant Catholic or black Christian” families.

Honours scandal “worst in 100 years” A Tory peer said Boris Johnson’s decision to overrule advice and nominate a Conservative donor for a peerage despite his involvement in a cash-for-access exposé is the worst honours scandal in a century.

Lord Lexden, the historian and deputy speaker of the Lords, said the House’s appointments commission should have resigned “en masse” over the prime minister’s nomination of Peter Cruddas, the former party co-treasurer.

He suggested that Britain’s constitution “is not safe” in Johnson’s hands because of his handling of nominations. Johnson overruled an independent commission to nominate Cruddas, 67, who has donated £3.3 million to the

Conservatives, including a £658,000 gift since Johnson was elected.

Cruddas resigned as co-treasurer in 2012 after he offered undercover reporters an access to David Cameron when he was prime minister in exchange for £250,000 in donations. His conduct was criticised by the Court of Appeal, which found in favour of the newspaper on allegations that he had offered access to Cameron. Though the court upheld aspects of a libel claim relating to foreign donations, it found his actions were “unacceptable, inappropriate and wrong”.

Nominations are vetted by the appointments commission, that it could not support Cruddas because

of the court’s ruling. The row has added to concerns over Johnson’s attitude towards democratic institutions. Baroness Boothroyd, the former Commons Speaker, and six other senior peers have called for all appointments to be approved by an independent statutory commission.

In a letter, Lord Lexden also made reference to Johnson’s nomination of the former Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox, who in her youth was an organiser for the Revolutionary Communist Party, which defended the IRA after a bomb attack in 1993.

Lord Lexden said that the prime minister’s nominations lists were “the worst honours scandal

since Lloyd George a century ago”.

In the summer of 1922 the former Liberal prime minister was involved in a scandal over the selling of knighthoods and peerages that led to the only conviction under the Honours Act of 1925 for Maundy Gregory, his “honours broker”.

The peer added: “It is a pity that members of the appointments commission did not resign en masse over the nomination of Cruddas in order to underline the outrage felt across the House. The statutory body, for which my colleagues have called, should be established as soon as possible, preferably composed of very senior privy counsellors, to prevent fur-

Lord Lexden

ther scandal. Our constitution is not safe in Johnson’s hands.”

Phone bundles becoming costlier Mobile networks are adding up to 15 per cent to the cost of the latest phones when customers bundle their purchase with data and minutes. Vodafone, Three and EE are still failing to separate the cost of using the phone, known as airtime, from the cost of the handset on their websites, almost 18 months after Ofcom asked them to do so.

Consumer groups say this lack of transparency makes it hard for consumers to see whether they are getting value for money.

Vodafone, for example, is charging customers £29 up front and £81 a month over two years for a 124GB iPhone 12 Pro Max in a contract that includes unlimited data, minutes and texts.

The cost of the deal over two years is £1,973 but it is not clear from the website how much the component elements cost.

Anyone who bought the same phone from the Apple website and the same unlimited data and calls pack- age on a sim-only deal

from Vodafone could save £250 over two years.

Apple is selling the handset at £1,099, or £45.79 a month, and the sim-only deal costs £26 a month, meaning a total cost of £1,723 over two years. The only obvious differences between the two options are that the bundled contract offers 81 free-roaming destinations, whereas the sim-only deal offers only 51, and it increases in price by the RPI measure of inflation each year.

Vodafone charges 15 per cent more. It was examined that prices on the other networks were found that the cost of bundled iPhone deals were between 5 and 10 per cent more expensive on EE and Three, which fail to separate the cost of the handset and airtime, but were broadly the same on O2, which does separate the cost.

The networks argue that the benefits of bundled deals, such as extended warranties, justify the higher prices.

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Outrage over creepy fake message A virtual version of the Queen’s Christmas message in which she jokes about the Duke of York’s legal troubles and Boris Johnson’s sex life before doing a TikTok dance routine- created by Channel 4 to show the danger of “deepfake” technology.

The spoof speech has been created to highlight the danger, which can make it appear as if real people are speaking words that have never crossed their lips. The actress Debra Stephenson plays the synthetic monarch, with technical wizardry used to replicate the Queen’s facial features and mouth movement.

The four-minute film is intended to make a serious point about the threat posed by deep fakes.

However, it also includes

Queen's Christmas message

sharp asides that may raise eyebrows at Buckingham Palace.

“For nearly 70 years, I have kept a tradition of speaking to you at Christmas. But on the BBC I haven’t always been able speak plainly and from the heart,” the fake Queen begins. After talking of the challenge of the past 12 months, the artificial head of state has a jab at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for fleeing the UK.

“One thing that has sustained many of us is our families,” she says. “Which is why I was so saddened by the departure of Harry and Meghan. There are few things more hurtful than someone telling you they prefer the company of Canadians.

“The deepfake Queen then reveals a penchant for “Netflix and Phil” with the Duke of Edinburgh before performing a TikTok dance routine, joking that “if that

doesn’t get me on Strictly, I don’t know what will.”

The end is created by the visual effects studio Framestore. The “Queen” then challenges viewers to consider “whether what we see and hear is always as it seems”.

Channel 4 has broadcast an alternative Christmas message since 1993. Ian Katz, director of programmes at Channel 4, said, “Deepfake technology is the frightening new frontier in the battle between misinformation and truth.

It is a powerful reminder that we can no longer trust our own eyes.”

Stephenson, is a comic actress who impersonates various characters in Dead Ringers on Radio 4. She voiced the Queen puppet in this year’s revival of Spitting Image.

Suspects failing to appear in court More than 20,000 suspects are wanted by police after they failed to appear in court, the highest number in nine years, according to statistics.

Magistrates issued 21,248 warrants for suspects who failed to appear between June and September, a 15 per cent increase on the same period last year out of which 416 warrants were related to murder, rape, robbery and serious assault.

The number of warrants issued for suspects who failed to appear had fallen from 92,000 in 2010 to a total of 70,000 last year. However, the recent

steep increase has brought the highest number of warrants issued in a single quarter since the same period in 2011.

The authorities attributed the rise in part to the pandemic, saying that increased numbers of defendants were self-isolating but failing to inform the courts. Police forces are also charging more suspects by post because changes to bail law mean that suspects are no longer required to check in at police stations while they are under investigation. The change has raised concerns that some court summonses may not be

reaching suspects.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Justice, 48 per cent of warrants for suspects who failed to appear in court in the 12 months to September were related to cases that had been initiated by postal charge.

The Labour Party said that the result of suspects failing to appear in court was that justice was being denied to victims and offenders are roaming free in the community. Peter Kyle, the Labour MP for Hove and shadow minister for victims and youth justice, said, “Victims deserve

their day in court. “Yet now we find out that over 20,000 alleged offenders are failing to show up, with government doing little to stop victims being threatened in their local community.”

Due to the pandemic by September there were 50,918 cases outstanding at crown courts, according to the Ministry of Justice’s data, an increase of 44 per cent on the previous year.

There were 412,093 outstanding magistrates’ court cases, which was 43 per cent higher than in the same quarter last year.

Couples can claim child benefit from April Parents can expect an extra 10P a week in child benefit from April as it increases in line with inflation. The proposed changes will take the payment for an eldest child up to £21.15 a week in the next tax year. Child benefit payments for other children will increase by 5p to £14 a week making £1,099 a year for an eldest child, and £728 for other children.

All families can claim child benefits, but if one parent in a household earns more than £50,000 a year, after pension contributions, they have to pay back 1 per cent of the benefit for every £100 of income over that threshold. A parent who earns more than £60,000 has to pay back all the benefit received.

Some families claim the benefit, even though one parent earns more than £60,000, because it automatically gives national insurance credits to a parent who is not working. This means they still get contributions to the state pension.

One can register without actually claiming it, by ticking a box in the child benefit section form on high income earners. It is important that low or nonearning parents who fill in the form register for the national insurance credits.

Last year HMRC said there could be 200,000 couples where the parent who didn’t need the NI credit was claiming the child benefit. The payment increases, listed in a document pub-

lished by HM Revenue & Customs, also include a guardian’s allowance increase of 10P to £18 a

week from April 12.

You get guardian’s allowance if you are bringing up a child whose parents

Season to give Subhash V Thakrar, BCom FCA FRSA Former Chair, London Chamber of Commerce and Founder Chair, Charity Clarity Diwali and Christmas are seasons of goodwill when you are always in the mood to give to society. Of course, many charities know this and our letterboxes get filled with appeals for charitable giving.

Of course, giving is not just in form of donations but can also be seva to help others or provide food for the needy.

We witnessed a lot of this during these lockdowns when temples, gurudwaras and community organizations stepped up their services to help the needy. You would never think that established charities like Akshaya Patra will have a role to play in UK being a developed rich society with social care supported by the government. Yet they recently tied up with the GMSP Foundation by the Sachdev family to set up a state-of-the-art food production kitchen to provide nutritious meals free to UK’s poor.

In the Bhagwat Gita there are teachings of how we should give. The satvic way of giving is to give without any expectation of any kind even if it is a reward of recognition or ego boosting. There is a saying that when you give with your right hand, your left hand should not know. Or many will know the concept of ‘gupt dan’ which is still practiced in gurudwaras with golaks and Mandirs with petties, where one drops their donation in the collection box to be mixed with other donations.

However, the concept of giving is evolving. Wealthy families are setting up their charitable foundations to organize and plan their giving with better governance, monitoring and ensuring higher impact. Of course, such foundations are charities in themselves and enjoy all the tax privileges that UK charities are entitled to. I am a trustee of two such charities. The Puri Foundation set up by Nat Puri which supports education programs is Nepal where there are now 2500 single teacher schools operating in rural parts.

These schools cost as little as £350 pa to educate 35 children in remote villages. Jaspar Foundation set up by Raj and Chanda Pankhania and their family aims to give for humanitarian needs in India, Africa, and UK. It is slowly rolling out a program of giving but played a good role to support local Harrow charities and hospices.

When many of us give our donations, we really do not do much homework. We never check if the charity is worth it. Are they going to properly utilise our donations to meet the required cause or will the funds be used in their administration costs or inefficient management? There are a lot of charities out there including temples that are not so well governed, have high costs to donations ratio and do not properly account to the donors. So, our giving is really wasted and not made the desired impact.

It is for this reason, I founded Charity Clarity (www.charityclarity.org.uk) with the help of Pratik Dattani to help donors to choose the charities that score well in governance, cost management and better accountability. Today Charity Clarity has close to 500 charities on its database.

Charity Clarity also has an informative charity newsletter to help donors and charities with ideas on cost savings and how best to give. This database has over 17,000 readers!

Charity Clarity is also continuing to provide score rates to charities but also helps many with improving their standards as well as save costs. For Foundations and Family offices, Charity Clarity is actively providing consultancy for better governance, monitoring and impact analysis as these entities do not have such in house skills. We have a rule to give the services free to any charities who do not have the resources. Importantly, all donors have free access to Charity Clarity databases. Please look at the website.

Season’s greetings to all Asian Voice readers have died, and you can claim it on top of child benefit.

Becky O’Connor from Interactive Investor, said, “It has been a really hard year for many people. As hardship has increased, benefits for families have effectively stood still.” She said such a

meager increase was “enough for two extra carrots in the shopping basket”.

However, falling incomes during the pandemic could mean that more parents claim child benefit. O’Connor recommended checking your eligibility if you are earning less.

MCB concerned on treatment of Uighurs in China The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has submitted their response to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Inquiry on the Xinjiang detention camps.

They believe more evidence is mounting on the scale of the atrocities being

committed by the Chinese Government against its Uighur Muslim citizens.

The inquiry is exploring ways in which the UK Government can prevent UK companies from benefitting from forced labour in the Xinjiang region, sup-

port members of the Uighur diaspora community and strengthen the UK’s atrocity prevention mechanisms.

In their report, they note, “The FCDO’s approach to date on the Xinjiang situation been slow and lethargic with lit-

tle tangible action despite the years of mounting evidence that atrocities are taking place. The FCDO must have a clear and ethical foreign policy that applies a consistent approach to human rights abuses in all countries. For

example, with the ongoing war in Yemen being described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, the UK’s resumption of arms sales to Saudi Arabia in July 2020 despite numerous reports by human rights groups14 that

these UK-manufactured weapons are likely being used to carry out war crimes, creates perceptions that may compromise the UK’s ability to challenge atrocities taking place elsewhere in the world such as in Xinjiang.”

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Why is taking Vitamin D supplement important?

Look for positive information to eat healthy Dr Omara Naseem is a psychologist who offers specialist advice on a wide range of issues including e a t i n g Dr Omara Naseem disorders, stress and anxiety, depression, relationships and self-esteem. She has over 10 years of experience within a variety of settings which includes the NHS, private healthcare at The Priory, charity sector and the leading Eating Disorder Outpatient Unit at the South London and Maudlsey Hospital.

During the pandemic, we have seen an increasing number of eating disorder cases, many driven by anxiety which is exacerbated by social media posts.

Social media channels are often used to sharing information, influencing others and projecting misplaced value on the ‘perfect body’ and physical appearance. As people remain indoors more and more social media has been facing growing criticism for triggering eating disorders, and even overexercising.

Speaking to this newsweekly Dr Naseem said, “We have seen an increase in people relating social media to anxiety and body image dissatisfaction. In younger patients that’s more prevalent. They tend to use social media in a harmful way rather than a helpful one. We have our resources to steer patients and help them understand how to choose better and healthier relationship through social media.

“We ask them to use healthier apps and question the impact that certain images can have on their mental health and mood. Then we encourage them to change their relationship with those images, especially during lockdown when people tend to use apps more.

“However, we are now seeing people getting mindful about what they are looking at on social media.

There is a huge platform of body positivity and they are challenging staged images. There is definitely a helpful way to use social media and look for positive information to educate people and I help my patients to do that.”

In the Asian community eating order is often not associated with mental health issues and Dr Naseem thinks that needs to change. “Mental health generally has a stigma in the Asian community. Engaging with the community is important. People need to understand that Eating disorders are serious but treatable mental illnesses that can affect people of every age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic group. They can often present alongside with anxiety and depression. Our community may not understand what bulimia or anorexia is, and what binge eating could lead to. It is important to alert people if they notice a change in their loved ones’ relationship with food. If they are not eating with you in the same way as before, are hiding things or seem unhappy, then you should talk to them and offer support and seek help from the GP. May be reach out to community leaders, who can help fight the shame and stigma within the community and help you to get to a specialist.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Rupanjana Dutta During this pandemic, many of us have found eating healthy as a challenge. We spoke to Rohini Bajekal about how to make simple changes to our routine and eat well to stay well.

Rohini is a Nutritionist with her own practice as well as a team member at Plant-Based Health Professionals UK. Rohini also volunteers as a cookery teacher at Made in Hackney, a plant-based community cookery school and charity. She is an International Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional.

Seven steps to keep healthy: 1. Don’t live in denial and guilt There's often the idea that good health results from what you eat, how active you are or how you manage stress in your life. While these are all important, what matters most are the words you feed yourself on a daily basis. All-or-nothing thinking (also known as black-and-white thinking) can be destructive. For example, "I had a biscuit, I might as well finish the whole packet." Celebrate the steps forward you're making and don't compare your journey to others. Self-compassion is far more motivating than shame or guilt when it comes to making positive changes. Try to put aside judgemental thoughts and remember that kindness starts with yourself.

2. Set realistic goals Set goals, ensuring they are SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, aim to incorporate 30 different plant foods into your diet every week to promote a diverse gut microbiome as recommended by the American Gut Health project. Put up a chart in your kitchen and add up how many different plant foods you eat every day to stay accountable and help you meet your goal. Breaking down big goals into smaller ones will make them appear less daunting.

For example, to achieve this goal, aim to eat two portions of fruit with your breakfast, enjoy a salad with lunch, nuts or seeds as a snack and an extra portion of greens and beans with your main meals.

You'll be there in no time!

3. Plan ahead My top tip for a healthy lifestyle is to plan ahead.

For example, you can batch cook whole grains, lentil dals and chop vegetables as part of your Sunday routine so that you always have healthy meals for the week ahead. Most soups and dals keep really well in the freezer. Plan your workouts in advance as well as your relaxation time. Set a date to meet a friend during the week for a socially distanced walk and carve out time in the diary for a long evening bath.

Planning ahead is the key to creating healthy habits that last.

4. Benefit of healthier choices Only 1 in 10 UK adults are meeting the daily recommended intake of fibre which is 30g. Eating a fibre-rich diet is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, bowel cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Did you know that fibre is only found in plant foods?

Swap meat and dairy for fibre, protein, iron and zincrich foods such as lentils, tofu and beans. The PlantBased Health Professionals website has lots of excellent, easy to follow advice about a whole foodplant-based way of eating with free webinars, factsheets and articles. A colourful plant-based diet

reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 25%, cancer by 15%, type 2 diabetes by at least 50% and helps you maintain a healthy weight throughout your life. For plant-based Indian recipes, check out Vegan Richa (veganricha.com) and my website (www.rohinibajekal.com).

5. Maintain a drink diary The risk to your health is increased by drinking any amount of alcohol regularly. For those who do drink alcohol, always stay within the recommended limits and avoid drinking more than 1-2 units per day. Have several drink-free days per week. Keeping a drink diary to record how many units of alcohol you consume every week can help make you more mindful and set limits. Try to opt for sparkling water with slices of lemon, orange and fresh mint as a healthier alternative. Remind yourself of the financial, social and health benefits to be gained from eliminating or reducing alcohol.

