LONDON (TIP): An Indian-origin Sikh councilor has made history after being appointed as the new Lord Mayor of Coventry, a city in the West Midlands, England.
As a Lord Mayor, Punjab-born Jaswant Singh Birdi will be the Chairman of the City Council, and as Coventry’s first citizen, he will be the non-political, ceremonial head of the city.
“I am so proud to become Lord Mayor of my adopted home city. It has given so much to myself and my family over the years and I will be honored to show why I love it so much and to promote the city and the wonderful people who live here,” Birdi said in a statement.
Birdi was presented with the Chains of Office, worn as an official regalia by the Mayor, at an annual general meeting of Coventry Cathedral last week.
“As a Sikh, it also means so much that I will be wearing the Chains of Office and the turban. It will help show what a happy multi-cultural city we have and maybe inspire others as well,” he said.
Born in Punjab, Birdi moved to Coventry 60 years ago and has spent 17 years as a councilor in the city, representing Bablake Ward for the past nine years, following two terms of office in the 1990s in the Hillfields Ward. After having served as Deputy Lord Mayor for the past 12 months, he succeeds Councilor Kevin Maton in the role. He grew up in a village in the Indian part of Punjab and also spent time as a child in Lahore and West Bengal, as his family travelled for employment.
In the mid-1950s Birdi emigrated with his parents to Kenya in East Africa, where he had his primary and secondary education, and emigrated to the UK in the 60s to carry on with his further education.
Apart from being a councilor, he has been actively involved in setting up religious, social and community projects in the city.
He has named his chosen charities for the year as the Muscular Dystrophy charity, the Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind, and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Charity.
Tag: England
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Indian-origin Sikh councilor Jaswant Singh Birdi becomes 1st turban-wearing Lord Mayor of UK’s Coventry
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Ronaldo, Kane break records in wins for Portugal, England
London (TIP)- It was a record-breaking night for Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane as qualifying for the European Championship in 2024 got underway on Thursday, March 23.
Already the leading scorer in men’s international soccer, the 38-year-old Ronaldo now has more international appearances than any other male player after racking up No. 197 in Portugal’s 4-0 win over Liechtenstein.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker marked the occasion by converting a penalty and adding another second-half goal — a powerful free kick from the edge of the area — to move onto 120 in international matches. Kane, meanwhile, became England’s outright leading scorer of all time by netting a first-half penalty in a 2-1 win at Italy. It lifted Kane to 54 goals for his country, one more than Wayne Rooney. Qualifying for Euro 2024, which will take place in Germany, started three months after the World Cup finished.
BELATED REVENGE
Call it belated revenge for England. The meeting with Italy in Naples was a repeat of the Euro 2020 final won by the Azzurri at Wembley Stadium. The teams have met since then — twice, in fact, with Italy gaining a win and a draw in Nations League qualifying last year.
This time, England held on after first-half goals by Declan Rice and Kane, who tucked away a spot kick awarded following a VAR review after it was determined that Italy defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo touched the ball with his hand while attempting to prevent Kane from reaching a corner.
Kane had missed his last penalty attempt for his country, late in the 2-1 loss to France in the World Cup quarterfinals last year.
“It had to be a penalty, of course,” a smiling Kane said of his record goal. Argentina-born forward Mateo Retegui, who has Italian citizenship through his maternal grandmother, pulled a goal back on his debut and England played with 10 men from the 80th after left back Luke Shaw collected two yellow cards in the space of 54 seconds.
Italy lost to England in a competitive match for the first time since a World Cup qualifier at Wembley back in 1977.
It was a disappointing way for the Azzurri to start their latest qualifying campaign for a major tournament, having failed to get into the last two World Cups.
“We might be starting with an uphill struggle this time,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said, “but let’s hope we end it better.”
North Macedonia beat Malta 2-1 in the other match in Group C, which also contains Ukraine.
EASY FOR PORTUGAL
Roberto Martinez enjoyed a comfortable start to his tenure as Portugal coach after handing Ronaldo a start against Liechtenstein.
The striker was left out of Portugal’s knockout-stage matches at the World Cup but was selected up front alongside Joao Felix — and repaid the faith shown in him by Martinez, who left his role as Belgium after the tournament in Qatar. Source: AP -
Germany, England, Italy win but Spain held in World Cup qualifying
Former champions Germany, England and Italy got off to winning starts in their World Cup qualifying campaigns on Thursday but Spain were held to a 1-1 home draw by Greece. Four-times winners Germany enjoyed a 3-0 win over Group J rivals Iceland in Duisburg thanks to goals from Leon Goretzka, Kai Havertz and Ilkay Gundogan.
The German team followed the example of Norway on Wednesday in making a protest before the start of the game, lining up in Tee-shirts spelling out “Human Rights”. The 2022 World Cup finals will be held in Qatar, who have been criticised by human rights groups.
“We want to make it clear to society that we are not ignoring this but say clearly what the conditions are,” Goretzka told RTL television.
After the Norway protest, FIFA said it would not be sanctioning the team, saying it supported free speech.
The Germans took the lead after a delightful move as Joshua Kimmich found Serge Gnabry with a perfectly weighted pass and he touched it back for Goretzka to volley home in the third minute. Havertz made it 2-0 after another defence-splitting pass from Kimmich released Leroy Sane who squared it back for the Chelsea forward to curl in a low shot. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice and Ollie Watkins marked his debut with a goal as England crushed San Marino 5-0 at Wembley.
