The Indian Panorama

Tag: London

  • Man with sword goes on stabbing spree in London, kills teen, injures 4

    Man with sword goes on stabbing spree in London, kills teen, injures 4

    London (TIP): A sword-wielding man on May 1 smashed a vehicle into a home and then went on a stabbing spree in a “serious incident” near an east London Tube station, killing a 13-year-old boy and wounding four people, before being arrested, the Metropolitan Police said.
    The police said the incident did not appear to be linked with “any act of terrorism” and that of the five people injured, a boy has died from his injuries and the others, including two police officers, remain in hospital after the attack in Hainault area of the city.
    “A 13-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died a short while after. The child’s family are being supported by local officers and are now with some specialist officers,” said Met Police Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell in a statement. He confirmed the 36-year-old suspect was tasered within 22 minutes of the first call and remains in custody. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described it as a “shocking incident”, saying that such violence has no place on the country’s streets.
    “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with those affected and their families. I’d like to thank the emergency services for their response, and pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery shown by police on the scene,” said Sunak. “Such violence has no place on our streets,” he said. (PTI)

     

  • Microsoft to open new AI hub in London

    Months after creating the new Microsoft AI organisation to help advance their consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, the tech giant has now announced that it is opening a new AI hub in London, UK.
    According to the company, the new AI hub will drive pioneering work to “advance state-of-the-art language models and their supporting infrastructure, and to create world-class tooling for foundation models, collaborating closely with our AI teams across Microsoft and with our partners, including OpenAI.”
    The new AI hub will be led by Jordan Hoffmann, an AI scientist and engineer. Before joining Microsoft AI, Hoffmann distinguished himself as an AI pioneer at Inflection and DeepMind, based in London.
    Hoffmann will be joined by a group of Microsoft AI team members based in the company’s London Paddington office. “There is an enormous pool of AI talent and expertise in the UK, and Microsoft AI plans to make a significant, long-term investment in the region as we begin hiring the best AI scientists and engineers into this new AI hub,” the company said in a blogpost. In the post, the tech giant also highlighted its recently announced 2.5 billion pound investment to upskill the UK workforce for the AI era and to build the infrastructure to power the AI economy, including its commitment to bring 20,000 of the most advanced GPUs to the country by 2026.

  • Indian-origin PM of Ireland Leo Varadkar resigns for ‘personal, political reasons’

    Indian-origin PM of Ireland Leo Varadkar resigns for ‘personal, political reasons’

    LONDON (TIP): Ireland’s Indian-origin Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, on Wednesday, March 20, sent shockwaves across the country by announcing his sudden resignation citing “personal and political reasons”, triggering a leadership contest. The 45-year-old Taoiseach, as the Irish Prime Minister is known, made the announcement in an emotional statement delivered from the steps of the government buildings in Dublin. Varadkar said he believed a new leader “will be better placed than me” to gain seats for his party Fine Gael in the next general election, scheduled for next year.

    My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political… After seven years in office, I don’t feel I’m the best person for this job anymore,” said Varadkar.
    “There are loyal colleagues and good friends contesting local European elections, and I want to give them the best chance possible. On a personal level, I’ve enjoyed being Taoiseach… However, politicians are human beings and we have our limitations. We give it everything until we can’t anymore. And then we have to move on,” he said.

    “That’s it. I have nothing else lined up or in mind. No definite personal or political plans, but I am looking forward to having the time to think about them,” he added.

    Varadkar was born in Ireland to a Mumbai-born father and Irish mother and has led the Fine Gael party since 2017. When aged 38 he became the country’s youngest and first openly gay Prime Minister and has served as Taoiseach twice since.

    In his speech, Varadkar added that he was proud that the country is “more equal and more modern place when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community, equality for women and their bodily autonomy”.

    Last month, he joined Britain’s Indian-origin Prime Minister to unveil a historic power-sharing pact when Varadkar and Sunak agreed that a “stable, effective and successful” Northern Ireland – part of the United Kingdom and sharing a border with Ireland – benefitted the UK-Irish relationship immensely.

    Varadkar’s first stint leading Ireland lasted from 2017 to 2020, before he took up the role as Tanaiste, or Deputy Prime Minister, from 2020 until December 2022. He has been in a “rotating Taoiseach” agreement that underpinned a three-party coalition with Fianna Fail and the Green Party.