6. Keep active Regular movement plays a crucial role in keeping the immune system strong. Most adults should aim to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week - or a combination of both. Try to build movement into your day to make this a habit. Take frequent breaks from your desk to stretch and regular 5-10-minute walks. Find a form of exercise you enjoy and incorporate it daily. For example, this could be a morning run, a brisk walk with your dog, a yoga routine from YouTube or an online strength training class with a friend 7. Track your progress It might sound simple but tracking your progress when it comes to lifestyle changes is a great way to notice changes over time and keep yourself accountable. Keeping a food diary or using a pedometer for example, are tools that can be really motivating and make you more aware of your habits. It's important to create a plan in advance and set achievable and realistic goals so you don't feel overwhelmed.

Remember, progress not perfection.

Rohini Bajekal

Dr Sreedhar Krishna is a Consultant Dermatologist at Skindoc in London. He read Public Health at the University of Dr Sreedhar Krishna Cambridge and is a keen proponent for Vitamin D in the BAME population.

Should I start taking Vitamin D? Yes, current national guidance during the pandemic is that all people should consider taking 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day.

How much should I take?

There are two different units of vitamin D. You should aim to take 10 micrograms or 400 IU per day - you’ll need to read the label on the box carefully. This is usually the amount contained in multivitamin capsules.

Do people from the Asian community need more Vitamin D than others?

Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common in the South Asian population with studies suggesting that 80% of us are deficient. There is no data that implies that we require a higher vitamin D level than others simply that we’re more likely to be deficient.

Does Vitamin D help fight coronavirus?

A good vitamin D level is related to a number of favourable health outcomes and better immune system function. There is robust evidence that vitamin D supplementation is effective at reducing respiratory infections which are the prime issue in coronavirus infection.

For more advice on vitamin D see: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vi tamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/

Apricot and Coconut Healthy Laddoos (servings 20 balls) INGREDIENTS - 1 cup unsulphured dried apricots - 1/2 cup of medjool dates nice and squidgy - 4 tbsp of tahini – 1 cup desiccated coconut - 1/2 cup raw cashews - 1 tablespoon water - 1 tbsp chia seeds - 1 tsp vanilla extract - Pinch of sea salt – Dash of cinnamon INSTRUCTIONS • Add the dates and apricots to the food processor and pulse for a minute until finely chopped.

• Add coconut, cashews, water, chia seeds, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon. Process for a couple of minutes or until well combined • Add 4 tablespoons of tahini and combine well. It should be perfect but if it is too dry, add a little extra tahini. If too wet, add in some more coconut.

• Take tablespoon amounts of the mixture and roll into balls in your hands.

• Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

18 FINANCE - UK

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2 - 8 January 2021

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel I’ve never been busier with family calls from America, India, to UK. Not because it’s Christmas, but because they want to know how to buy stocks.

The truth is, the young can’t be bothered or want to trade and the old feel they’ve left it this long, so can leave it longer. Sound like you?

The truth is that time flies and you always wish you’d started sooner. Moreover international stocks, especially US ones, big brands, as a general rule exemplified by the S&P 500 (500 stocks) deliver greater returns than bank accounts or UK stocks.

The truth is you’re too scared or embarrassed to ask for help. You don’t know how to open a broker account (it’s like opening a bank account – that simple). You don’t know where to look on the internet (try Barclays or Halifax).

You’re too scared you would lose money. Well true.

Even Microsoft fell for a month during the pandemic in 2020. If you have longer time frame in mind and are very worried, track an index (ie use an index tracker something which for instance tracks the S&P500) that will allay your fears.

You fear you have too little money. Actually, you can online just tell the broker ‘buy £1,000 worth of XYZ’ Maybe you fear you may need the money. Fine, you can sell the stock. Or if fear selling at a loss, then yes, keep enough in a bank account instead for emergencies of course.

But you’re scared too of picking bad stocks. Well, an index tracker like mentioned will be a good start. I also told my aunt who doesn’t have the time to monitor things to put it in Microsoft for 2021 as well.

Of course my family does not second guess me when I say Apple. They don’t argue. But I know the public like ‘hidden’ secret names. Well I continue liking Square and Tech Target.

The best advice I gave my cousins – get a junior ISA (tax free stock growth) for your kids and add money to it each year. The growth is tax free so that much quicker.

It’s never too early or too late. The best thing I can do is to keep repeating this as I have done in my books for over 20 years, my Financial Times columns and my Bloomberg TV shows. Yet it saddens me people are poorer than they should be because they didn’t invest.

Vedanta chief Agarwal, UK firm plan $10bn India push Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal is teaming up with Londonbased Centricus Asset Management to seek investments in Indian companies offering substantial growth opportunities, according to a statement.

They will look to turn around companies being sold off as part of the country’s $29 billion divestment program.

Agarwal made a fortune buying state companies and fixing them up, building a

Anil Agarwal

metals and mining powerhouse under the umbrella of Vedanta Resources. He’s now seeking to repeat that success, betting he can spot

gems among the dozens of companies being put on the block by the government. bilThe lionaire plans to help former government companies accelerate their transformation into private-sector firms with professional management, according to the statement.

Vedanta is among the par-

ties that have expressed interest in acquiring stake in Bharat Petroleum.

Agarwal and Centricus have been seeking to raise capital from international investors to deploy in such turnaround opportunities.

They have been planning a fund with a 10-year life span that will use a private equity-type strategy, buying into companies and boosting their profitability before seeking an exit, a person with knowledge of the matter has said.

GQG achieves $30bn asset growth during pandemic GQG Partners, the investment firm set up by former Vontobel star manager Rajiv Jain, has more than doubled its assets to $62bn this year, making it one of the standout winners during the coronavirus crisis. Indiaborn Jain in 2016 set up GQG Partners, which manages funds focused on emerging markets, US and global equities, had net client inflows of $18.2bn in the first nine months of this year, the Florida-based firm said.

Those flows, plus investment gains in its funds, lifted assets from $30.7bn at the end of last year to $55.7bn at the end of September. Assets have since grown to $62.2bn this month. While many

sectors of the economy, such as travel and hospitality, have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic this year, much of the fund management industry has prospered thanks to equity and bond markets that have been lifted by central bank and government stimulus.GQG’s funds have performed strongly this year.

Its emerging markets

equity Ucits fund is up 24.2 per cent to the end of November, compared with a 10.2 per cent rise in the MSCI Emerging Markets index. Tim Carver, GQG chief executive, said Jain, who looks to buy high-quality companies and is prepared to pay higher multiples for stocks, was “highly adaptable” and refused to stick to one investment style. Many managers who focused on “value” - cheap stocks in often-unfashionable areas - have been caught out by the pandemic for much of this year, although they recovered some ground in November.

Jain’s style was “different from saying ‘I’m a value investor and I only buy stocks from the bottom

decile on a price/book ratio,” Carver added. Jain generated large gains during his time at Vontobel, managing about $50bn in assets at the firm at the peak, with much of that in emerging markets.

However, he left after a disagreement with management about how big his fund could grow without hurting returns.Despite GQG’s client inflows this year, the firm believes it can grow further, although it has started turning down some emerging markets mandates. Carver pointed to the growth in capacity in many of the areas GQG invests in, for instance the emergence of Chinese mega-cap companies.

“There’s a lot of headroom ahead of us,” he said.

port continuing to the end of January. The committee expressed concern that the Treasury has not even been able to give a “ballpark figure”, as the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the increased costs at £21 billion.

It said, “HM Treasury and HMRC should investigate whether more data within and outside of the tax system could be used to determine eligibility for cur-

rently excluded groups and write to the committee within six weeks to explain their findings.”

Committee chair Meg Hillier said that with so much taxpayers' money going to private companies, it was essential that there was full transparency. She said, “With the Treasury claiming it can't give even a ballpark figure for the cost of Covid job support until the end of

next year, public scrutiny of where taxpayers' money is going is essential. Many workers, including freelancers and entrepreneurs, have not had a penny and are really struggling as they continue to fall through the gaps.”She added, “There is data that could be crunched to reach and help these individuals, many of whom will be unable to work at all under Tier 3 restrictions.”

Rajiv Jain

UK govt may compensate people for BoJo govt urged to publish list of companies cancelled travel plans signed up to furlough scheme

A day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for tighter restrictions in the UK, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has consoled citizens stating that the government is looking into compensating people whose travel plans were scrapped due to the new restrictions. Hancock said the Treasury and the Department for Transport were looking at the options after last minute changes to the rules. He said, “That is something that the Treasury and the Department for Transport are looking at, because we understand the point that people are making.”

The update comes after multiple European countries, including the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and Italy announced bans on flights from the UK due to fears over a new variant of the coronavirus which could be 70 per cent more infectious.

Eurostar trains between Belgium and the UK have been cancelled from December 21, following the Belgian government's

announcement that borders with the UK closed at midnight on December 20.

Meanwhile, there will be no trains running between London, Brussels and Amsterdam.

Tour operator TUI has also cancelled all flights out of London Luton airport as it falls under the new Tier 4 measures. However, TUI will “continue to operate out of Gatwick and Stansted which are located in tier two areas.” A company spokesperson was quoted as saying, “Any customers that live in tier four and are due to depart in the next 14 days will be entitled to cancel and receive a full refund or amend for free to any holiday that's currently on sale.”

Johnson announced stricter measures in London, the South East and East of England over the weekend amid concerns about the spread of a new strain of the virus. He introduced a fourth tier of Covid-19 restrictions in the regions, as well as unveiling tighter plans around households gathering during Christmas.

The MPs have urged the Boris Johnson-led government to publish a list of companies that have signed up to the furlough scheme amid concerns that there is no account for how much money is being spent through fraud and error. The Commons Public Accounts Committee said levels of “opportunistic fraud” could be running at between 7 per cent to 34 per cent. True scale of the losses, however, will not be disclosed until the end of next year at the earliest.

The committee has called on HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to release a list of employers which have received funding from the scheme by the end of January. It also said HMRC and the Treasury should do more to help the estimated 2.9 million workers who have been excluded from both furlough and the income support scheme for the selfemployed. Both the schemes had cost over £55 billion, but have been extended into 2021 with the furlough scheme set to run until the end of April, and the self-employed sup-

Retailers urge UK govt to boost financial support amid new wave of curbs British retailers have urged the Boris Johnson-led UK government to boost financial support for businesses in the south and east of England which have been forced to shut down in the last couple of days before Christmas. Johnson announced a fresh bout of restrictions recently, effectively shutting down non-essential shops and services, including clothing, toy stores, electrical goods outlets and hairdressers.

The announcement consequently affected thousands of outlets in the south, including London, Kent, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, and Surrey. Several retailers relied upon the last-minute rush to stores during the holiday season after the coronavirus dampened their annual sales. The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) called on the government to announce “exceptional and

immediate cash grant aid” for all retail, leisure, and hospitality businesses forced to close their doors under the tier 4 restrictions.

Chief executive of LCCI, Richard Burge added that the chancellor “must also issue appropriate instructions to banks and landlords, and must suspend the payment of all forms of taxes and rates to national and local government bodies.” Chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA), Andrew Goodacre said the closures in the south and south-east were “a disaster for those businesses.” He said, “They have only been open for 17 days in the busiest month of the year and will miss out on the festive period and new year sales. They need financial support that reflects what they have lost and certainly better than the grants made available in November.”

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REAL ESTATE VOICE & INDIA FINANCE 19 2 - 8 January 2021

India to become 5th largest economy by 2025 India, which appears to have been pushed back to being the world’s sixth biggest economy in 2020, will again overtake the UK to become the fifth largest in 2025 and race to the third spot by 2030, a UK think tank said.

India had overtaken the UK in 2019 to become the fifth largest economy in the world but has been relegated to 6th spot in 2020.

“India has been knocked off course somewhat through the impact of the pandemic. As a result, after overtaking the UK in 2019, the UK overtakes India again in this year’s forecasts and stays ahead till 2024 before India takes over again,” the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said in an annual report.

The UK appears to have overtaken India again during 2020 as a result of the weakness of the rupee, it said. The CEBR forecasts

that the Indian economy will expand by 9 per cent in 2021 and by 7 per cent in 2022. “Growth will naturally slow as India becomes more economically developed, with the annual GDP growth expected to sink to 5.8 per cent in 2035.”

“This growth trajectory will see India become the world’s third largest economy by 2030, overtaking the UK in 2025, Germany in 2027 and Japan in 2030,” it said. The UKbased think tank forecast that China will in 2028 overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japan would remain the world's third-biggest economy, in dollar terms, until the early 2030s when it would be overtaken by India, pushing Germany

down from fourth to fifth.

The CEBR said India’s economy had been losing momentum even ahead of the shock delivered by the Covid-19 crisis. The rate of GDP growth sank to a more than ten-year low of 4.2 per cent in 2019, down from 6.1 per cent the previous year and around half the 8.3 per cent growth rate recorded in 2016. “Slowing growth has been a consequence of a of factors confluence including fragility in the banking system, adjustment

to reforms and a deceleration of global trade,” it said.

The pandemic, the think tank said, has been a human and an economic catastrophe for India, with more than 140,000 deaths recorded as of the middle of December.

While this is the highest death toll outside of the US in absolute terms, it equates to around 10 deaths per 1,00,000, which is a significantly lower figure than has been seen in much of Europe and the Americas.

Indian economy recovering better than expected: RBI The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that there has been an improvement in the economic situation in India in the last one month.

It added that there is more evidence coming in to show that the economy is “pulling out of Covid-19’s deep abyss and is reflating at a pace that beats most predictions”. However, the central bank also said that efforts needed to be redoubled to contain inflation before it hurts the impulses of growth that are taking root.

The central bank’s prognosis was part of its ‘state of the economy’ report, which is published in its monthly bulletin. The

report said that economic conditions continued to improve through November 2020 on the back of the uptick in agriculture and manufacturing activity.

“Financial conditions embodied in interest rates are perhaps at their easiest in decades.

Although headwinds blow, steadfast efforts by all stakeholders could put India on a faster growth trajectory,” the report said.

The RBI also releases data on its foreign currency purchase in the bulletin.

According to the data, the RBI purchased $113 billion of foreign currency between January 2019 and October 2020, of which

nearly $60 billion was purchased between May 2020 and October 2020. An article in the bulletin justified RBI’s large-scale dollar purchase, for which it has been placed under a currency manipulator watch list by the US. “In a recent study for India, it was observed that realised volatility (historical volatility) in US dollarIndian rupee is a key component of the Financial Stress Index (FSI), which in turn has a statistically significant negative correlation with the Index of Industrial Production (IIP),” the report said.

According to the RBI, disorderly movements in the exchange rate can often

have a deleterious impact on trade and investment, besides endangering overall macroeconomic and financial stability.

The central bank said that its survey of bankers showed that there has been a broadbased improvement in sentiments on lending conditions, after a severe impact of the pandemic during April-June 2020.

Responses indicated that bankers believe retail/ personal loans, which were most severely hit during the period, have bounced back.

The respondents expressed lower optimism for the infrastructure, mining and quarrying sectors when compared to other major sectors.

AirAsia to be reduced to financial investor in Tata JV Malaysian carrier AirAsia will be reduced to a financial investor in its India unit as larger strategic partner Tata Sons initiates consolidation moves in the aviation business.

AirAsia, which till recently held 49% in its India venture, will see its stake fall to 13% as it prioritises its geographical play after being faced with Covidinduced financial woes. It will retain a low double-digit stake in the India unit as the latter will continue to use the AirAsia brand and other agreements like aircraft maintenance and ticketing-accounting software for some time. Tata Sons, which already owns a significant majority stake (about 75%) in AirAsia India, will see its stake further go up to 87%.

While the Malaysian

carrier has a common website for its operations in different geographies, Tata Sons has started the process to have a separate website for AirAsia India, it is learnt. Its IT subsidiary TCS is also involved in developing a crew-scheduling software.

Tata Sons declined to comment on the report, while AirAsia did not respond to queries. “It is not going to be an instant divorce, but a

prolonged one,” said sources.

AirAsia had said earlier that it was reviewing its investment in India after it ceased flying in Japan.

The Malaysian company was the first foreign airline to set up an arm in India in 2013 and the local joint venture marked Tata Sons’s return to the aviation industry after it ceded control of Air India in 1953.

Tata Sons also has another

airline venture, Vistara, which has collaboration with Singapore Airlines. It has recently expressed an interest in buying state-run Air India (AI).

While Tata Sons’s broader airline integration plan is not clear, it intends to channel the proposed AI acquisition through AirAsia India and not through Vistara. This is because Singapore Airlines is currently not on board for the AI bid due to its own pandemic-induced financial difficulties. So, the AirAsia brand could be retained for about two-three years, depending on how long it takes for Tata Sons to integrate its airlines business into a mega umbrella carrier, said sources.

Plenty of Upside & Limiting the Downside

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

There is an interesting deal we are looking at. It consists of retail and uppers; the retail is empty. In this environment, if you’re buying a retail premises occupied, you should carefully scrutinize the accounts and business very carefully.

This property consists of three flats above the premises, all of which are occupied and bringing in £50K of rent; which comes to about 4.5% yield based on the asking price.

This is a very decent yield given the strength of this property’s location, which is in the midst of four stations, all about 10 mins walk and a 5 min bus ride away.

The location is in a part of London which is still likely to experience growth in the coming years, due to its attractiveness to first time buyers.