San Marino, who have never won a competitive game, held out for 13 minutes before James Ward-Prowse opened his England account with a smart finish and Calvert-Lewin made it 2-0 with a header. Raheem Sterling made it 3-0 just after the half-hour mark at which point it seemed England might run riot.
But San Marino’s mostly part-time players dug deep with Calvert-Lewin’s second goal the only addition to the score until substitute Watkins slotted in late on as England moved top of Group I.
In Parma, Roberto Mancini’s Italy had a tougher task but also made a positive start with a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in Group C. Two goals inside the first 39 minutes from Domenico Berardi and Ciro Immobile settled Italy’s nerves as they look to banish the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Northern Ireland rallied in the second half, forcing Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into several saves.
FRUSTRATING NIGHT
A frustrating night for Spain in Granada began promisingly when Alvaro Morata opened the scoring for the hosts after 32 minutes, moments after Dani Olmo had rattled the crossbar. However, shortly before the hour mark, substitute Inigo Martinez – on for captain Sergio Ramos – was penalised for a rash tackle on Greek midfielder Giorgos Masouras. Source: Reuters
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‘Kohli is still the main man’: Hussain on Rahane impact ahead of Chennai Test
Ahead of the start of the Test series between India and England, there has been a lot of talk on how Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership in Australia could actually put Virat Kohli under pressure, as he was away when Rahane inspired the team to a comeback 2-1 win. Rahane himself has said that he would be happy to take the backseat now that Kohli is back in charge of the team and Kohli in his pre-match press conference elaborated on the relationship of trust he shares with Rahane and also lauded his deputy for leading the side with responsibility in Australia.
Former England captain and cricket commentator Nasser Hussain wrote on the emergence of Rahane as a possible candidate as India’s Test captain in future in his column in Daily Mail.
Hussain though mentioned that Kohli remains the man in charge for India and a good start to the series against England for the hosts will enhance Kohli’s stature again.
“Virat Kohli is still the main man, make no mistake. He is still that god-like figure in India, let alone Indian cricket, and he will be very much in charge for Friday’s first Test against England.
“All the 2-1 win over Australia did was give India another option as captain if things do not go according to plan, because Ajinkya Rahane did exceptionally well taking charge of the last three Tests while Kohli was on paternity leave.
“That was one of the greatest wins in India’s history and Rahane, with his calm captaincy style, would have taken a lot of credit. So that might add a bit of pressure to the returning Kohli,” Hussain wrote in his column.
The former England captain though gave credit to Kohli for his role in creating a winning mentality in the Indian team, which he said was evident even when Kohli was away on paternity leave while the team battled in Australia.
“A lot of Kohli’s passion was there in his absence in Australia. India would not be bullied. They would not be beaten by that first Test humiliation and they would not stand down when one of their players, Mohammed Siraj, was racially abused in Sydney.
“Just because Kohli wasn’t captain at the time, it doesn’t mean the culture he has created was missing. He more than anyone is responsible for the modern India attitude on the field to match their power off it. They have a swagger,” Hussain wrote.
He opined that the emergence of Rahane as a candidate for captaincy gives England a chance to create some flutter in the Indian camp by starting well in the Test series as that will put Kohli under pressure.
“What I would say is something that was unthinkable just a couple of months ago — Kohli one day being replaced as captain is a possibility now. And if the first Test in Chennai doesn’t go well for India — and that’s a massive ‘if’ — the whole country will be asking whether Rahane should have stayed in charge.
“That’s why England must start well. If India bully them in this first Test and go 1-0 up, everything will be forgotten and Kohli will be the king again.
“But if Joe Root can put some doubt in India minds, then this series could suddenly become very interesting,” Kohli said.
Axar Patel ruled out
India all-rounder Axar Patel has been ruled out of the first Test against England with a knee injury, the (BCCI) said on Friday ahead of the toss. As per the BCCI release, the left-arm spinner complained of pain in his left knee during a training session on Thursday.
“Axar Patel has been ruled out of the first Paytm Test against England. The all-rounder complained of pain in his left knee during Team India’s optional training session on Thursday. He is being monitored by the BCCI Medical Team and while his detailed reports are awaited, he will not be available for selection for the opening match,” the BCCI said in a statement. In place of the 27-year-old cricketer, the Indian cricket board added spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Chahar to the Indian Test squad.
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Indian Origin Woman Found Dead In Her Home in England
LONDON (TIP): An Indian origin woman was found murdered in her Wolverhampton home, in the West Midlands region of England , after what is suspected to be a burglary gone wrong.
Sarbjit Kaur’s body was discovered by her family members at their home in the town of Wolverhampton on February 16th .
West Midlands Police said they are keeping an open mind on the motive of the 38-year-old’s murder as it released the victims name on February 19th as part of a public appeal for information.
Kaur was attacked inside her own home. This is a shocking case, the likes of which are extremely rare, and we have a team of officers working on this murder inquiry to establish what happened and to finding the person or people responsible, said Detective Chief Inspector Chris Mallett, who is leading the West Midlands Police Homicide Teams murder investigation.
He confirmed that early inquiries have revealed that some items were taken from the home but added that the motive so far remains unclear as his team continues to investigate several lines of inquiry, including whether this was a random burglary or if the address or Kaur were deliberately targeted.
The interior was in an untidy state – which could indicate it had been searched – and we believe that some items are missing. We are working with the family to understand exactly what items were taken, Mallett added.
Police have carried out CCTV and house-to-house inquiries as well as conducted an extensive forensic examination of the scene as they try and piece together Kaur’s movements throughout the day.
Kaur was assaulted during the attack and pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem has proved inconclusive on the precise cause of her death, with further tests being carried out by pathologists.