    After a party leadership contest, a new Taoiseach is set to be in place when the Irish Parliament Dail returns after Easter next month. Varadkar has said he plans to carry on as a member of parliament for his Dublin West constituency.

    His announcement on Wednesday does not automatically trigger a general election in Ireland, which must be held by March 2025, five years after the last election. Meanwhile, Ireland’s political parties are facing local government and European Parliament elections in June.

    Tanaiste Micheal Martin paid tribute to Varadkar, adding that he was “very surprised” about his resignation which he was informed about on Tuesday evening.

    “I want to take this opportunity again to wish him the very best in his personal life and in his career into the future,” he said.

    Varadkar’s exit comes after a defeat on a family issues double referendum, in which voters refused to expand the constitutional definition of the family beyond married couples and removing some sexist language around women’s duties in the home from the Irish Constitution.

    Varadkar conceded that “there are areas where we have been much less successful”, adding: “I hope you’ll forgive me if I leave it to others to point them out on a day like this.”

    Attention will now turn to Varadkar’s replacement, with a contest expected to involve several ministers from the party including Paschal Donohoe, Simon Harris, Simon Coveney and Heather Humphreys. Meanwhile, he will carry on as leader until his successor is in place.
    (Source: PTI)

  • UK redefines extremism to counter hate crime, radicals

    UK redefines extremism to counter hate crime, radicals

    London (TIP): The UK government on March 14 issued a new, “more precise” definition of extremism in response to increased threats since the October 2023 Hamas terror attacks in Israel and to protect liberal democratic principles against extreme right-wing and Islamist extremists.
    Extremism in the UK is now defined as the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in the first two categories.
    PM flagged issue
    Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that Britain’s multi-ethnic democracy was being deliberately undermined by both Islamist and far-right extremists, and more needed to be done to tackle the problem
    Antisemitic incidents rose by 147% in 2023, fuelled by the October 7 attacks, according to Community Security Trust, a Jewish safety watchdog
    The previous definition, introduced in 2011 under the government’s Prevent strategy, defined extremism as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and belief”.
    UK Levelling Up and Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the update was needed to safeguard the UK as a multi-national, multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy “success story”, which is stronger because of its diversity.
    “But our democracy and our values of inclusivity and tolerance are under challenge from extremists. In order to protect our democratic values, it is important both to reinforce what we have in common and to be clear and precise in identifying the dangers posed by extremism,” said Gove.
    The minister said the new measures would ensure that the government does not inadvertently provide a platform to those setting out to subvert democracy and deny other people’s fundamental rights. He also indicated it marks the first in a series of measures to tackle extremism and protect British democracy. The new definition is not statutory, does not create new powers and has no effect on the existing criminal law of the country.
    It will be used by ministerial departments and officials alongside a set of engagement principles to ensure they are not “inadvertently” funding or legitimising groups or individuals who attempt to advance extremist ideologies. — PTI

  • Indian-origin executives appointed to UK’s Competition and Markets Authority board

    Indian-origin executives appointed to UK’s Competition and Markets Authority board

    Dharmesh Mistry
    Cyrus Mehta

    LONDON (TIP): Indian-origin executives with years of experience in the field of law and finance have been appointed to the board of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a non-ministerial department responsible for strengthening business competition and curbing anti-competitive practices.
    Dharmash Mistry, a venture capitalist specializing in technology, new business models and finance, was named among four new non-executive directors of the CMA by the British government’s Department for Business and Trade last week.
    Meanwhile, Cyrus Mehta – a former partner at international law firm CMS in London – was named on the CMA board as a Panel Member, Non-Executive Director.
    “Our new board members will bring further fresh perspectives and expertise at a time when our responsibilities, and our positive impact on people, businesses and the economy, are growing significantly,” said CMA Chair Marcus Bokkerink.
    “They will help us continue the great strides we have made over the past year to ensure that people can get great choices and a fair deal, competitive businesses are free to innovate and thrive, and the economy is able to grow more productively and sustainably,” he said.
    Non-executive directors of the CMA board play an important role in setting up the organization, working with the chair and chief executive. As board members, they are also responsible for setting the organization’s strategic direction and policy framework; developing priorities; monitoring performance against its objectives; and making decisions on market investigation references.
    Mistry has served on a wide range of boards in executive and non-executive capacity and is also a non-executive director of the Premier League and the Football Association. In the past, he has served as a non-executive director of the BBC and British Business Bank.
    Cyrus Mehta, as the former head of the European Union (EU) and competition team at CMS, has over 35 years’ experience in the field of UK and EU competition law, state aid, consumer law, trade law and regulation in both London and Brussels.
    Mistry and Mehta are joined by broadcasting personality Dame Patricia Hodgson and entrepreneurs Justin Basini and Frank Dangeard as the new appointees on the CMA board.

  • Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, British Indian chef Asma Khan win India-UK Achievers Honours

    Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, British Indian chef Asma Khan win India-UK Achievers Honours

    The award recognizes the achievements of Indian students and alumni who have pursued an international programme of study

    LONDON (TIP): Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar and British Indian chef Asma Khan were among the winners of the annual India-UK Achievers Honours in London, which recognizes the achievements of Indian students and alumni who have pursued an international programme of study.

    The initiative, by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, in partnership with the British Council in India and the UK government’s Department for Business and Trade, was launched last year with the aim of celebrating bilateral educational ties.

    At a ceremony earlier this week, the “Class of 2024” made up of high achievers across the arts, sports, entrepreneurship and medicine were honored following a day-long conference entitled ‘The Future of Education’.

    “I am pleased to see that for the second year, you are showcasing exceptional Indian talent that has been developed in the UK,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a message for the event on Wednesday.

    “I am extremely proud of the UK-India partnership and the Achievers Honours highlights the strong outcomes that can arise through partnership,” he said.

    Akhtar, the acclaimed writer-filmmaker behind box-office hits such as ‘Luck By Chance’ and ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and most recently ‘The Archies’, was conferred the Living Legend Award in recognition of her work in furthering an understanding of India on the global stage. She spoke of her degree in literature and sociology giving her a strong footing for her filmmaking career.

    “I genuinely believe that literature and sociology have helped me immensely in making movies, and writing and telling stories,” Akhtar said.

    “However, I don’t believe one size fits all when it comes to your career path in the film industry…today films can even be made on a phone. I do feel it’s a lot easier these days. There is access to a lot more filmmaking tools today,” she said.

    The 51-year-old daughter of writers Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani addressed a session on Creative Economies at the conference, during which she reflected on her love of writing.

    “I started writing at a very young age because I grew up in a home of writers, so it’s just something that you imitate in a very organic way. You are surrounded by those kinds of discussions and narrations,” she said.

    Also recognized in the field of Arts, Culture and Entertainment this year was UK-based chef Asma Khan, behind the women-led Darjeeling Express restaurant in London. The King’s College London alumna started out in the field of law but has since made a mark for herself in the culinary space, including as a cookery writer behind bestselling recipe books on Indian cuisine.

    “I never call myself a chef, I am a cook; and most of my cooking I learnt by watching,” said Khan, who was recently also awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (Social Sciences) degree by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

    The India-UK Achievers were also celebrated at the UK Parliament complex, where the finalists had an opportunity to interact with British members of Parliament, policymakers, and stakeholders in the education sector.

    “These achievers are not just recipients of a prestigious honor, they are the embodiment of the profound transformation that education and cross-cultural experiences can engender in our societies,” said NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora, who is also a commissioner of the UK International Higher Education Commission.

    “The progress and achievements of Indian students in the UK over the past year have been nothing short of remarkable. Their growing presence in the UK’s universities is a testament to the enduring appeal of British education and the opportunities it offers,” added Lord Karan Bilimoria, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Students and President of the UK Council of International Student Affairs.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Rishi Sunak makes impassioned plea to protect British democracy

    Rishi Sunak makes impassioned plea to protect British democracy

    LONDON (TIP): Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has issued an impassioned plea for Britain to protect its democracy as he warned that extremist forces were out to tear the country apart and undermine its multi-faith identity.

    Referencing his own Hindu beliefs, the British-Indian leader on Friday , March 1, stressed that the enduring values of the UK are about embracing migrants of all faiths and ethnicities and urged protesters to ensure peaceful demonstrations are not hijacked by extremist forces.