The 4.5% yield will be enhanced once the ground floor commercial is occupied. Our plan for the ground floor would be to turn it into flats. This would enhance the rental to £85K, giving a very healthy yield of 6.9%, plus an element of commercial rent as well. This includes allowing £100K for construction.

We believe the rent being achieved is under market value, and there is room for enhancement.

The above would be the first stage. The second stage would be to apply for planning to push upwards and to the rear. There is a generous back garden to the rear of the building, 1,500 sq. ft. Gardens may look nice but they don’t bring in income. Therefore, there is a strong possibility to extend outwards and upwards on this property.

This will be phase 2 of the project. The first part has certainty to it as it falls under permitted development.

Another interesting point is that the conversion cost under permitted development will only attract 5% in VAT. This is something which gets overlooked in the midst of a project. It’s not often you get discounts in taxation, so every available saving should be utilised. In phase 2, if your eligibility criteria is met you will qualify for zero rated VAT. You should be aware of these points. Do not expect your architect or builder to point this out to you.

From a cash flow perspective, there will be a stream of income from day one, and a healthy one at that. This deal is in a solid location which is the first mantra of property investment. So, the upside potential for this property over a 5 year hold is massive and the down side is very well protected. The investment required would be about £600K. It could possibly be done for less, but this is a safe number.

If you are interested in this deal, do get in touch.

SC RELIEF FOR AZIM PREMJI AND HIS WIFE The Supreme Court recently stayed all criminal proceedings before a trial court against IT mogul and philanthropist Azim Premji and his wife Yaseem, who had sought quashing of summons issued to them by a Bengaluru court in “frivolous criminal complaints” against merger of investment and trading companies Vidya, Regal and Napean with Hasham Investment and Trading Company, all owned by the Premji group. Premji said the three companies were merged with Hasham Investment in 2015 after the RBI gave inprinciple approval followed by the Karnataka HC’s green signal.

RIL RETURNS TO GAS MARKET AFTER A DECADE Reliance Industries announced the start of production from the ‘R Cluster’ field off the Andhra coast, staging a comeback in India’s gas market a decade after its 2009 debut with D1-D3 fields and a short-lived promise of turning the KG-D6 block into the country’s gas bowl. R cluster is the first among three deep water projects Reliance is developing with BP in the KG-D6 block at an estimated investment of $5 billion. Located at a water depth of more than 2,000 metres, R Cluster is also the deepest offshore gas field in Asia and the first ultra deep water project to come on stream in India, the companies said in a joint statement.

BRAZIL’S BUS CO MARCOPOLO EXITS TATA JV Brazilian bus and coach body builder Marcopolo is exiting India by selling its 49% stake in local joint venture to partner Tata Motors for around £10 million. Marcopolo joined Tata Motors 14 years ago to “extend its presence in the high-potential Indian market”. But due to a “refreshed business strategy”, it has now decided to exit India and has offered to sell its 49% stake back to Tata Motors. The joint venture builds bus bodies on chassis supplied by Tata Motors at its manufacturing facilities in Dharwad and Lucknow and the Indian company marketed them under the Starbus brand. The Brazilian company, however, has allowed Tata Motors to continue to use the ‘Marcopolo’ trademark for another three years in India.

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Don't need army support to overthrow Imran, says Maryam Nawaz ISLAMABAD: Slamming Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz reminded the incumbent that his government is "not elected," adding that the opposition does not require army's permission to overthrow the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

"First you need to keep this thing in your mind that your government is not elected.

Secondly, opposition parties do not need to ask the army to overthrow your government," Maryam said while addressing a PML-N convention in Sukkur (Sindh). "...We have the power of people (to remove him)," she added. This statement came a day before the Pakistan Peoples Party-was scheduled to be held at Garhi Khuda Baksh in Larkana on Sunday.

Hitting out at the Imran,

Maryam also said that "We told you (Imran Khan) the very first day that you have nothing to do with this fight... this is elders' fight and you are only a puppet."

The anger exhibited by the protestors in recent months in the rallies organised by 11-party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) indicates that many Pakistanis see the army as the real power behind Imran Khan and the cause for the political and economic woes afflicting the country.

According to political scien-

tist Aqil Shah, the rage of the protestors has caused a shift that could eventually threaten the "military's chokehold on political power." In a recently published opinion Maryam Nawaz piece in Foreign Affairs Magazine, Shah wrote that "Many Pakistanis see the army as the real power behind Khan and the cause of the country's political and economic woes. Their anger has occasioned a remarkable shift as major political figures speak out for the first time against the military's dominance of Pakistan - a shift that could eventually threaten the military's chokehold on political power."

PDM has given PTI government until the end of January 2021 to resign, failing which the alliance plans to take hold of

Islamabad.

Anger over oppn attack on Bajwa Meanwhile, Imran Khan has claimed that there is a “lot of anger” within the armed forces over the verbal “attacks” on the top military leadership by members of PDM. In an interview, Khan said that ousted PM Nawaz Sharif, in several of his speeches, has alleged that army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hameed had orchestrated his ouster in 2017 and rigged the 2018 general elections to “impose the incompetent and selected Imran Khan” on Pakistan. “I must praise General Bajwa here. To attack an army chief in this manner; a reaction comes from the army,” he said. “There would be a strong reaction if somebody else was leading the army,” he claimed, adding that Bajwa was “tolerating this for the sake of democracy.”

Dhaka set to move second batch of Rohingya refugees to remote island DHAKA: Bangladesh is set to move a second batch of Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal this month, officials said, despite calls by rights groups not to carry out further relocations.

Around 1,000 Rohingya refugees, members of a Muslim minority who have fled Myanmar, will be moved to the island in the next few days after Bangladesh relocated more than 1,600 early this month, two officials with the direct knowledge of the matter said.

"They will be moved to Chittagong first and then to Bhasan Char, depending on the high tide," one of the officials said. The officials declined to be

named as the issue had not been made public.

Mohammed Shamsud Douza, the deputy Bangladesh government official in charge of refugees, said the relocation was voluntary. "They will not be sent against their will."

The United Nations has said it has not been allowed to carry out a technical and safety assessment of Bhasan Char, a floodprone island in the Bay of Bengal, and was not involved in the transfer of refugees there.

Bangladesh says it is transferring only people who are willing to go and the move will ease chronic overcrowding in camps that are home to more than 1 million Rohingya.

But refugees and humanitarian workers say some of the Rohingya have been coerced into

Vice minister of the international department of the CPC Guo Yezhou arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday and met President Bhandari at the Rastrapati Bhawan. The move is believed to be China’s desperate attempt to avert a vertical split in the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP). They discussed matters relating to further strengthening centuries-old bilateral relations, said an official

at the president’s office.

Guo, who personally knows all senior NCP leaders, is scheduled to meet PM K P Sharma Oli, according to sources. He will also hold meetings with senior political leaders including NCP’s executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who has replaced Oli as chairman of the Prachanda-led faction of the party, and chairman of Janata Samajwadi Party Baburam Bhattarai, according to sources.

The Chinese embassy and the ministry of foreign affairs are

INDIAN ORIGIN PENTAGON OFFICIAL SUES CNN Kash Patel, the highest-ranking IndianAmerican in the Pentagon, has filed a $50 million lawsuit against CNN and several of its top reporters for allegedly defaming him.

Patel, the chief of staff to acting US defence secretary Christopher Miller, filed the lawsuit in a Virginia court, according to Fox News.

Patel has alleged that CNN between November 24 and December 4 published a series of articles that “contain a series of false and defamatory statements” about him. The CNN articles described Patel as a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, the report said. CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Fox News said.

DEEPA MEHTA'S 'FUNNY BOY' REJECTED Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's "Funny Boy" has been rejected for an Oscar nomination in the best International Feature Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards.

The filmmaker has co-written and co-directed the film that tells the story of a gay Tamil boy growing up in Sri Lanka during the ethnic conflict of the 1970s and 1980s. To be a contender for an Oscar in the International Feature Film category, the film must be produced outside the US, with more than 50 per cent dialogue in a foreign language. But according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mehta's one hour and 49 minutes long film has only 12 minutes and 27 seconds of Tamil or Sinhala dialogue. In reaction, Mehta said: "Every step of the way of the 'Funny Boy' journey, has been an important one for myself and the 'Funny Boy' team. The message of the book has always been one of resilience and courage.

AWARD FOR INDIAN AMERICAN DR SANJAY GUPTA

going to the island, which emerged from the sea 20 years ago.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said earlier this month the United Nations should first assess and verify how conducive the environment in Myanmar's Rakhine

state was for repatriating the refugees, before carrying out an assessment of Bhasan Char.

Several attempts to kickstart repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar have failed after refugees said they were too fearful of further violence to return.

Chinese delegation meets Nepal president amid political crisis KATHMANDU: A high-level Chinese delegation led by a vice minister of the Communist Party of China last week called on Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari ahead of meeting other top leaders to patch up differences between the two warring factions of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, a week after the surprise dissolution of parliament and subsequent political turmoil.

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tight-lipped about Guo’s visit. His visit is aimed at “taking stock of Nepal’s evolving political situation after the dissolution of the House of Representatives and subsequent split in the ruling NCP amid alreadydeepened intra-party rift”, My Republica newspaper reported. China is not happy with the split in the largest communist party of Nepal, according to sources.

Guo will make efforts to patch up differences between the two warring factions of the ruling party - one led by Oli and the other led by Prachanda - during his four-day stay in Nepal, according to the Kathmandu Post. Earlier, Gou travelled to Kathmandu in February 2018 when Oli-led CPN-UML and Prachanda-led NCP (Maoist Centre) - were all set to merge and form a unified communist

party following victory of their alliance in the 2017 general elections. Later in May, 2018, the two communist parties merged and formed a new party named Nepal Communist Party, the paper said.

Guo will assess the situation inside the ruling party and will encourage both factions of the NCP to seek some kind of common ground for party unity, the Post said, quoting party leaders. He will communicate the message of Chinese leadership, including that of President Xi Jinping's, to the NCP leadership, a ruling party leader said. “Besides this, the Chinese side has not communicated to us anything about the visit,” the leader told the Post on condition of anonymity.

“China has carefully chosen and sent Gou at a time when unity inside our party is shaken,” a Standing Committee member of the NCP said.

Children's Hope India, a non-profit dedicated to lifting children from poverty to prosperity in India and the United States, announced the honorees for its inaugural Gratitude Awards, recognizing individuals who have made bold civic and charitable contributions in a particularly challenging year. Among the recipients were Indian American Dr Sanjay Gupta, entertainers Deepika Padukone and Chandrika Tandon, as well as activist Hindu Singh Sodha. Additionally, chief infectious diseases doctor and member of the Coronavirus Taskforce Dr Anthony Fauci was named a recipient. CHI co-founder, board member and journalist Lavina Melwani hosted the virtual event on Nov. 26. "In these uncertain times of the pandemic, we may be isolated from our loved ones and unable to share the joy of a Thanksgiving meal in person but we can still warm ourselves by sharing thanks," Melwani said, according to the news release.

HAFIZ SAEED GETS 15 YEAR JAIL IN ANOTHER CASE Mumbai terror attack mastermind and banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was sentenced to 15 and a half years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in one more terror financing case. The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Lahore also imposed a 200,000 Pakistani rupees (PKR) fine on Saeed. The 70-year-old radical cleric has already been convicted for 21years imprisonment in four terror financing cases of late. “The court sentenced five members of JuD, including Saeed, in another terror financing case... for 15 and a half years,” a court official said.

Now, Saeed will have to undergo collective imprisonment of over 36 years in five terror financing cases at the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. His punishment will run concurrently in the cases. There are reports that he is given “VIP protocol” in jail. The ATC also handed down six-month imprisonment to Saeed’s brother-in-law in this case.

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in brief 24 KILLED IN AFGHAN BOMB BLASTS At least 24 people were were killed in two explosions that took place in Afghanistan recently. In the first explosion, 15 children were killed when a motorbike laden with explosives blew up near a religious gathering in eastern Afghanistan. The children had gathered at a home in Ghazni province to recite Quran verses when the blast happened.

“As a result of this incident 15 children were martyred,” said Wahedullah Jumazada, spokesman for the province’s governor. In the second incident, nine people were killed and 20 others injured in a car bomb blast that took place in Afghan capital Kabul. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement condemning the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that the Taliban should stop violence against civilians and accept a ceasefire, to facilitate the current peace process. His statement did not directly lay blame on the Taliban for the car bombing or offer evidence that the group was responsible for it.

CHILEAN PREZ FINED $3K FOR MASK-LESS SELFIE Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was slapped with a $3,500 fine after posing for a selfie on the beach with a bystander without wearing a mask, authorities said. Pinera turned himself in after the selfie surfaced online earlier this month. Pinera said he had been walking alone along the beach near his home when a woman recognised him and asked for a photo together. The selfie shows the two of them standing close together, neither wearing masks.

MOON ROCKS IN HAND, CHINA PREPARES FOR FUTURE MISSIONS Following the successful return of almost 2kg of moon rocks by its Chang’e 5 robotic probe, China is preparing for future missions that could set the stage for an eventual lunar base to host human explorers, a top space programme official said. China’s next three lunar missions are on track, along with programmes for returning samples from Mars and exploring asteroids and Jupiter, deputy chief commander of the China Lunar Exploration Programme Wu Yanhua said.

Chang’e 6, scheduled for a 2023 launch, is to collect samples from the lunar south pole.

The capsule of Chang’e 5 were flown to Beijing after landing recently. The mission achieved firsts for China’s lunar exploration programme in collecting samples, launching a vehicle from the moon’s surface and docking it with the capsule to transfer samples for their voyage to Earth, the China National Space Administration said.

US TO CLOSE LAST TWO CONSULATES IN RUSSIA The Trump administration has notified members of Congress that it plans to close the last two remaining US consulates in Russia. In a letter dated December 10, the state department said it plans to close the consulate in Vladivostok and temporarily suspend its operations at the consulate in Yekaterinburg.

The closure of these consulates would leave the US with one remaining diplomatic outpost in Russia - the embassy in Moscow. The state department notification was sent days before reports emerged of a suspected Russian cyberattack against federal agencies and firms.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said “we can say clearly... it was the Russians”. According to the notification, the consulates are being closed because of caps imposed by Russian authorities in 2017 on the number of American diplomats allowed to work in the country. The state department said Pompeo and the US ambassador to Russia decided to close the consulates to ensure the safety of the US diplomatic mission.

Suspension of election campaign meetings in Uganda challenged KAMPALA: Kampala City Lord Mayo Erias Lukwago has challenged the suspension of election campaign meetings in the high court on the grounds that it is irrational and illegal. In the lawsuit, Lukwagohas sued the Electoral Commission (EC) seeking an order quashing the commission's decision to suspend election campaign meetings in 12 districts. The affected 12 districts include Kampala, Wakiso, Mbarara, Kabarole, Jinja, Kalungu, Kazo, Tororo, Luwero, Kasese, Masaka and Mukono.

Lukwago is seeking a declaration that the decision of EC dated December 26 suspending election campaign meetings was illegal, irrational, and constitutes an egregious affront to his right to associate and interface with the electorate and the entire citizenry which is a cor-

Lord Mayo Erias Lukwago

nerstone of a free and fair election. Lukwago is also seeking a declaration that EC's decision amounts to a deprivation and violation of candidates' rights to disseminate ideas, political platforms or agenda to the electorate which is a vital tenet of electoral democracy.

"A declaration that the applicant (Lukwago) was not accorded the right to a fair hearing and treatment in the process leading to the decision of the respondent (EC) contained in a press statement dated December 26,"

reads in part the court documents.

In his affidavit to support his case, Lukwago states that he was duly nominated on September 30, to contest for the position of the Lord Mayor for Kampala Capital City Authority thus presenting his campaign programme to EC for reconciliation with other candidates' programmes and approval.

"I know that during the month of March 2020, Uganda registered its first case of Covid19 whereupon the government imposed a lockdown restricting public activities, but the President Yoweri Museveni insisted that the situation was not so grave to warrant a declaration of a state of emergency

under Article 110 of the Constitution," Lukwago states. " I am aware that during the month of June 2020, Government took steps of easing the lockdown and instituted standard operating procedures intended to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 and accordingly several public activities were reactivated," he added. Court documents indicate that ever since the reactivation, Lukwago launched his campaigns on November 11 under strict observance of the standard operating procedures and guidelines issued by the EC while encouraging the electorate to wear face masks, use sanitisers and wash their hands.

He further states that the impugned, decision has inordinately disrupted his campaign schedules and subjected him to horrendous inconveniences, loss and cost.

SA tightens curbs as Covid-19 cases soar again PRETORIA: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has intensified restrictions in the country and reimposed a ban on the sale of liquor amid a rise in Covid-19 cases in the past one week. Not wearing masks in public will now be a criminal offence with the risk of arrest and up to six months in prison if convicted. "(We) have decided to put the country on an adjusted level three from level one with immediate effect," Ramaphosa said, adding that some of the level three restrictions would be further strengthened to reduce the potential for further transmission of the virus.

South Africa uses a five-level strategic approach to lockdowns, but Ramaphosa said there has to be a balance between keeping the economy open and the need to save lives

as a new variant of coronavirus is spreading faster than the first and is also affecting young people now. "We are at an extremely dangerous point in our fight against the pandemic. On Sunday, we passed the mark of more than one million confirmed coronavirus cases in our country," the president said.

Nearly 27,000 South Africans are known to have died from Covid-19. The number of new coronavirus infections is climbing at an unprecedented rate.

"More than 50,000 new cases have been reported since Christmas Eve," Ramaphosa said.

"The rapid rise in infections is being fuelled by so-called superspreader events, including endof-year functions, family and social gatherings, and music and cultural events. This is a cause for great alarm, and points to an extreme lack of vigilance over the

holiday period," he said, adding that "we have let down our guard, and unfortunately we are now paying the price." The president said since the relaxation of previous restrictions on the sale of alcohol, Cyril Ramaphosa the increased num15, except for funerals, which ber of trauma cases at hospitals may not be attended by more had put a severe strain on already than 50 people, with proper overburdened medical staff and social distancing plans in place. facilities.

“These regulations may be "Unless we act now and reviewed within the next few unless we act decisively, the weeks if we see a sustained number of new infections will decline in infections and hospifar exceed what we experienced tal admissions. In effect, the during the first wave and thouadjusted level three regulations sands more people will lose their will keep the economy open lives," he said. Under the adjustwhile strengthening measures to ed level three regulations, all reduce transmission," the presiindoor and outdoor gatherings dent said. will be prohibited until January

Miguna Miguna to contest Nairobi gubernatorial by-election NAIROBI: Miguna Miguna is back to the Kenyan political landscape with his bid to fill Nairobi’s gubernatorial seat two weeks after the impeachment of Governor Mike Sonko. This follows his direct nomination by the Thirdway Alliance Kenya (TAK) party to run as their candidate in the forthcoming contest that has so far sparked national interest.

With the announcement stirring up fresh controversy within the party, the exiled firebrand lawyer has confirmed his nomination. “Yes, it is true. The march for Nairobi’s liberation is on. I strongly urge all compatriots to mobilise. Viva!” Miguna tweeted.

Praising Miguna Miguina as a champion of justice, the party’s national chairman, Muiruru Waweru said the Nairobi by-election provided Kenyans a chance to choose the right leader.

“It is therefore a great honour for Thirdway Alliance Kenya to unveil Miguna Miguna as its candidate for this (Nairobi gov-

Miguna Miguna

ernor) by-election. Thirdway Alliance and Miguna share a common belief that Nairobi, and indeed the Republic of Kenya, can no longer be entrusted in the hands of a corrosive cartel of plunderers and a criminal enter-

prise,” Waweru said.

The party submitted Miguna’s letter of clearance as well as his power of attorney documents showing that the TAK National Election Committee can work on his behalf in the elections processes to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The party's Secretary General, Frederick Okang’o confirmed Miguna's nomination while also revealing that Miguna has been their party member since 2019 after he lost in the 2017 general elections to the recently

impeached governor Sonko.

Nairobi’s gubernatorial byelection has been billed as yet another battle front pitting proponents of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and its opponents ahead of the forthcoming referendum and 2022 general elections. With the deadline for political parties to bring in the names of the candidates slated for January 11, 2021, the handshake team is yet to settle on a candidate who will serve the interests of both the ruling Jubilee Party and opposition party ODM.

New Covid-19 variant has not entered Lanka COLOMBO: The new Covid-19 variant which is rapidly spreading in the UK and being detected in some European countries has not entered Sri Lanka and strict measures are in place to quarantine locals expatriated from Britain, officials from the Health Ministry said.

A senior Health Ministry official said reports claiming that two returnees from the UK had tested positive for the virus and had carried the new variant was baseless and false and UK returnees, upon their arrival at the BIA were

being directed to the mandatory 14-day quarantine in the designated hotels or government centres. In addition, these returnees also had to undergo a further 14-day quarantine in their homes and would be strictly monitored by the area MOH officers and PHIS. "All measures have been taken to ensure that these returnees do not come into contact with the society till they are completely cleared. So all measures are in place to prevent the new variant from entering the country," the official said.

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US court dismisses law suit against PM Modi, Amit Shah TEXAS: A US district court in Texas has dismissed a $100 million lawsuit filed against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, according to reports. The case, ruled on by Judge Andrew S. Hanen, was terminated after the litigants – a separatist Kashmir Khalistan outfit and two associates – failed to appear before it at two scheduled hearings.

The suit was filed on Sept.

19, 2019, days before Modi’s historic “Howdy, Modi!” event in Houston, Texas. It challenged the Indian Parliament’s decision on Jammu and Kashmir that abrogated the special privileges of the State and carved out two Union Territories and sought a compensation of $100 million from Modi, Shah and Lt. Gen. Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon,

according to a report.

Dhillon is currently serving as the director-general of the Defense Intelligence Agency and deputy chief of integrated defense staff under the chief of defense staff. “Other than that attempted service,” the Kashmir Khalistan Referendum Front “have done nothing to prosecute this case,” and have now failed to appear at two duly set scheduling conferences, US District Court Southern District of Texas Judge Frances H. Stacy said in his order dated Oct 6 and recommended that the case be dismissed, the report said.

The case was terminated by Hanen on Oct. 22. Apart from the Kashmir Khalistan Referendum Front, the other two complainants have not been identified, other than the acronyms ‘TFK’ and ‘SMS’. The suing party was represented by

separatist lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The Indian Parliament passed legislation last year changing the status of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, m o d i f y i n g provisions that have been an Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to obstacle in Houston on Feb. 18, 2020, the economic development and report said. A conference was promoted a sense of separatism, set by the court for Aug. 2. A it said. Modi, accompanied by second conference was President Donald Trump, had scheduled on Oct. 6. Stacy said addressed a crowd of over that representatives of the 50,000 Indian Americans at the Kashmir Khalistan Referendum “Howdy, Modi!” event in Front failed to appear for the Houston on Sept. 22, 2019. conference as such he As per court records, the recommended that the lawsuit Kashmir Khalistan Referendum be dismissed. Two weeks later, Front was able to serve the Hanen terminated the case, it summons to Modi, Shah and said.

Dhillon at the Indian Consulate

Nirav Modi's brother Nehal charged in $2.6 mn fraud in New York NEW YORK: Nehal Modi, the brother of fugitive jewellery merchant Nirav Modi, has been charged by a New York prosecutor in an alleged $2.6 million fraud carried out through a multilayered scheme to cheat one of the world's biggest diamond companies.

Announcing the charges against Modi, the prosecutor Cy Vance said, "Modi will face the clarity of a New York Supreme Court indictment."

Modi was charged in with "grand larceny in the first degree" for "fraudulently obtaining over $2.6 million worth of diamonds from a diamond wholesale company located in Manhattan," said Vance. The crime of grand larceny in the first degree under New York State laws is theft involving more than $1 million and it carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Modi told the court he was not guilty of the charge and showed a short video,

Nehal Modi and Nirav Modi

in which he was seen walking with a man who may be his lawyer in what appears to be the corridor of a court building.

Asked about the case, he replied, "There's nothing about the case."

Asked about the Interpol notice, the man accompanying him, said, "We are not discussing anything about the case, I told you that." Modi is wanted in India in connection with an alleged $1.9 billion fraud involving Punjab National Bank, and at the request of India, Interpol has issued a Red Notice.

Under the judicial procedure in New York, the prosecutors first presented the case to a grand jury which indicted him while finding that there were enough grounds to charge him.

The alleged crime goes back to 2015 when Modi asked a company identified as LLD Diamonds USA to obtain over $2.6 million worth of diamonds with "false representations,” some of which he pawned for loans and sold the rest, the prosecution said in a statement.

LLD Diamonds that it "is the

world's largest privately held diamond manufacturer and cutting group – entirely independent of external suppliers, having its own widespread sources of rough goods through ownerships in mines around the world." The prosecution said that in March 2015 Modi first asked the company to give him diamonds worth about $800,000 claiming they were to be shown for potential sale to a company identified as Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Modi then claimed that Costco agreed to buy the diamonds and LLD gave it to him on credit to be paid within 90 days, the prosecution said.

But he pawned the diamonds to another company for a shortterm loan and came back to LLD to get more diamonds, this time worth $1 million, claiming that Costco had agreed to buy them, according to the prosecution.

Indian American Vedant Patel named as Assistant White House Press Secy WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden's transition team has appointed Indian American Vedant Patel as the Assistant White House Press Secretary.

The announcement was made by the Biden-Harris transition team on Dec. 18. According to a post on the team's website, Patel previously served as Regional Communications Director on the Biden-Harris Campaign.

During Biden's primary campaign, Patel served as the Nevada and Western PrimaryStates Communications Director. He had also worked as Communications Director to Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Western Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic National

Vedant Patel

Committee, and Communications Director to Congressman Mike Honda.

Born in India and raised in California, Patel is a graduate of the University of CaliforniaRiverside and the University of Florida. Patel tweeted: "I took the leap with Joe Biden when he announced because I believed in his vision for what this country could be. On Day one he and

(Vice President-elect) Kamala Harris are gonna get to work to make that vision a reality. So honored to be part of this team..."

Patel joins a long list of Indian Americans tapped to be a part of the Biden-Harris administration.

Vivek Murthy has been tapped to serve as US Surgeon General, a post the research scientist held between 2014 and 2017. Maju Varghese, who steered election campaign, has been named as the executive director for Biden's inauguration on Jan. 21, 2021. Meanwhile, Neera Tanden has been named as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Two other Indian Americans were named to head committees in charge of the transition to the

new administration: Arun Majumdar for the Department of Energy and Kiran Ahuja for the Office of Personnel Management. In addition, 19 Indian Americans were appointed to the various transition teams and two others, Atul Gawande and Celine Gounder, to the Covid-19 task force. Priya Singh was the first Indian American in the White House Press and Communication wing. She was White House Press Assistant from Jan 2009 to May 2010 in the Obama administration. Another Indian American, Raj Shah, served as the White House Deputy Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant to the President from 2017 to 2019 under the Trump administration.

in brief NEW ZEALAND SECURES TWO NEW COVID VACCINES The New Zealand government will purchase Covid-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax, meaning every New Zealander will be able to be vaccinated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

The new agreements secure access to 7.6 million doses from AstraZeneca - enough for 3.8 million people, and 10.72 million doses from Novavax - enough for 5.36 million people. Both vaccines require two doses to be administered, according to a government statement. The four pre-purchase agreements secured to date are 750,000 courses from Pfizer/BioNTech; 5 million courses from Janssen; 3.8 million courses from the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca; and 5.36 million courses from Novavax, said the statement. There are multiple types of vaccine technology that have been used to develop Covid-19 vaccines. "Our strategy has been to purchase different types of technology, to ensure if some are found in development or in trials not to be a successful option, we will have alternatives available," Ardern said.

SWISS PARLIAMENT APPROVES BILL ON SAME-SEX UNIONS Switzerland’s parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, finally bringing the Alpine nation into line with much of Europe on gay rights. But the Swiss themselves will have the final say on the matter as the ultra-conservative Federal Democratic Union party has announced that it will ask for the legislation to be put to a referendum. Switzerland is one of few European nations where same--sex marriage is not legal. The nation allows same-sex couples to enter into “registered partnerships”, but this doesn’t give the same rights as marriage, including for obtaining citizenship and adoption of kids. The bill, which was approved after debates since 2013, allows gays and lesbians to marry and for lesbians to access sperm donations.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT GETS PFIZER COVID-19 VACCINE Israeli President Reuven Rivlin received his first shot of Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine last week as a mass vaccination programme officially started in the country. "I got the corona vaccine.

Dear Israelis, go and get vaccinated too," Rivlin wrote on Twitter. According to the President's office, the vaccine was administered at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem neighborhood. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease. A day after his inoculation, Netanyahu said that he was feeling fine. "Yesterday I received the first anti-coronavirus vaccine in Israel. I feel great. I call on all citizens of Israel to go and be vaccinated. If we vaccinate everyone, or at least most of us, we will defeat the pandemic," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

TRUMP DENIES HAND IN CASE AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN US President Donald Trump said that he had “nothing to do” with any potential prosecution of President-Elect Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. In a tweet, Trump said he was not involved in any criminal probe into the family. His tweet came just one day after Jeffrey Rosen, the incoming Acting Attorney General, declined to say in an interview whether or not he would appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden and his foreign business dealings. Trump, who leaves office on Jan. 20, has privately been mulling whether to pressure the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel for Hunter Biden, according to a person familiar with the matter. On December 9, Hunter Biden disclosed his tax affairs were under investigation by the US Attorney for the District of Delaware. Hunter Biden has long been the subject of Republican attacks.

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India likely to approve Oxford vaccine soon India is likely to see the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being approved for emergency use in next few days as the updated data submitted by Serum Institute of India (SII) appears “satisfactory”, top government sources said. Once evaluation of data is complete, the regulator may not wait for the vaccine to get approval from UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

“We can take our regulatory decisions independently. The company has submitted the same data here from clinical trials in the UK and Brazil and rolling reviews are going on. The updated information shared by Serum Institute also appears satisfactory. We are hopeful that based on regulatory assessment, the vaccine will be approved in a day or two,” a senior official said. However, it is possible that the UK may also, meanwhile, grant emergency use authorisation as MHRA is already reviewing data for the vaccine developed by Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca.

According to a report, Pascal Soriot, the CEO of the drug major, has reported that the Covishield vaccine has achieved a “winning formula” for efficacy. He added that he believes trials will show his firm has achieved a vaccine efficacy equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95% and Moderna at 94.5 per cent. “We think we have figured out the winning formula and how to get efficacy that, after two doses, is up there with everybody else,” the chief executive said, while only adding that data would be published at “some point”. He also said that the

vaccine “should be” effective against the new highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus.

India plans to inoculate around 300 “priority” population in the first phase of the vaccination drive that is expected to roll out in the first week of January and end latest

by July. The government plans to conduct a mock drill in four states - Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to assess the readiness for the massive vaccination exercise. During the dry runs, the government will also check the usage of Co-WIN in field environment as the platform is expected to play asignificant role in real-time coordination including cold chain management, beneficiary registration and intimation and even organising vaccination sessions.

The exercise will also include testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for Covid19 vaccine and crowd management at session sites with proper physical distancing. Each state will plan the dry run in two districts and preferably in five different session type settings - district hospital, community health centre (CHC) or primary health care centre (PHC), urban site, private health facility and rural outreach.

"This exercise will enable endto-end mobilisation and testing of vaccination process (except the vaccine) and check the usage of Co-WIN in field environment, linkages between planning, implementation and reporting mechanisms, identify challenges and guide the way forward prior to actual implementation including improvements that may be required in the envisaged process," the health ministry said.

Weekly cases fall in all states For the first time since the Covid-19 virus spread through India in March, all states and Union Territories (UT) registered a week-on-week decline in fresh cases last week, indicating that the pandemic was receding across India, at least for now. The only exception was the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, which reported all of nine cases through the week (December 2127), two more cases than the count

Bangla PM Hasina calls India 'a true friend' during summit with PM Modi India and Bangladesh celebrated the most important neighbourhood relationship, with Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina saying “India is our true friend” and PM Narendra Modi reciprocating the sentiment and offering Covid-19 vaccines when they will be manufactured in India.

Hasina’s remark came at a virtual summit she had with Modi a day after the ‘Victory Day’ celebrations in Bangladesh to mark the surrender of Pakistani troops to the Indian Army in Dhaka in 1971. “I pay deep homage to the three million martyrs who laid down their lives. I pay tribute to the members of the Indian armed forces martyred in the war and to their families. I pay my gratitude to the government and the people of India who extended their wholehearted support for the cause of our nation,” Hasina said.

Modi, meeting his Bangladeshi counterpart for the 10th time in five years, said, “Bangladesh is a major pillar of our ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. From the very first day, strengthening and developing relations with Bangladesh has been a special priority for me. Whether it is medicines or medical equipment, or working with health professionals, we are

cooperating well in the field of Covid vaccine. We will also take special care of your needs in this regard.” India reiterated that Bangladesh would be accorded “high priority” in getting vaccines once India started manufacturing them.

The display of bilateral bonhomie was significant against the backdrop of Pakistan’s attempt to improve ties with Bangladesh as well as a determined Chinese bid to draw the Hasina government into a strategic clinch.

The approach of both the countries hostile to India did not deter Dhaka from building upon its ties with India with the two nations signing seven agreements and agreeing to celebrate 50 years of friendship in different cities around the world.

PM Modi and Hasina jointly inaugurated a digital exhibition on Mujibur Rahman and Mahatma Gandhi in an effort to celebrate their lives and legacies.

The agreements included one on cooperation in hydrocarbons, Indian grants for high impact community development projects in Bangladesh which have been a big success, on transboundary elephant conservation, cooperation in agriculture, memorandum of understanding between museums and terms of reference for a CEOs Forum.

in the previous seven days.

Meanwhile, just 16,143 fresh cases were reported in India on Monday, the lowest single-day count in more than six months since June 23. Deaths too dipped to 251, the lowest daily toll from the virus since June 2, nearly seven months ago. While weekly cases have been falling for the past seven weeks and in 14 of the last 15 weeks, this was the first time that all states had registered a decline.

In the previous week (December 14-20), Kerala had seen a surge in infections, logging an increase of more than 3,300 cases over the week before. Overall, cases had risen in six states/UTs during that week, although the surge was marginal in most.

Kerala only state where positivity rate still rising Kerala is the only state in India where the Covid-19 positivity rate is still rising, a matter of concern as it had shown some moderation

early this month but has once again touched 10% in the 14-day period between December 13-26.

This is up from 9.4% in the fortnight before (Nov 30-Dec 13).