    “Immigrants who have come here have integrated and contributed. They have helped write the latest chapter in our island story. They have done this without being required to give up their identity,” said Sunak in a speech outside 10 Downing Street. “You can be a practicing Hindu and a proud Briton as I am, or a devout Muslim and a patriotic citizen as so many are, or a committed Jewish person and the heart of your local community, and all underpinned by the tolerance of our established, Christian church,” he said.

    “But I fear that our great achievement in building the world’s most successful multi-ethnic, multi faith democracy is being deliberately undermined. There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart,” he added.

    He was speaking soon after what he characterized as the “beyond alarming” win in a byelection on Thursday of a controversial politician, George Galloway, in Greater Manchester following a campaign dominated by the divisions of the Israel-Hamas conflict. He said on too many occasions recently, the streets of Britain had been hijacked by small groups who are hostile to British values and have no respect for its democratic traditions.

    “Islamist extremists and the far right feed off and embolden each other. They are equally desperate to pretend that their violence is somehow justified when actually these groups are two sides of the same extremist coin… both loathe the pluralist, modern country we are,” he said.

    The British Prime Minister stressed that both these groups of extremists were spreading the poison of extremism with the aim of draining Britain’s confidence. He added: “No country is perfect, but I am enormously proud of the good that our country has done.”

    “I stand here as our country’s first non-white Prime Minister, leading the most diverse government in our country’s history to tell people of all races, all faiths and all backgrounds it is not the color of your skin, the God you believe in or where you were born, that will determine your success but just your own hard work and endeavor.” Sunak reiterated his support for a new protocol agreed with the police forces of the country earlier this week to take action against violent activities that threaten the personal security of members of Parliament and also any violence during serial protests taking place in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. He said threats of violence and intimidation are alien to the British way of doing things and must be resisted at all times.

    “I love this country. My family and I owe it so much. The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison. We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart,” he urged.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Dr Samir Shah is the first Indian – origin Chairman of BBC

    Dr Samir Shah is the first Indian – origin Chairman of BBC

    The 72-year-old has now been confirmed in the 1,60,000 pounds per year and four-year term role to take charge from March 4

    LONDON (TIP): India-born media executive Dr Samir Shah was on Thursday confirmed as the new BBC chairman after his selection cleared the stages of scrutiny to be approved by King Charles III this week.

    Shah, who has worked in UK broadcasting for over 40 years, was picked as the government’s preferred candidate in December last year and went on to be quizzed by cross-party MPs of the House of Commons Media Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for his pre-appointment scrutiny.

    The 72-year-old has now been confirmed in the 1,60,000 pounds per year and four-year term role to take charge as the public broadcaster’s first Indian-origin Chair from March 4 and running until March 2028.

    “With a career spanning more than 40 years in TV production and journalism, Dr Shah has a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC Chair,” said UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer as she announced his selection.

    “He has a clear ambition to see the BBC succeed in a rapidly changing media landscape, and I have no doubt he will provide the support and scrutiny that the BBC needs to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future,” she said. Shah, who was honored with a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 for services to television and heritage, will replace Richard Sharp who had been forced to resign after a communication with former prime minister Boris Johnson came under scrutiny.

    The government has said that Shah’s knowledge of BBC and his belief in its role as a national broadcaster alongside his extensive work to promote diversity in broadcasting will be invaluable in helping to ensure that BBC reflects, represents and serves communities across the whole of the UK.

    “BBC is, without doubt, one of the greatest contributions we have made to global culture and one of our strongest calling cards on soft power. If I am able to put what skills, experience, and understanding of public service broadcasting I have built up during my career to help this brilliant organization meet the complex and diverse challenges it faces over the coming years, it would be an honor,” said Shah.

    “BBC has a great place in British life and a unique duty to reach a wide audience right across the country and I will do all I can to ensure it fulfils this in an increasingly competitive market,” he said.

    Born in Aurangabad, Shah came to England in 1960 and has previously been the head of current affairs and political programs at BBC. Before taking up the role as BBC Chair, he was the CEO of Juniper – an independent television and radio production company, since 1998.