If the positivity rate, number of confirmed Covid cases per 100 tests, is above 5% measured over a 14-day period, the state is considered to be in the red zone. Besides Kerala, Goa at 6% is the only other state which has a positivity rate above the 5% level. But it has improved, bringing down the positivity compared to previous fortnight’s 6.4%. The all-India positivity rate has come down, too, from 3% (Nov 30-Dec 13) to 2.2% (Dec 1326).

Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan have brought their positivity rates below 5%, a major improvement from the previous fortnight when they were all in the red zone. Delhi at 1.4% is doing better than Gujarat (1.8%) and Tamil Nadu (1.5%). month-and-half ago A (November 8-21), there were nine states that had positivity rates between 7% and 15%, over a 14-day period. Leading the pack was Himachal Pradesh at 15%, followed

by Delhi-13%, Rajasthan-11%, Haryana-10%, Kerala-10%, Goa9%, West Bengal-8%, Maharashtra8% and Chhattisgarh-7%. Now, barring Kerala and Goa, all other states have managed to restrict the pandemic to a manageable limit by increasing testing and tracing of the infected population.

DDC results in J&K give independents, Cong a big say BJP may be the single largest party and PAGD well placed to form most of the new district development councils (DDCs) in J&K, but the numbers and the equations don’t look quite so sorted. In at least five of the 20 districts – two in the Valley and three in Jammu – Congress is the potential bridge between the Gupkar alliance and the magic number 8.

Independents and the fledgling Apni Party, on the other hand, hold the cards in the three districts of Srinagar, Reasi and Poonch.

Congress, which opted out of the Gupkar alliance after dithering for some time, has 11 seats spread across Baramulla, Shopian, Rajouri, Kishtwar and

Ramban that will be crucial in securing PAGD’s slender hold on the councils in these districts. In each of the three Jammu districts, the Gupkar alliance is two seats short of achieving the majority. It needs Congress’ support to fill the one-seat gap in strongholds Baramulla and Shopian, too.

Shopian elected four

Hathras accused charged with gang rape and murder The four accused in the alleged gang-rape and torture of a young Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras in September were charged by the CBI of gang rape and murder, over three months after the incident that triggered outrage across India. The CBI has also invoked charges against the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The probe agency filed its chargesheet before a court in Hathras, some 200 km from Delhi. The 20-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by the four men from the so-called upper caste community in Hathras on September 14. She later died due to her injuries at a hospital in Delhi. The victim was cremated near her home on September 30. The handling of the case by

Uttar Pradesh Police - particularly the latenight cremation of the victim allegedly without the family's approval - led to angry protests across the country. The officials, however, said the cremation was done "as per the wishes of the family".

In October, the Supreme Court said the Allahabad High Court will monitor the probe conducted by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). The main accused had written to the Uttar Pradesh police from jail, claiming that he and the three other accused are being framed in the case and sought "justice" for the four men. He also accused the woman's mother and brother of torturing her. The woman's family has denied these allegations.

independents, two of whom have already moved to Apni Party. In Baramulla, the three independents and two from Apni Party don’t potentially pose any threat to PAGD as long as Congress stays at the wicket.

Independents alone - 51 of them have been elected in the 20 districts – can get together and form the councils in Srinagar and Poonch.

In Srinagar, Apni Party founder Aftab Bukhari has already declared that the seven winning independent candidates are on his side.

Sources said Bukhari might have already sealed the deal by offering the chairmanship of the council to one of the independents. In a possible but unlikely scenario, these seven could also tie up with PAGD to create an alternative 10- strong combination.

Lone said two out of the three victorious independents in Baramulla, too, had pledged their allegiance to People’s Conference.

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279 UK returnees in Telangana untraceable HYDERABAD: At least 279 passengers recently returned from the UK to Telangana are untraceable, state health officials said, while 59 new cases recorded taking the number of newly caught infections in passengers back from Britain rose to 119 in India since last Sunday. Samples taken from all the viruspositive passengers have been sent to labs for sequencing and soon it will be known whether they are carrying the more transmissible variant currently ravaging the UK. There were three new cases in Telangana, taking the state’s UK infected number to 21. Goa reported 16 cases among passengers from the UK, while there were 14 new cases from Maharashtra (total 17). One more passenger tested positive in Nashik, but it was unclear if he had contracted the novel

coronavirus in the UK because he had tested negative at Mumbai airport on returning on December 13.

Kerala reported three new infected passengers, taking the total to eight, and Uttar Pradesh saw eight UK returnees test positive. One passenger from Mysuru in Karnataka was found to have the virus, while Andhra Pradesh reported six viruspositive cases.

India confirms six cases of new Covid variant Meanwhile, according to reports, six cases of the more contagious variant of Covid-19 first identified in the UK have been confirmed in India. The six individuals who returned from the UK are being kept in isolation, officials said. India joined a list of other countries last week in suspending flights to and from the UK. The new

variant is considerably more transmissible than previous strains but not necessarily any more dangerous, experts say.

Officials in India have begun contact-tracing close contacts and family members of the six who have tested positive for the new variant. Passengers arriving from the UK will undergo RTPCR tests at all airports in the country, an official statement said. The samples found to be positive will then be genome sequenced by government-run labs in order to detect the new variant.

Around 33,000 passengers arrived in India from the UK over the past month. Of those, 114 were found to be positive for coronavirus - their samples have been sent to ten labs for genome sequencing, according to the statement. News of the new variant triggered travel restrictions around the world last week.

PUNJAB

Farmers disrupt BJP events on Vajpayee’s birth anniversary JALANDH AR/ BAT HINDA: Farmers last week held protests across the state even as the BJP held programmes to celebrate former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary. In Jalandhar, several farmers received minor injuries during a standoff between them and the police outside the residence of former Cabinet Minister and BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia. As the farmers attempted to break through the barricades, the police used force in which some of them incurred minor injuries.

During the commotion, the turbans of some leaders also came off.

Patiala farmers started an indefinite protest outside the residence of BJP district president Harinder Kohli, demanding his resignation over the farm laws. Meeting farmers,

Kohli said: “The Union Agriculture Minister along with other senior leaders have already reached out to farmers. But I will demand from the high command to find a solution at the earliest.”

DCP, Jalandhar, Gurmeet Singh, said: “We were just trying to prevent protesters from entering the BJP leader’s house.

The turbans came off during the struggle which ensued while we were trying to stop them.”

Farmers also gheraoed a venue where a programme was being held to commemorate the late Prime Minister. They later headed to the BJP office, which had been cordoned off by hundreds of police personnel, and held a peaceful protest.

In Bathinda, farmers ransacked the venue where BJP workers were celebrating the birth anniversary of Vajpayee. A video purportedly showing BJP workers running away from the

spot has gone viral on social media. The police present at the spot had to use mild force to disperse the mob. In Kotkapura town of Faridkot also, farmers disrupted a programme of BJP workers. In Muktsar, farmers held a peaceful protest outside a hotel where the BJP activists held a programme. A large number of police personnel were deployed there and no untoward incident took place.

The farmers took out a protest march in Muktsar town, removed the hoardings of some private companies from some grocery shops. They also lodged a protest in front of a grocery shop owned by the family of BJP’s Muktsar district president Rajesh Pathela.

In Malout too, the farmers protested outside the BJP’s

similar event. They even closed the gate of the hall, where the programme was being organised.

Later, the police helped the BJP activists to come out from the hall. In Fazilka, the BJP celebrated Vajpayee's birth anniversary amid the protest.

Farmers forcibly shut an insurance company’s office. In Ropar, farmers and members of Punjab Students Union gheraoed the farmhouse of BJP leader Iqbal Singh Lalpura at Kalwan village. Later, they snapped the power supply to a telecom tower at Jhajj village.

WEST BENGAL

Top TMC rebel, 6 MLAs, one MP join BJP ahead of ’21 polls MIDNAPORE (BENGAL): In an unprecedented pre-poll churn in Bengal that Union home minister Amit Shah termed “just the beginning”, former minister and Mamata Banerjee aide Suvendu Adhikari last week led a batch of 10 turncoat MLAs and one MP – eight of them Trinamool Congress deserters – to the ranks of BJP. A total of 60 other councillors and zilla parishad and panchayat samiti members from various parties switched to saffron party in the presence of Shah, whom Adhikari referred to as “my elder brother”.

“You will be left alone by the time Bengal goes to polls,” Shah said, alluding to Mamata, at a rally in Midnapore, considered Adikari’s bastion. Of the MLA recruits, two were from the Left Front and one from Congress.

Amit Shah and Mamata banerjee

Two-time East Burdwan MP Sunil Mondal rounded off BJP’s day of gains at Trinamool’s expense.

Arch-rebel Adhikari had travelled to Midnapore from Kolkata along with Shah on the latter’s chopper. “Nobody from the party I served for 22 years called me when I was quarantined at home after contracting Covid.

Shah called me twice. Mukulda (Mukul Roy, who joined BJP from Trinamool in 2017) used to tell me that I would not be able to stay in

that party with self-respect,” he said. After accepting the BJP flag from Shah, Adhikari stressed the need for Bengal to discard the “anti-Centre narrative” of the Left and Trinamool in favour of Centrestate synergy. “I believe both Kolkata and Delhi should have governments under Modiji’s party for the sake of Bengal’s development," he said.

Countering Trinamool’s "traitor" tag for Suvendu Adhikari with Trinamool's history, Shah said, "Didi, what did you do when you quit Congress to form Trinamool?" Shah charged the Trinamool government with taking recourse to "the politics of fear" to stay in power. "More than 300 BJP workers have been killed.

They threw stones at BJP national president JP Nadda’s convoy. Didi thought we would give up. We

will not," he said.

Shah had visited freedom fighter Shahid Khudiram Bose’s family before reaching the Midnapore College ground, indicating a resolve to shake off the "outsider" label that Trinamool has stuck on BJP’s central leadership. Suvendu reminded his critics that Trinamool could not have survived without former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s support.

"Trinamool was part of the NDA then." He urged TMC workers to join him in rescuing Bengal from the "crossroads", saying "personal interests are getting precedence over public interest" in his former party. The ex-minister was particularly scathing in his criticism of Mamata's nephew and Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee, calling him "tolabaj bhaipo (extortionist nephew)" .

in brief 21-YEAR-OLD BECOMES INDIA'S YOUNGEST MAYOR Twenty-one-year-old Arya Rajendran became the next Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram on Monday after tasting victory in the recent civic polls in Kerala. The Thiruvananthapuram district secretariat of the ruling CPI(M) had recommended Arya's name for the post of mayor. Arya, now a second-year graduation student of a city college, became the youngest-ever Mayor in India. Arya had walked into the prestigious council hall of the capital city's Municipal Corporation building six days ago to take oath as a Councillor of the ruling Marxist party. She had won from the Mudavanmughal ward of the city corporation, bagging 2,872 votes, 549 more than the rival Congress candidate.

A staunch party activist hailing from a hardcore Marxist family, she said: "I have faced the election with confidence and courage. I am ready to shoulder any responsibility entrusted with me by my party. My dream is to take forward politics and my studies together."

JALLIKATTU GETS GREEN LIGHT IN TN The Tamil Nadu government has granted permission to hold traditional bull-taming sport Jallikattu with certain restrictions. As per the directive, the number of bull tamers cannot be more than 150 at an event and Covid-19 negative certificates have been made mandatory. The number of spectators has also been restricted to 50 per cent of the gathering. The Supreme Court in 2014 banned ''Jallikattu'' after a plea was filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) but the state government insisted that Jallikattu was a crucial part of its culture and identity. The ban was later lifted in January 2017 with an amendment to the law after massive protests in Chennai.

ABSCONDING KHALISTANI TERRORIST HELD The National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed to have arrested an absconding Khalistani terrorist Gurjeet Singh Nijjar, who was hiding in Cyprus (Europe), upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport last week. According to NIA officials, Nijjar of Ajnala tehsil of Amritsar district, was wanted in a case registered on January 10, 2019, against Harpal Singh under various sections of the Arms Act, Maharashtra Police Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The investigation later revealed that Nijjar was the main conspirator in the case.

“Accused Nijjar, Harpal Singh and Moin Khan were active on social media platforms and had hatched a criminal conspiracy to revive Sikh militancy for the formation of a separate state of Khalistan,” a senior NIA official said.

Nijjar left for Cyprus on October 19, 2017. He was produced in a special court to obtain his transit custody for being taken to Mumbai for further investigation, officials said.

CONG, LEFT TO JOINTLY FIGHT 2021 BENGAL POLLS Congress and the Left have decided to fight the 2021 West Bengal assembly election jointly even as Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress fights an aggressive bid by BJP to wrest power in the state. PCC president and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced the tie-up, which was expected as the two sides had been jointly undertaking programmes in the state for some time. Local Congress functionaries had spoken of the need to formalise the alliance during a virtual interaction with Rahul Gandhi and AICC state in-charge Jitin Prasada last month. While the two parties are fighting the Bengal polls together, Congress and the Left are principal rivals in Kerala.

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Defusing crisis in Ladakh after months of brinkmanship won't be easy Indian and Chinese forces have brought troop reinforcements, artillery and armour to the Himalayan border, involving more than 100,000 soldiers in the most dangerous confrontation for decades between the Asian super powers. With thousands of Chinese soldiers camped on Indian soil and negotiations to defuse the conflict deadlocked, the world’s two biggest armies are squaring off against one another at altitudes above 5,000 metres as temperatures plunge to minus 40C. The dispute over the border has escalated this year after 20 Indian troops and an unknown number of Chinese were killed in a bloodbath on the border. The stand-off has raised fears that a miscalculation by either side could tip the world’s two most populous nations - nuclear-armed powers with a joint population of more than 2.7 billion people - into open conflict. By some estimates, India has conceded more than 100 square miles of strategic territory since Chinese troops crossed the disputed mountainous border into Ladakh at several points in May, seizing strategic positions in the Galwan Valley and around Pangong Lake.

At stake is control of the ancient Silk Road passage through the Karakoram Pass, which could open better road access from the Chinese province of Xinjiang into Pakistan, India’s bitter rival.

Chinese investments in Pakistan

and the trade corridor into Central Asia, worth billions of pounds, are pivotal to President Xi’s Belt and Road initiative. Hemmed in along its northern borders by the Chinese alliance with Pakistan, India’s grip on Ladakh and the disputed region of Kashmir could be weakened by the Chinese incursion.

“It was an unprecedented step for China to take. Despite its huge economic stake in the Indian economy, they went for this belligerent expansion,” said Phunchok Stobdan, a former Indian diplomat and expert in India China relations. India may have been a proxy target to hit back

Minister Narendra Modi insisted there had been “no incursion” at the border. PM Modi balked at confronting India’s giant northern neighbour, to the fury of the opposition and military, who called for a targeted military counterstrike before China could secure its foothold on Indian soil.

Instead, China has fortified its positions inside India with concrete bunkers and expanded bases on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that divides the region. India did surprise the Chinese with a counter offensive in late August, moving thousands of troops on to high ground above the southern bank of Pangong

imposed since the 1962 SinoIndian War to avert military escalation along the border.

Under Modi, India has ramped up construction along the border, building roads, tunnels and landing strips that allow Delhi to rapidly deploy troops. The Chinese foreign ministry has said that the Indian construction drive is the “root cause of tensions”. Yet Beijing has been on a building spree of its own along the border for years, and reacted furiously when India responded. The

India and China agree to continue talks Despite no breakthrough in the ongoing talks for LAC disengagement, India and China expressed optimism on the efforts to end the eight-month-old military standoff in eastern Ladakh as they held another round of diplomatic talks on the issue. India again emphasised on complete and early disengagement at "all friction points" in the meeting that saw the two sides agreeing to have another round of military talks soon. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) meeting, which was last held on September 30, saw India and China repose confidence in the dialogue between the military commanders to end the LAC impasse. While China said both sides "spoke highly" about the last or the eighth round of meeting between senior commanders, India said the meeting had helped ensure stability on the ground. India's statement was more specific as it said the two sides had agreed to work towards ensuring complete disengagement at all friction points along the LAC in the western sector "at the earliest".

According to Beijing, India and China also agreed to take "concrete measures" to deal with the issues on the ground to further de-escalate the border situation. Both sides also agreed to maintain close consultations at the diplomatic and military level. at the US, which has taken a more aggressive posture towards China under Trump.” Caught out by the Chinese offensive, India’s initial response was simply to deny it.

Even after 20 Indian troops were killed in an ambush in June, Prime

Lake under cover of night, giving them a tactical advantage overlooking the Chinese positions.

As tensions rose further, shots were exchanged in September, the first in four decades, violating a critical no-live-fire accord,

incursion in Ladakh also fits the pattern of mounting Chinese aggression across Asia, using the cover of the coronavirus crisis to assert its claims of sovereignty through out the region. India responded by signing a defence

pact with the US and invited Australia, also locked in a diplomatic stand-off with Beijing, to join its naval exercise with the US and Japan in the Bay of Bengal last month. The move strengthens the so-called Quad, an alliance of Indo-Pacific powers that has formed to counter China’s rising sea power. With a surge of antiChinese nationalism sweeping India, Delhi banned scores of Chinese mobile phone apps, including TikTok. Defusing the crisis in Ladakh after months of brinkmanship will not be easy.

Mutual distrust is entrenched on either side. After another round of high-level military negotiations last month failed to agree a mutual withdrawal from the highest strategic positions occupied by the two armies, both are resigned to a logistical race to provide supplies and heating for the troops, who must survive the winter.

What happens next looks likely to depend heavily on China’s next move. “The Chinese have risked so much in terms of their bilateral relationship with India that it will be difficult to back down,” Lieutenant-General D S Hooda, the former chief of India’s Northern Command, said. “I don’t think India is looking at a military response, at least for now. So we are reaching an extended stand-off that puts bilateral relations between them at stake.”

Don’t fly in Chinese nationals, Modi calls for a code in South China Centre informally tells airlines Sea as India, Vietnam signs 7 pacts In a retaliatory step, India has asked all airlines informally not to fly Chinese nationals into the country. This comes after China’s not-so-subtle move to stop Indians from flying into their country, something that has only tightened since November.

While flights between India and China are currently suspended, Chinese nationals eligible to travel as per current norms for foreigners have been doing so by first flying to a third country with which India has a travel bubble. And from there, they fly to India. In addition, Chinese nationals living in air bubble countries have also been flying to India from there for work and business.

Over the past weekend, airlines - both Indian and foreign - have been specifically asked not to fly Chinese nationals to India.

At the moment tourist visas to India remain suspended but foreigners are allowed to travel here on work and some other categories of non-tourist visas. Industry sources say a majority of Chinese nationals flying to India have been coming from air bubble countries in Europe.

Some airlines, it is learned, asked the authorities to give them something in writing so that they can give reason for denying boarding to Chinese nationals booked on flights to India as per current

norms. New Delhi's response comes when Indian seafarers are stranded in various Chinese ports because China is refusing to allow them on shore, or even to change crew.

This has affected almost 1,500 Indians serving on international flag merchant vessels as they can’t even come back home.

Though the target is Australia, whose coal is now banned by China, Indian seafarers have taken a big collateral hit and Beijing does not seem to be willing to organise immediate relief.

Questioned this week, the Chinese foreign ministry lobbed the ball back in the courts of local authorities. But officials say there are no permissions forthcoming from any local authority. The Chinese government has given a list of steps to be followed, but, Indian officials say, they are designed to frustrate efforts.

In early November, China had suspended the entry of foreign nationals holding valid Chinese visas or residence permits from some countries, including India due to the pandemic. “The Chinese embassy/consulates in India will not stamp the health declaration forms for the holders of the above-mentioned categories of visa or residence permits," the Chinese embassy in India had said in a statement on its website on November 5, while exempting some categories of visa holders like diplomats.

China’s shadow loomed large over IndiaVietnam virtual summit with PM Narendra Modi stressing to his counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc that negotiations for a Code of Conduct (CoC) in the disputed South China Sea (SCS) waters should not undermine the interests of other countries or third parties in the region while hailing Hanoi as a pillar of India’s act East policy.

The summit saw the two countries sign seven agreements in areas as diverse as defence, petrochemicals and renewable and nuclear energy with the highlight being a framework agreement for cooperation between defence industries. The agreement is expected to help Vietnam utilise two defence lines of credit India announced earlier, $500 million and $100 million, for the ASEAN country.

Modi’s reiteration of India’s position on CoC is significant as both India and US fear that China could influence ASEAN countries into accepting an agreement that ignores the rights of third countries that are not party to the South China Sea disputes. Beijing has so far seemed reluctant to incorporate or acknowledge these rights in CoC. India and Vietnam announced implementation of the High Speed Guard Boat (HSGB) Manufacturing Project for Vietnam Border Guard Command under the $ 100 million line of credit with India handing over a completed vessel. Seven more HSGBs will be manufactured in

Vietnam. As defence remains the central pillar of India’s comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam, both leaders also agreed to further institutionalize such exchanges through mutual logistics support, regular ship visits, joint exercises, exchanges in military science and technology, information sharing, and also cooperation in UN peacekeeping.

As expected, in the light of growing Chinese expansionism which has affected both India and Vietnam, the countries discussed the security situation in SCS in detail with both leaders reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and over flight in the region. In a joint vision document, they also underlined the significance of pursuing peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to threat or use of force. “Both leaders underscored the importance of non-militarisation and self restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, and avoidance of actions that could further complicate the situation or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability,” said the document. It also said that the CoC had to be in accordance with international law, especially the UNCLOS. Modi reiterated that Vietnam was an important pillar of India’s Indo-Pacific vision.

26 INDIA

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Trump confers 'The Legion of Merit' award to PM Modi

In a first, the government of India has decided to issue a National Security Directive for the telecommunication sector to mandate scrutiny of telecom equipment and sources, in what is seen as its latest economic offensive against Chinese equipment vendors, amid heightened tension at the Ladakh border.

US President Donald Trump has presented America’s highest military decoration - 'The Legion of Merit' – award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his strong leadership and vision under which India’s emergence as a global power has accelerated, and for elevating strategic partnership between US and India.

Official sources said, The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, conferred on Prime Minister Modi on behalf of the President, is a rarely awarded, prestigious decoration that can only be bestowed by Trump, typically to heads of state or heads of government of other countries.

The award was accepted by India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on behalf of the prime minister from US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien at the White House.

The citation with the award “For exceptionally states: meritorious service as the Prime Minister of the Republic of India from May 2014 to August 2020.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s steadfast leadership and vision have accelerated India’s emergence as a global power and elevated the strategic partnership between the US and India to address global challenges. Prime Minister Modi’s personal engagement expanded US-India ties across all facets of the relationship, helping to establish a strong foundation for an enduring partnership that is based on shared commitment to freedom,

Clamp down on use of Chinese telecom infra in the offing

democratic principles, the equal treatment of all citizens, and the rule of law.

“India is a key partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific, where the two countries are increasing collaboration to ensure freedom of the seas, open and transparent investment and infrastructure development, secure and reliable digital networks, and good governance.” In a glowing tribute, the citation also adds: “Prime Minister Modi’s personal initiative the defence strengthened partnership between the United States and India, enhancing the US’ ability to secure joint military cooperation that addressed shared challenges. His efforts to expand India’s economic cooperation with the US have advanced prosperity, investment and job creation in both countries.

“Prime Minister Modi’s superior effort, personal leadership, and unwavering commitment to advancing

strategic cooperation between the United States and India and promoting global peace and prosperity reflect great credit upon himself, the Indian armed forces, and his country.” The Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, is a domed fivepointed American white star plaque of heraldic form bordered in purplish-red enamel 215/16 inches circumscribing diameter with 13 white stars on a blue field emerging from a circle of clouds; backing the star, a laurel wreath with pierced, crossed arrows pointing outward between each arm of the star and the wreath.

The reverse is engraved with the words ‘United States of America.’

The decoration was last awarded in 1991. In September this year, after a very long gap, President Trump awarded the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to Sheikh Sabah AlAhmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait.

The action, finalised by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), will result in a list of trusted sources and products from the government, which will also amend the licence norms for telecom companies.

Although the government refrained from specifying the country that will be impacted, it was clearly aimed at India’s aggressive neighbour, with companies such as Huawei and ZTE likely to face enhanced scrutiny, and even rejections, to ward off any covert operation and possible threat to the telecom infrastructure.

Huawei counts Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and other enterprise customers as its key clients in India, while ZTE is a major supplier to BSNL and other state-owned enterprises.

While it will not impact equipment that has already been deployed, going forward all telecom gear, especially those used for 5G services, will be kept under strict watch. “The methodology to designate trusted products will be devised by the designated authority, the National Cyber Security Coordinator. Telecom service providers (mobile operators) are required to connect new devices that are designated trusted

products,” communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, adding that the policy was framed keeping in mind the country’s security needs.

Chinese equipment suppliers are already under the scanner globally, with countries such as Australia, the US and the UK banning their access, especially in the 5G space, while others like Germany increasing scrutiny. Apart from the equipment vendors, some telecom operators which have been sourcing products from Huawei and ZTE, are also nervous, especially after the government stepped in to restrict Chinese products for stateowned BSNL and MTNL. Some of the mobile operators fear that any further escalation between India and China will mean network support and that upgradations from Chinese providers may come to a halt. It may benefit European players such as Nokia and Ericsson, American Cisco and South Korean Samsung, especially when it comes to the deployment of 5G services and infrastructure. In recent months, India has banned the import of equipment from China for use in sectors ranging from telecom to power, citing national security.

Some of the bans were driven by concerns such as spyware or malicious software — known as ‘malware’ — being embedded in the imported equipment. Also, there has been widespread action against Chinese apps like Tik-Tok, PubG, UC Browser, We-Chat and CamScanner, most of which have been banned due to national security concerns.

Govt invites farm unions for next round of talks on Dec 30 Continued from page - 1 Taking note of the unions' offer to resume talks, Aggarwal said, 'The government is also committed to finding a logical solution on all relevant issues with a clear intention and an open mind.' It's been over a month now that thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, are camping at Delhi borders seeking repeal of the three farm laws. They have threatened to intensify their stir in the coming days if their demands are not fulfilled.

Unions set four conditions The farm unions have set four points before agreeing to resume talks with the Centre. The specific points include modalities to repeal the new farm laws and a legal guarantee for higher minimum support price (MSP). Underlining these top two issues, a ‘conditional’ proposal was sent to the Centre.

Since the unions in their letter set out the outstanding issues according to the “sequence” proposed by them - repeal of laws and MSP guarantee are the first and second - officials in the ministry feel the formulation can complicate negotiations with even less prickly matters getting stuck with the deal breakers.

Unions threaten tractor rally Though the agriculture ministry has agreed on a wideranging discussion, it has indicated

its unwillingness to consider scrapping the laws it says benefit a large majority of farmers. The insistence of the agitating farmers that the laws be rolled back has been the central hurdle since talks began on October 13. The other two points which the unions want to be added are keeping farmers outside the ambit of penalty provision on stubble burning in the new ordinance on air quality management in Delhi-NCR and changes in the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill to protect the interests of farmers. These are not a sticking point, as the agriculture ministry in its last letter to farm unions on December 24 agreed to discuss additional points and has also hinted that the demands can be met.

“If you are sincere about respectfully listening to the farmers, as you say in your letter, the government must not indulge in misinformation about the previous meetings. The campaign launched by the entire state machinery to defame and malign the farmers’ movement must stop forthwith,” said the letter, read by leader of Swaraj India and Jai Kisan Andolan Yogendra Yadav, at a joint press conference.

The unions warned that if the next round of talks also end in a stalemate, they will hold a massive tractor trolley march on December 30. The groups urged farm activists to reach Singhu border and then march to Tikri and then to Shahjahanpur on the KMP

expressway.

PM reaches out to protesting farmers In yet another outreach to the Sikh community, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last episode of this year’s “Mann ki Baat” recalled sacrifices made by the Sikh Gurus and their families, referring to the martydom of Guru Gobind Singh's sons Zorawar and Fateh Singh who were walled alive by the Mughals. The Sikh community has played a vital role in preserving the fabric of the country and resisted attempts of invaders who wanted the Gurus and their families to renounce their faith, the Prime Minister said, referring to the Mughal rulers -without naming them - as tyrants and tormentors.

Paying homage to Guru Gobind Singh's sons, the Prime Minister said they had held onto their faith even as they saw death closing in on them. This is the third time Modi recalled the Sikh Gurus in recent speeches having referred to Guru Gobind Singh's message of dialogue at all times and then visiting Gurudwara Rakabganj in central Delhi to commemorate the matrydom of Guru Tegh Bahadur who was cremated there. His Mann Ki Baat referred to the visit and showed footage of his praying there.

Modi also recalled Guru Gobind Singh’s mother Mata Gujari, who too had attained martyrdom with her grandchildren.

The Prime

Minister's references to the 10th Guru, who militarised his community and had raised Khalsa warriors, also saw him emphasising December 27 be commemorated as "balidan (sacrifice) day” to honour the Sikh religious leader's two sons.

Hold new farm laws: SC to govt The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to consider deferring implementation of the contentious farm laws as a step towards resumption of dialogue with agri unions. Attorney general K K Venugopal’s immediate response was, “That (deferring) is not possible”. When the apex court bench said the government could consider this to help resume stalled talks, he relented and said he would discuss with the Centre. However, solicitor general Tushar Mehta vehemently said deferment was out of question. The bench told the SG

not to put a spoke when the AG had already said he would discuss with the government and respond.

The court also observed the farmers’ constitutional right to protest could not impede citizens’ right to free movement. The suggestion of deferment came towards the end of an hour-long hearing before a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, where any forward movement on the vexed issue became a challenge as none of the important protesting farmer unions were represented.

In its comments, the court held up the farm unions’ right to protest but also noted that talks were needed or else the protest could drag on without results. It also noted that the right to protest should not infringe upon the right of other citizens to go about their daily lives and businesses.

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No one should be deprived on Pollution killed 1.7mn in India the basis of religion: in 2019, says new study PM Modi at AMU event In a significant speech to mark centenary celebrations at the Aligarh Muslim University which was wracked by anti-CAA protests a year ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said politics can wait but development cannot even as he assured that the government's policies will work towards ensuring no one is deprived on the basis of religion.

Modi said the country is moving on a path where every citizen is assured of his or her constitution-given rights with no one left behind due to one’s religion and this is the basis of the ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas’ pledge. He dwelled on several initiatives for the poor that he said benefited all without discrimination. “I will remind you of something Sir Syed said. A person, who thinks of their country, works for the welfare of every person, irrespective of community, religion.

For national development, all differences must be set aside.

We have to work on a common ground,” he said, recalling the AMU founder.

Attending the AMU event via video-conferencing, Modi said development

Narendra Modi

should not be seen through a political prism and that it should be possible to agree on some elements of national interest. “We must realise that politics is an important part of society, but there are many other issues in society besides politics. There are some elements that may have an issue with this. They can be found in all countries.

They will spread negativity.

But these people will be sidelined if we work for the betterment of the country keeping politics aside. Politics can wait, society can wait, (but) the country can’t wait for development, the poor and disadvantaged can’t wait for development.”

“The country is today proceeding on a path where everyone gets equal opportunities to progress,” the PM said and underlined AMU’s inclusive nature, which he

Jaishankar hosts ‘Visegrad-4’ envoys with eye on boosting ties India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a luncheon meeting with the envoys of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary recently as India looks to build closer ties with the Visegrad-4 countries in the EU. Adam Burakowski of Poland, Milan Hovorka of Czech Republic, Ivan Lancaric of Slovakia and Andras Kiraly of Hungary met the minister. "Pleasure to host the Ambassadors of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary today. Good conversation on ways of expanding our bilateral cooperation. Also discussed global politics and India-EU relations. Look forward to strengthening our partnership with Visegrad group," Jaishankar tweeted.

India is aiming to build a close grouping with the Visegrad-4, where the areas of focus would be trade, tourism and connectivity. The Visegrad group of four countries - a political and cultural grouping - has been on India’s radar for some time. Jaishankar visited Poland and Hungary in 2019, soon after taking over as foreign minister. Poland started flying its national carrier into India late last year, which stopped after the pandemic hit.

India has been investing more in EU countries, both for political reasons as well as to open new markets.

said represents a “mini India”. “On the one side, Urdu is taught, on the other, Hindi. Arabic is taught and so is Sanskrit. In the library, next to Quran manuscripts, translations of Gita and Ramayana rest with just as much care. This diversity is the strength of institutions like AMU and of India. We should not forget this, or let it weaken. The sentiment of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ should be strengthened on the AMU campus.”

In an important reference, Modi said gender is a “priority” area for the government. “The dropout rate among Muslim girls was more than 70%. This situation persisted for 70 years.

Then, the government started the Swachh Bharat Mission, built toilets in villages and schools. Now, that has dropped to 30 per cent.”

Air pollution killed nearly 1.7 million people in India in 2019, accounting for an alarming 17.8% of all deaths in the country in the year, a new paper written as a collaborative effort by Indian institutions that include ICMR has said. The economic loss due to lost output from premature deaths and disease caused by pollution last year was estimated at around £26 billion, nearly 1.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) with Delhi suffering the highest per capita loss, followed by Haryana.

The health and economic losses are higher than previously estimated.

The study was conducted by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative, a collaborative effort involving over 300 researchers from institutions like ICMR, Public Health Foundation of India, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and others and assumes significance as it provides data from across different states for policy-makers. The findings show the per capita economic loss due to air pollution was generally higher in states with high per capita GDP. “This scientific paper presents the latest evidence on air pollution in India,

impact of outdoor air pollution alone on state GDP, Delhi recorded a loss of 1.06%. UP still recorded the highest loss to GDP at just over 1.3% followed by Punjab at 1.2%.

Overall, deaths and diseases caused by air pollution are linked to loss of almost 1.4% of India’s GDP, the study shows. While 40% of the disease burden due to air pollution is from lung diseases, the remaining 60% is from ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and neonatal deaths related to preterm birth. While household air pollution is decreasing in India resulting in 64% reduction in the death rate per 1,00,000 population attributable to it from 1990 to 2019, the death rate from outdoor air pollution has increased during this period by 115%.

Tatas to upgrade 225 ITIs in Gujarat Almost a decade after setting up its Nano project in Gujarat, Tata Group has proposed a fresh big-ticket investment in the state - of over £700 million to upgrade Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). It is expected to bridge the demandsupply gap in terms of trained blue-collar workers in ever expanding industries of Gujarat. Tata Group has proposed the PPP (publicprivate partnership) model to upgrade the 225 ITIs in the state and has already tied up with the Gujarat government for setting up and operating Indian Institute of Skills (IIS).

Except for the admission process, Tata Group will

manage all aspects of the functioning of the ITIs in the state for five years.