    He was elected a fellow of Royal Television Society in 2002 and appointed visiting professor of creative media at Oxford University in 2019 and the University of Nottingham appointed him to a special professorship in Department of Post-Conflict Studies. Besides, the Oxford University alumnus is a race relations expert who co-authored the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report in 2021.
    (Source: PTI)

  • 9 Indians slapped with serious crime prevention orders for role in attempt to smuggle migrants, money laundering in UK

    9 Indians slapped with serious crime prevention orders for role in attempt to smuggle migrants, money laundering in UK

    The group was recently convicted of removing 15.5 million pounds from the UK to Dubai hidden in suitcases, as well as attempting to smuggle 17 migrants into the country

    LONDON (TIP): Nine Indian-origin members of a crime group in the UK received Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPO) to limit their ability to engage in serious and organized crime.

    The group was recently convicted of removing 15.5 million pounds from the UK to Dubai hidden in suitcases, as well as attempting to smuggle 17 migrants into the country.

    Swander Dhal (38), Jasbir Kapoor (36), Diljan Malhotra (48), Charan Singh (46), Valjeet Singh (35), Jasbir Dhal Singh (33), Jaginder Kapoor (48), Jacdar Kapour (51) and Amarjeet Alabadis (32) received lengthy prison sentences in addition to the recent SCPOs.

    The terms of their SCPOs include restrictions on finances, assets, bank accounts and the purchase of international travel tickets, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Tuesday.

    The terms will come into effect once the offenders have served their jail sentences.

    The nine British Indians were part of a 16-member group who were given jail sentences totaling more than 70 years for their involvement in international money-laundering and people smuggling in the UK in September last year. The group, led by ‘ringleader’ Charan Singh, was said to have smuggled around 70 million pounds in cash out of the UK, making hundreds of trips to Dubai between 2017 and 2019.

    Following a three-day sentencing hearing at Croydon Crown Court, Valjeet Singh got 11 years, while trusted lieutenant Swander Singh Dhal got 10 years for money-laundering and an additional five years for people smuggling.

    Charan Singh from Hounslow was handed a 12-and-a-half-year jail term, NCA reported earlier.

    SCPOs are part of the NCA-managed ancillary orders to limit opportunities for criminals to engage in illegal activity and also make offenders less attractive to organized crime gangs looking to re-recruit or work with them after they have served prison sentences.

    The NCA on Tuesday, February 13, published an updated list of these ancillary orders, used to support the lifetime management of serious criminals and prevent future offending.

    Over the last year, 24 individuals have been issued with ancillary orders, many of which will come into force once the offender has left prison.

    “Ancillary orders are vital, allowing us to prevent future offending through a wide variety of means. Many career criminals return to lives of organized crime following their stint in prison, believing themselves to be beyond the reach of the law,” Alison Abbott, Head of the NCA’s Prison and Lifetime Management Unit, said.

    “Part of the power of these orders is that they make offenders toxic to other criminals, who are reluctant to engage with individuals who are being actively monitored.”
    (Source: IANS)

  • Indian-origin student in London dies after ‘psycho’ Tunisian boyfriend ‘nearly beheads’ her for ‘rejecting him’

    Indian-origin student in London dies after ‘psycho’ Tunisian boyfriend ‘nearly beheads’ her for ‘rejecting him’

    LONDON (TIP): A Tunisian national has been locked up indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital for killing and nearly beheading a 19-year-old Indian-origin student at her university accommodation in London in 2022.
    Maher Maaroufe, 24, stabbed his girlfriend Sabita Thanwani, an aspiring psychologist, in the neck at Arbour House student flats in Clerkenwell area of London on March 19, 2022.
    Appearing before the Old Bailey last year, Maaroufe, of no fixed address, admitted manslaughter by means of diminished responsibility, saying he was suffering from schizoaffective disorder at that time.
    He also pleaded guilty to a charge of assault by beating an emergency worker.
    While sentencing him on Monday, Judge Nigel Lickley KC said Maaroufe carried out the attack during the “height” of a psychotic episode, the media reported. He said Maaroufe had been “aggressive” and “controlling” towards Thanwani during their relationship and hit her at least once, and that his behavior may have been part of his “emerging illness”. “Sabita had her whole life ahead of her. You ended her life. Your actions will continue to cause enduring pain and suffering,” the judge told Maaroufe.
    The Old Bailey heard that Maaroufe, who entered the UK legally on an unknown date but had overstayed, was in the process of claiming asylum at the time of the incident. According to the prosecution, during his psychotic episodes, Maaroufe smoked cannabis and thought that Thanwani was a “male devil”.
    The evening before the attack, they met outside a mosque and spent time in central London.
    After they had returned to Thanwani’s accommodation, other students heard her shouting “stop”, “I can’t breathe” and “I beg you, don’t kill me”, following which emergency services were alerted.
    Police saw blood stains around the bed, as well as blankets and duvets on the floor of Thanwani’s room.
    She was pronounced dead at the scene at 6 am, and a post-mortem examination gave her cause of death as sharp force trauma to the neck. Maaroufe was found by police asleep under a tarpaulin in a garden shed, and allegedly head-butted a police officer while trying to evade arrest. Thanwani’s family, in a statement released at the time of her death, described her as “our angel” and said she had a “radiant smile and incredible heart”.
    The family described Maaroufe as an “evil, sadistic murderer, his actions were calculated to kill her because she rejected him”.