Ownership rights of the institutes will, however, remain with the state government. Tata Group has proposed an investment of £3.4 million for each ITI and the total upgrade cost will be about £765 million. Tata Group will bear 88% of the cost, while the government

India's first diverless train flagged off Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India's first fully “driverless” train on Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line and the national common mobility card on Airport Express Line on Monday through videoconferencing.

The first train started from Jasola Vihar-Shaheen Bagh station of the 37km Botanical Garden-Janakpuri West line. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri also took part in the event.

Modi said the driverless train showed how fast India was moving towards a smart system. While a metro system was discussed in Delhi for years,

translating health loss to economic impact. The paper provides a ro bust assessment of the cur rent situation in each state and highlights that augment ing the existing air pollution control efforts based on the specific situation of each state would be useful. Air pollution and its impact is not a matter for the health sector alone, and the solutions lie in a multi-sec toral approach,” Niti Aayog member-health Dr VK Paul said.

The economic loss due to premature deaths and illness attributable to air pollution outdoor and household — as a percentage of state GDP was 1.08% in Delhi. The highest loss to GDP was recorded by Uttar Pradesh at nearly 2.6% followed by Bihar at 1.9% and Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan 1.7% each.

When it comes to

the first train ran due to the efforts of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“When our government was formed in 2014, only five cities had Metro rail. Today, 18 cities have Metro rail service. By 2025, we are going to extend it to more than 25 cities,” Modi said. From 248 kilometres of opera-

tional Metro lines in 2014, the number now stands at over 700, which may get expanded to 1,700 km by 2025. “These are not just infrastructures made from brick stones, concrete and iron, but evidence of the realisation of the aspiration of the citizens and the middle class of the country,” he emphasised.

The national mobility card is part of the process of integrating the systems of the country like One Nation, One Fastag and One Nation, One Tax in form of GST to One Nation, One Power Grid and the country is now moving in the direction of One Nation, One Agriculture Market, Modi said.

The card was introduced in Ahmedabad last year.

will take care of the remainder.

In its proposal to the state government, Tata Group said, “Towards PM Modi’s Skill India programme, we have already contributed for developing IIS in Gujarat.” “During the inaugural address of IIS, Union home minister Amit Shah had suggested that our group examines the possibility for upgradation of the ITIs and it really motivated us to help the ITIs in the state.”

The company added: “Tata Technologies, along with the Gujarat government, would like to upgrade with latest industrial tech-

nology tools, hardware, machinery, course and integration. The ITI facility upgradation will be majorly funded by the industries led

by Tata Technologies.”

Manoj Das, additional chief secretary at the chief minister’s office and the industries and mines department, confirmed the development. “The proposal of Tata Technologies for upgrading the ITIs is under active consideration,” Das said. “The state government, under the Skill India mission, has made a series of reforms. Tata Group has significant presence in the state in various sectors and its technical expertise will help the state enhance skills of youth and workforce.”

28 HEALTH

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CDC guidelines for allergic reactions to Covid-19 vaccines The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised people who are severely allergic to the ingredients in the Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine not to get the inoculation.

The guidelines were issued after six people in the United States experienced a significant allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, after getting the vaccine. The reactions, which included elevated heart rate, shortness breath, and of lightheadedness, occurred within 30 minutes of vaccination. In Alaska, two healthcare workers developed symptoms within 10 minutes of being inoculated.

Severe reactions to Covid19 vaccines appear to be isolated with only a small handful of serious reactions occurring out of the hundreds of thousands of people who’ve been vaccinated in the United States. The CDC recommends all adults be monitored for 15 minutes after getting vaccinated.

People with a history of severe allergic reactions should be observed for 30

minutes in a medical facility that can provide quick treatment if an adverse event occurs.

What ingredients to look for The CDC is advising that people who have a history of allergic reactions to any of the ingredients included in the shots talk with their doctor before getting vaccinated. The full list of ingredients - which include sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and a number of lipids - can be found on the Pfizer vaccine’s prescribing information chart. Moderna’s vaccine prescribing information also lists the ingredients, which include various lipids, sodium acetate, and tromethamine.

Another ingredient in

question is polyethylene glycol, a laxative commonly used with colonoscopies. Few cases of anaphylactic reaction have been linked to polyethylene glycol, but the reaction has been reported in the past. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines don’t include preservatives, and the vial stoppers are not made with latex.

People who’ve had a serious allergic reaction to any injectable medicine or vaccine in the past should consult their doctor. These individuals can still get the vaccine, but they’ll be monitored for a longer period of time, according to Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Those with other

allergies not related to vaccines - including “allergies to food, pet, venom, environmental, or latex” should still get vaccinated, the CDC recommends.

You should still plan to get vaccinated if: You’ve had a serious allergic reaction to oral medications.

You have a family history of severe allergic reactions to vaccines. You’ve had mild reactions to vaccines. Dr. Henry Bernstein, a pediatrician at Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center and a member of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), said the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are closely monitoring reactions to the vaccine.

“Safety is being closely monitored as always with all vaccines, and especially now with the Covid-19 vaccines,” Bernstein said. The system is working, Schaffner said. The cases are under careful investigation to determine the nature of these problems, Schaffner noted. “It’s still very early days, but we know it’s very unusual,” he added.

Early signs of type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes is a common condition. A 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 30.3 million adults in the United States have diabetes. The report also estimated that another 84.1 million adults have prediabetes.

People with prediabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, but doctors do not consider them to have diabetes yet.

According to the CDC, people with prediabetes often develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years if they do not get treatment. The onset of type 2 diabetes can be gradual, and symptoms can be mild during the early stages. As a result, many people may not realize that they have this condition.

The early signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes can include: Frequent urination When blood sugar levels are high, the kidneys try to remove the excess sugar by filtering it out of the blood.

This can lead to a person needing to urinate more frequently, particularly at night.

breaks food down into a simple sugar called glucose, which the body uses as fuel.

In people with diabetes, not enough of this glucose moves from the bloodstream into the body’s cells. As a result, people with type 2 diabetes often feel constantly hungry, regardless of how recently they have eaten.

Increased thirst The frequent urination can result in the body losing additional water. Over time, this can cause dehydration and lead to a person feeling more thirsty than usual.

Blurry vision An excess of sugar in the blood can damage the tiny blood vessels in the eyes, which can cause blurry vision. This blurry vision can occur in one or both of the eyes and may come and go.

Always feeling hungry People with diabetes often do not get enough energy from the food they eat. The digestive system

Slow healing of cuts and wounds High levels of sugar in the blood can damage the body’s nerves and blood

vessels, which can impair blood circulation. As a result, even small cuts and wounds may take weeks or months to heal.

Patches of dark skin Patches of dark skin forming on the creases of the neck, armpit, or groin can also signify a higher risk of diabetes. These patches may feel very soft and velvety.

Itching and yeast infections Excess sugar in the blood and urine provides food for yeast, which can lead to infection. Yeast infections tend to occur on warm, moist areas of the skin, such as the mouth, genital areas, and armpits. The affected areas are usually itchy, but a person may also experience burning, redness, and soreness.

Charging towards 2021 with a positive mind Psychologist Mamta Saha Dear Readers, Feeling amazing shouldn’t be hard work; and if we try, we can make a huge difference to our general well-being and state of mind. Normally I would write an article that is all about the changes you can adopt in your life to help you to start feeling amazing the moment you choose to, but I know that at this time of year its not always easy and particularly with the year we have all experienced.

December itself is often a time where we feel the pressure of perfection. We are surrounded by constant reminders of what our home should look like, wonderful relationships we should have and the extravagant gifts we should be giving and receiving. This can often make us feel far from amazing as we begin to compare ourselves and worry that our lives do not live up to these socially enforced flawless festive expectations.

BUT you are special and unique in your own way and when you start to love what is without comparison, life feels so much better. I assure you that despite the pressure we may feel there are still simple things you can do to make a difference to how amazing you feel!

Identify 3 positive things that happened in your day and write them down. You can look back over these and see how much positivity you can/have achieved – it will be a great mood enhancer.

Give yourself 15 minutes to write down why you value your close friends and family. This will give you perspective on you’re closest relationships and will help you recognise a sense of support that you may otherwise have overlooked.

Say and think 3 positive things a day. Thinking and talking negatively will make you feel the opposite of amazing. Regardless of how good you may look on the outside, your negative energy will take away any potential spring that you could have had in your step!

Try going to bed one hour earlier than usual in this festive period. You will notice how much more vibrant and alive you feel.

Spend an evening of watching your favourite movies, this is called movie therapy. Doing this can support you in appreciating the relationships you have in your life and further help you to clarify real life solutions to any problems you may have.

Make sure you recharge for 15 minutes before attempting any home tasks after a long day out. This discipline will help you to move into the rest of your evening feeling relaxed and refreshed rather than strung out by seemingly never-ending festivities.

All too often in life we worry about the end result, get embarrassed by our efforts and give up. True change is about the process and not what it looks like. Be your own best friend not your own worst enemy and give yourself credit. Feel great that you have a choice to change how you feel and start making steps towards being amazing today.

Wishing you luck, prosperity and happiness for you and your family this festive period and into the new year.

For more tips and tools download your free e-book ‘Just in time’ from www.mamtasaha.com, tune into Saha Mindset podcast on Spotify and follow me on Instagram: saha_mamta.

Any questions, email: mamta@mamtasaha.com

People recovered from Covid-19 should also go for vaccination Experts were of the opinion that even if you had recovered from Covid-19 pandemic, you still need to go for vaccination. It may help prevent reinfection and lower your risk of getting sick again.

“We’re really happy to have a safe and effective tool (against Covid19),” Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, said. “We’re encouraging everybody to explore their opportunity to access the vaccine as soon as that’s made available to them,” he said.

Natural immunity may wane When someone develops Covid-19, their immune system

learns to recognize the virus and begins to produce antibodies to fight against it. If that person recovers from the disease, they may have immunity against reinfection with the virus for a period of time afterwards.

However, questions remain about how long that immunity lasts.

“We don’t know how long the immunity triggered by infection

persists, and someone infected in the spring may no longer be immunologically protected now in December,” Dr. David Hirschwerk, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York, said. “It does stand to reason that somebody with Covid-19 infection is likely immune for 3 to 4 months at least,” he said, “but we don’t have firm data to support this yet.”

Cases of reinfection with the virus that causes Covid-19 have been reported.

Vaccination may raise immunity Getting vaccinated may help to strengthen immunity against Covid-19. In an ongoing clinical trial, Pfizer and BioNTech have

studied their vaccine in people with and without a history of exposure to the virus. Their research to date has found the vaccine is 95 per cent effective at preventing Covid. Their findings suggest it may help prevent reinfection in people who have already been exposed to the virus, as well as lowering the risk of infection in people with no history of exposure.

“Data from the phase 2/3 trial for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine suggest that the vaccine is safe and likely effective in persons with previous evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Dr. Miriam Smith, chief of infectious disease at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills in Queens, New York. “The vaccine

should be offered to all persons regardless of history of prior symptomatic or asymptomatic infection,” she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently advises that people with a known history of Covid-19 may wait up to nearly 90 days after their prior infection to get vaccinated, if they prefer to do so.

While more research is needed, available evidence suggests that reinfection with this virus is rare within 90 days of initial infection.

If someone currently has active symptoms of Covid-19, the CDC recommends they wait to get vaccinated until they’ve recovered and met the criteria for ending isolation.

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Female-oriented films made on smaller budgets, says Taapsee Pannu Actor Taapsee Pannu has opened up about the challenges of working in small budget, female-driven movies. Talking about her upcoming 'Rashmi Rocket', she said the filmmakers do not have the luxury of a large budget and can not even be compared to 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' despite the storylines being almost the same.

“You don't have as much of a budget in female-driven films as you have in male-driven ones. So you can't rely on VFX, you have to work on your body. Besides, a female cannot invest a full year in a film because she isn't paid as much as her male counterpart,” Taapsee said. She added,

“Humare film ka budget itna hota hai jitna ek male actor ki ek film ki fee hoti hai (Our films cost as much as a male actor’s fee). And if I decided to invest a year in the prep and shoot of a film, I would be losing out on five films. That just won’t be practical. The kind of stuff that I am now getting is something that I can hardly say ‘no’ to.”

On the work front, Taapsee delivered a critically acclaimed performance earlier this year with Anubhav Sinha's 'Thappad'. She has multiple films in the pipeline, including 'Haseen Dillruba', 'Shabaash Mithu', and 'Looop Lapeta'.

Aditya Roy Kapur wants to keep his 'film average going' The ongoing pandemic has made 2020 unusual for everyone, including the film industry. Actor Aditya Roy Kapur, however, has no complaints, instead delivering three releases.

Aditya said, “In all my career so far, this is the firs time that I have had the most number of releases. I shot three of them last year just before it all went south. I really did enjoy working this much.”

He added, “Last year was amazing for me shooting three different films, with three different directors I love.

That is what gives me a lot of happiness. And I hope going forward, I keep up the film average going.” Kapur acknowledged the contribution of

OTT platforms in the realm of entertainment, especially this year. He said, “As an actor, there's so much more interesting work that's happening. So many different stories are being told.

This is one of the best times to be an actor because you have all kinds of materials that's being made out there, and a lot of credit has to go to the OTT platforms.”

The 35 year old foresees that these digital platforms will stay in our lives for a very long time. “OTT has become such an integral part of our lives and the things we derive our entertainment from. It has become this wonderful and new way to have new things to watch. So, in that sense, as a viewer, it's lovely because we're spoilt for choices.”

Amitabh Bachchan shares the disadvantages of being an actor Amitabh Bachchan is one of the biggest stars of his generation, however, even he has to deal with a few disadvantages.

The veteran actor recently shared a post about how he had to boast about having a sweet tooth during an ad shoot, when in real life he can't consume sweets.

Sharing a picture of himself holding a gulab jamun and a rasgulla in each hand with a smile on his face, Bachchan wrote, “when you have given up sweet

food, and have been handed over rasgulla and gulab jamuns for a shoot and have been told to make such an expression as if you have actually eaten them. There cannot be a bigger torture in life.”

Bachchan shared several more candid pictures from the shoot, featuring him holding a bunch of snacks in his hand. He captioned one of the pictures that showed him holding a soya

stick. “.. want one .. nah . . . BYOB ..!!!”

Bachchan is extremely active on social media, and shares candid posts on social media throughout the day besides spreading awareness about social issues such as taking precautionary measures during the ongoing pandemic.

On the work front, Bachchan will be seen next in Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Brahmastra' and Emraan Hashmi-starrer 'Chehre'.

Case filed against Saif over controversial 'Adipurush' comment Actor Saif Ali Khan has landed in a legal trouble as a case has been filed against him for his controversial comment about his forthcoming movie, 'Adipurush.' An advocate from Uttar Pradesh has registered a case against him and director Om Raut for hurting religious sentiments. Saif's statement pertaining to the Hindu epic Ramayana was widely criticized, after which he had issued an apology.

As per reports, the said plea will be heard in the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) court in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

The advocate, named Himanshu Srivastava, said in his petition that he believes in Sanatan Dharma,

adding that Lord Ram is a symbol of goodness, whereas Raavan is seen as evil. Himanshu, along with several witnesses, has claimed that Saif's statements have hurt their religious sentiments and portrayed "faith in Sanatan Dharma" in a negative light. The application has been filed under Section 156(3).

Talking about his role in 'Adipurush', Saif had said, "It is interesting to play a demon king, less strictures in that. But we will make him humane, up the entertainment quotient, justify his abduction of Sita and the war with Ram." His comment drew criticism from many, and he received heavy backlash on social media. After Saif's controversial comment came

to the fore, many demanded an apology and the removal of the actor from the project.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Kadam also objected to it. He said, "If Adipurush plans to show Ravan in positive light and justify the inhuman act of abduction of Sita Maa, we will never allow that to happen. Hope better sense prevails (sic)." After receiving backlash from several sections, Saif retracted his statement and issued an apology. He said, "This was never my intention or meant that way. I would like to sincerely apologize to everybody and withdraw my statement." The movie is slated to hit the screens on August 11, 2022.

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Shraddha sets social media ablaze with latest saree look Blinking like a ray of sunshine, Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor treated her fans with a scintillating post. Fans cannot stop gushing over Shraddha's traditional saree look that she recently shared on her social media handles.

The 33-year-old star exuded elegance while being draped into embroidered mustard coloured Arpita Mehta saree, which she accessorised with sober Indian jewellery inclusive of bangles and a statement 'maang tika'.

Skipping neckpiece and earrings, she complemented the look with open wavy hair and minimal makeup look.

The 'Street Dancer 3D' actor was

dressed for one of her cousin's wedding ceremonies which she announced earlier through her Instagram story. With the post that accumulated more than one million likes within a few hours of being posted, Shraddha kept the caption simple and posted a yellow heart emoticon acknowledging her team for the look she sported.

On the work front, Shraddha has had a busy year with her back to back releases like 'Street Dancer 3D' and 'Baaghi 3'. Besides, the 'Saaho' star has also announced her next with Ranbir Kapoor followed by the 'Nagin' trilogy, in which she will portray the lead.

Genre: Comedy Duration: 135 minutes

Coolie No.1 returns with Varun and Sara Coolie No 1 is the masterpiece of David Dhawan starring his son Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan in the lead roles.

Kangana asks why Diljit, Priyanka's intentions not questioned Actor Kangana Ranaut is known for a lot of things, her capabilities to stir up a storm being one of them. The actress recently posted a video on Instagram in which she called the ongoing farmers' protests “politically motivated”. She also demanded to know why she is put to test on a regular basis while celebrities like Priyanka Chopra and Diljit Dosanjh are rarely questioned about their intentions.

In the video, Kangana said, “I had given everyone my word that I will speak about the farmers' protests once the true motivations are revealed, just like the Shaheen Bagh protests. After the kind of mental and emotional lynching and rape threats I have faced online during these 10-12 days, it’s my right to ask some questions to this country. Since the Prime Minister has made everything clear, there is no scope for any doubts, it has been proven that this entire movement was politically motivated and even terrorists had started participating in it.”

She said, “I have lived in Punjab... I know 99.9% people of Punjab do not want Khalistan. They don’t want a piece of this country, they belong to India. From Arunachal Pradesh to

Maharashtra to Delhi, it’s all theirs. They don’t want a small portion, they all are patriots. I don’t have any complains with terrorists who want to break this country, I understand their feelings. But how do these innocent people let these terrorists play with them. Like the Shaheen Bagh dadi couldn’t read but was protesting to save her citizenship, the dadi from Punjab has been hurling abuses at me and trying to save her land from the government, what is happening in this country?”

Kangana recently had an ugly face-off with Dosanjh on Twitter over the protests, where the Punjabi singer relentlessly snapped at her through a series of tweets. In the video, she said, “I have a complaint against you.

I have to talk about my intentions every day, a patriot has to clarify so many things. But people like Diljit and Priyanka, no one asks about their intentions. What is their policy? When I talk in favour of this country, I am accused of doing politics.

Ask them as well what is their policy. Jai Hind.”

The original Coolie No 1 released in 1995 starring Govinda and Karishma Kapoor in the lead roles. The storyline of the new Coolie No 1 was pretty much the same as the original where Raju played by Varun Dhawan is a coolie working at the train station.

A pandit is invited to the house of the Rosario family but the father is not accepting any offers for his daughters hand in marriage from anyone who isn’t filthy rich. The pandit decides he is going to teach Jefferey Rosario a lesson.

He meets Raju and who is instantly smitten by Sarah Rosario’s photo and the pandit decides he is going to get Raju to pose as a rich man and marry Sarah.

Kareena walks down memory lane, reveals how she sneaked out to meet a boy In a new revelation, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan said she was put in a boarding school by mother Babita Kapoor after she got a “bit too naughty and rebellious”. Revealing an incident, she said her involvement with a boy got her into trouble.

Talking to journalist Barkha Dutt, Kareena said, “I was around 1415 and I really liked this boy.

My mother w a s obviously upset about it and being a

single mother, she was like, 'This is not going to happen.' So she used to lock the phone in her room.”

She added, “I obviously wanted to go out with my friends and meet this particular guy. Mum had gone out for dinner. I managed to break the lock like an actual locksmith, with a knife, go into the room, take the phone, make plans and run away from the house. It was that bad.”

The actress is now married to Saif Ali Khan, and is expecting their second child. Just like with Taimur, Kareena is working through this pregnancy as well.

On the work front, she is currently shooting for her chat show 'What Women Want'. She will be seen next on the big screen in Advait Chandan's 'Laal Singh Chaddha'.

Raju and the pandit set off on their journey and Sarah falls hopelessly in love with Raj Pratap Singh and does not realise he is actually a coolie.

Post the wedding Raju must now pretend that his father has thrown him out the massive house they own and in the middle of all the madness he also gets caught working at the station where he says he actually has a twin brother called Raju.

Things start getting out of hand as lies on top of lies keep being told until Sarah finds out the truth. Will she forgive Raju and will Jefferey accept his poor coolie son in law?

Coolie No 1 is a funny film and the songs will bring back all those memories from the original film however Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan do not step into Govinda and Karishma’s shoes very well and although there are scenes where you will laugh along you also wish they had left the original film well alone and not tries to re-make it.

The songs Mirchi Lagi Toh and Teri Bhabhi will get you singing and dancing along though and the scenery is beautiful and fresh, exactly what we need to see on our screens during this pandemic.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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2 - 8 January 2021

Only good work and talent sell: Tamannaah Actress Tamannaah Bhatia is one of the latest ones to join the nepotism debate. Calling it the “worst phase,” she feels the film industry is an “easy target”.

Speaking in an interview, Tamannaah said, “I think this is the worst phase that the industry is going through. It's wrong and unfair to blame the film industry for anything and everything.

Because we're always in the limelight and spoken about it just becomes easy to make statements about it. There are good and bad everywhere.”

When asked if she faced any biases as an outsider, she said, “Yes I'm not from the industry, I don't have a godfather or a mentor.

I've done everything on my own. I feel extremely grateful for the kind of

opportunities, love and adulation I've got from the audience. It was something I never expected. So if you're dedicated, hardworking and talented, you'll survive. Good effort counts.”

Tamannaah adds, “Luckily I got a film like Baahubali that still is one of the biggest hit films in India. I feel it doesn't matter if you're from the industry or not. In fact today, more than ever, it's a great time for everyone, especially outsiders because the kind of good content are being generated and work is being distributed purely on the basis of talent. I think being an insider doesn't promise you more than an opportunity. Most of the biggest stars today are outsiders. Only good work and talent sell.”

Dhanush to join Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans in 'The Gray Man' Actor Dhanush is among the few Indian stars to have a hold in Hollywood.

The actor who had played the lead role in the film 'The Hollywood Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir' (2018), will next be seen in directors Anthony and Joe Russo’s upcoming thriller, 'The Gray Man.' Dhanush, the only Indian star on cast so far, will be joining actors Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jessica Henwick, Wagner Moura, and Julia Butters. The film is based on American novelist Mark Greaney’s debut novel of the same name, that released in 2009. The Russo brothers, who enjoy a great fan following, are famous for directing 'Captain America' and 'Avengers' series.

'The Gray Man' will be a Netflix adaptation. Reports

say that filming will commence early next year and a budget of $200 million has been set aside for this film. It is based on a freelance assassin and former CIA operative who goes on a rescue mission across Europe. Notably, in 2016, there were plans to turn this novel into a film helmed by director Christopher McQuarrie of 'Mission Impossible' franchise.

Dhanush, who was last seen in the Tamil actioncomedy 'Pattas', awaits the release of two Tamil films 'Jagama Thandhiram,' his first with director Karthik Subbaraj, and 'Karnan', also his first with director Mari Selvaraj. The actor also has the Hindi film 'Atrangi Re' in which he will be reuniting with director Aanand L. Rai after 'Raanjhanaa' in 2013.

Rajinikanth discharged from hospital Tamil superstar and aspiring politician Rajinikanth was discharged from a private hospital in Hyderabad on Sunday and has been advised bed rest for a week. He was admitted to the hospital on December 25 with ‘severe hypertension and exhaustion’ and was discharged after his blood pressure stabilised. He has returned to Chennai. In addition to medication and diet, the 70-year-old actor has been advised “minimal physical activity and avoid stress,” Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, said a statement. It remains to be seen how Rajinikanth would forge ahead with his political plans ahead of the 2021 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

Earlier this month, he had declared that on December 31 he would announce the launch date for his political party which he is expected to float in January 2021.

Leaders of several political parties in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have wished Rajinikanth a speedy recovery. “As of now there is no change (on announcing party date on December 31) but after meeting him we will get a clearer idea,” said a person close to Rajinikanth.

TV Listing

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 4 JAN FRI 8 JAN 2021 16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:30 NAMAK ISSK KA 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 SHAKTI 20:30 MOLKKI 21:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14)

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 4 JAN FRI 8 JAN 2021 8:30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30 DIL KA RISHTA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE 22:30 MERE HUMRAHI

23:00 NAMAK ISSK KA SATURDAY 2 JAN 18:30 DESI BEAT RESET 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 NRI HAADSA 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR SUNDAY 3 JAN 16:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 18:00 CHOTI SARDARNI 19:30 NRI HAADSA 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 NRI HAADSA 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR

SATURDAY 2 JAN 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) 20:30 BARRISTER BABU 21:00 BALIKA VADHU SUNDAY 3 JAN 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 16:00 SILSILA BADALTE RISHTON KA 16:30 THE RASOI SHOW 17:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) WEEKEND KA VAAR 21:00 BALIKA VADHU

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India win Melbourne test, level series Hungry for redemption, India recorded a win for the ages under an inspirational Ajinkya Rahane, beating Australia by eight wickets in the second Test to level the four-match series 1-1 on Tuesday. The target of 70 was never a big one but for a team that was bowled out for its all-time lowest score of 36 only 10 days back, one can’t fault them if that played at the back of their minds.

Shubman Gill (35 not out) and skipper Rahane (27 not out) knocked off the runs in 15.5 overs to complete the victory.

This was after the quartet comprising Jasprit Bumrah (2/54 in 27 overs), debutant Mohammed Siraj (3/37 in 21.3 overs), Ravichandran Ashwin (2/71 in 37.1 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/28 in 14 overs) showed maniacal consistency over a period of 100 overs on the flattest of decks, where extra bounce became their go-to weapon.

Indian teams, since the turn

of the new millennium, have had some memorable overseas victories but when the backdrop and context of this Test at the iconic MCG is recorded for posterity, Rahane and his magnificent bowling unit will find more than an honourable mention in the pages of history.

The Indian teams of yore used to lose stomach for a good scrap after humiliating defeats but not this one. It stood out for the manner of its comeback in the absence of a genius called Virat Kohli and a magician in Mohammed Shami. And then, the side was also hamstrung by Umesh Yadav’s calf muscle injury mid-match which reduced a five-pronged bowling attack to four men.

But in the last three and half days, Rahane, first with his hundred and then with solid leadership, showed what Kohli meant when he spoke about ‘New India’. Along with skills, it was the mental fortitude that shone through as the team didn’t take too much time to

bury the ghosts of Adelaide and clear the cobwebs in their minds getting Australia all-out for 195 and 200 in two innings.

For someone, whose Test match place was being questioned during the last 18 months, Rahane was certainly ‘Captain Cool’ in a new avatar, bamboozling the opposition with his tactical acumen and marshalling of resources.

On the first day, it was about assessing the moisture on the surface and giving Ashwin a go before debutant Siraj in the first hour of the match, all the while keeping that leg gully in business for Steve Smith. It worked wonderfully well and then he understood pretty quickly that Siraj, with his hitthe-deck bowling, could work wonders with the semi-new or old kookaburra when the seam would flatten.

CHETAN SHARMA IS NEW CHIEF SELECTOR

While batting, he was like that bandmaster, who knew how to conduct his orchestra whether it was young Gill or the seasoned Ravindra Jadeja.

Rahane rates his hundred in a winning cause at Lord’s six years back as his best effort but for fans, the innings at Melbourne will always be way more precious.

On fourth morning, Rahane, after giving a three-over spell to Bumrah, understood instantly that the old ball is not doing anything and took him off the attack to keep him fresh for the second new ball.

Kohli named ICC Male Cricketer of the Decade, Dhoni gets 'Spirit of Cricket' honour India captain Virat Kohli on Monday headlined the ICC top honours for the decade, winning the Sir Garfield Sobers award for the best male cricketer of the past 10 years. Kohli was also picked for the ODI Cricketer of the Decade award.

Former India skipper M S Dhoni won the 'ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade', chosen by fans for his gesture of calling back England batsman Ian Bell after a bizarre run out in the Nottingham Test in 2011.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) made the announcements via twitter, bestowing the top honours on Kohli, who scored 66 out of his 70 international hundreds, in the "ICC Awards" period.

In the same period, he was also the batsman with most

fifties (94), most runs (20,396) besides having the maximum average (56.97) among players with 70 plus innings.

Overall, the 32-year-old has amassed 12,040 runs in ODIs, 7,318 runs in Tests and 2,928 runs in T20 Internationals, averaging more than 50 across formats. Kohli was also part of the World Cup-winning India squad in 2011, something he will cherish for life.

"Firstly, it's a great honour for me to receive this award. The moments I hold closest to my heart in the last decade definitely has to be the World Cup win in 2011, the Champions Trophy win in 2013 and winning the series in Australia in 2018," said Kohli in a statement. On being also named the ODI Cricketer of the Year, Kohli added: "ODI cricket is

Ahmedabad closer to getting IPL franchise Ahmedabad appears to have come closer to getting an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, but the wait may have just got a little longer. The BCCI's governing body ratified the addition of two new franchises in the IPL to make it a 10-team affair - but announced that the new teams will be introduced in the 2022 IPL only.

Speculation of Ahmedabad being the front-runner for getting an IPL franchise in the event of the league’s expansion has been rife for quite some time. The annual general meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held in Ahmedabad recently gave it a further boost. The board members, however, agreed that there was not enough time left to add a new team for the 2021edition, which is only about four months away, as the process will require going through an elaborate tender-floating process, scheduling the increased number of matches and ensuring that all foreign player international calenders are adjusted. “We have received an in-principle approval to add two more teams after talking to all the stakeholders,” said a senior BCCI functionary after the AGM.

something that I took to very early. I came to the ODI team first and then, I made my Test debut a couple of years later. "So, I got the understanding of my game pretty soon, pretty early. And as I mentioned before, my only intention and mindset was to make winning contributions for the team and I just tried to do every game that I play. "I never focussed on stats and numbers along the journey at all and those things just become the by-product of what you do on the field and those for me, just end up being milestones that you cross on the way to the path to victory."

For the ODI honour, Kohli was the only player with 10,000 plus runs in the "ICC Awards"

Chetan Sharma

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) appointed former India pacers Chetan Sharma, Abey Kuruvilla and Debasis Mohanty as national selectors. Chetan will replace Sunil Joshi as the chairman of senior national selection committee. Joshi and Harvinder Singh, who were appointed as selectors in February, will continue in their roles. Chetan, Kuruvilla and Mohanty will represent north, west and east zones. The cricket advisory committee (CAC) comprising of Madan Lal, RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik had a tough time choosing between former India pacer Ajit Agarkar and Chetan for the chief selector’s role. Mohanty has been promoted to senior committee from being the chief selector of junior committee. Interestingly, the committee will be reviewed by CAC after a year even as they are eligible for a tenure of at least two years. Chetan was appointed as the chief selector as he played more number of Test matches than the others. Agarkar has played 191 ODIs and 26 Tests whereas Chetan has played 23 Tests and 65 ODIs. Kuruvilla has played 10 Tests and 25 ODIs, Mohanty two Tests and 45 ODIs.

WRESTLER ANSHU BAGS WC SILVER Virat Kohli and M S Dhoni

period including 39 hundreds and 48 fifties at an average of 61.83. The world governing body named Australian batting mainstay Steve Smith the Test Cricketer of the Decade and Afghanistan star Rashid Khan as the T20 Cricketer of the Decade.

Australia's Elysse Perry swept the women's awards, securing the ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade honours alongside ODI and T20 Cricketers of the Decade award.

NBA now has its first full-time Indian American referee The National Basketball Association League has got its first-ever full time Indian American referee in Suyash Mehta. In an official announcement made by the league, Mehta was one of three referees to be promoted to fulltime NBA staff officials alongside Simone Jelks and Andy Nagy.

Mehta, who hails from Baltimore, Maryland, has been included on the roster for the 2020-21 season which started on Dec. 22.

Mehta officiated five seasons in the NBA G League. During the 2019 -20 NBA season, he refereed 13 regular-season NBA games as a "non-staff official.”

Mehta – whose parents are from India and moved to the US in the 1980s – also has coaching experience at various collegiate levels including the

in brief

Atlantic 10, Big South, Colonial Athletic Association, Conference USA, NCAA Division III and junior college officiating experience.

"We are pleased to welcome Simone (Jelks), Suyash and Andy (Nagy) to our full-time staff," said Monty McCutchen, NBA senior vice president, head of Referee Development and Training, in a statement.

"They have demonstrated through Suyash Mehta the growth and the quality of their performance, they warrant working NBA games on a regular basis," McCutchen added.

Jelks joins Lauren HoltkampSterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder as full-time female officials for the 2020-21 season.

Promising wrestler Anshu Malik won India’s first medal – a silver – at the Individual World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia. The 19-yearold put up a valiant fight before losing to reigning European champion Anastasia Nichita of Moldova 5-1in the 57kg women’s freestyle final. On the road to the final, Anshu defeated Alyona Kolesnik of Azerbaijan 4-2 in the qualification round, then won against Laura Mertens of Germany 3-1in the quarters. In the semifinal bout, she overpowered Veronika Chumikova of Russia 7-4. This was Anshu’s third international tournament at the senior level and she has won a medal in each of them. The Haryana girl made her senior debut earlier this year in Rome, where she won a silver. She followed it with a bronze at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Delhi. Anshu comes from a family of wrestlers. Her father, Dharamvir Malik, was a wrestler himself and represented the CISF for a while before calling it quits in order to support his daughter.

RELIANCE TO BUY OUT IMG FROM SPORTS MGMT JV Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has agreed to buy out IMG Worldwide from the sports management joint venture IMGReliance (IMG-R) for £5.2 million. RIL will rebrand the company after the closure of the deal. RIL had formed 50:50 joint venture with IMG Worldwide, an international sports marketing and management company, in 2010 to develop, market and manage sports and entertainment in India. IMG is a leader in sports, fashion, events and media, operating in more than 30 countries, and is a part of the Endeavor network. IMG Singapore, a whollyowned subsidiary of IMG, holds 50% share in IMG-R.