  • Indo-British Sikh woman ‘Polar Preet’ claims record for fastest solo ski across Antarctica

    Indo-British Sikh woman ‘Polar Preet’ claims record for fastest solo ski across Antarctica

    LONDON (TIP): Having already broken two Guinness World Records for polar exploration, British Sikh Army medic Harpreet Chandi has said she now has a third one.
    By covering 1,130 km of Antarctic ice in 31 days, 13 hours and 19 minutes, Chandi, also known as Polar Preet, claims she has become the fastest woman to ski solo across Antarctica, media reported.
    “I’m tired but so glad I made it. This was completely different to my last expedition… I completely pushed myself to my limits on my last expedition, a speed attempt is completely different,” the 34-year-old said, speaking from the South Pole. “After my last expedition, I knew I could cope well on the ice which gave me the confidence to tackle this head on,” she added.
    The Guinness World Records will need to verify the claim, which can take several months, and if confirmed, it would beat the previous record holder, Canadian Caroline Cote, by a day, 14 hours and 34 minutes.
    For the trek, Chandi left the Hercules inlet on the Ronne ice shelf on November 26, and arrived at the South Pole at 2.24 am UK time on December 28.
    She skied for between 12 and 13 hours a day on average and pulled a 75 kg sled that had everything she needed to survive behind her.
    “It was definitely not a sprint, but I had to constantly weigh up my effort and how long I would ski for each day. Too long or too fast and I was going to burn out. Too slow or finish too early and I’d miss out on the record,” she told the media.
    Calling Antarctica an amazing place and glad that it allowed her a safe passage, Chandi said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be here. It is not a place any person can conquer; it is a place you treat with respect and hope it allows you safe passage.”
    Chandi is on a career break from military service where she was a physiotherapist providing rehabilitation for injured soldiers and officers.
    Speaking about her journey, she said her focus was on what she could control, not what she couldn’t.
    “I couldn’t control the conditions — the blistering sun, the whiteouts, the temperatures of minus 30 degrees C, but I can control how I dealt with them. Just keep taking it one step at a time,” Chandi, who was named Member of the British Empire recently, said.
    Also honored as ‘woman of the year’ at the Women in Defense Awards 2022, Chandi made history by becoming the first woman of color to complete a 700-mile Antarctic journey — solo and unsupported — to the South Pole in 2021. Chandi said she never thought she would return to Antarctica this year but returned after realizing that this expedition was just not about pushing herself, but also about inspiring others to challenge their boundaries, and break their barriers. “One of my biggest motivations in those dark times on the ice is the thought of inspiring others to face their own challenge,” she said.

  • Kyiv strikes Russian warship in Crimea, Moscow admits damage

    Kyiv strikes Russian warship in Crimea, Moscow admits damage

    Moscow/London (TIP): Ukraine struck a large Russian landing warship in Crimea with cruise missiles in an overnight attack that killed at least one person and could hinder any Russian attempt to seize more Ukrainian territory along the Black Sea coast. The Russian defence ministry, cited by the Interfax news agency, said Ukraine had used air-launched missiles to attack the Crimean port of Feodosia and that the Novocherkassk large landing ship had been damaged.
    Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had briefed President Vladimir Putin in detail about the attack, the Kremlin said. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in a move Kyiv and the West condemned as an illegal seizure.
    Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said he thought it would be hard for the Novocherkassk, which can carry tanks and armoured vehicles and be used to land troops ashore, to re-enter service.
    Ukraine had used cruise missiles in the attack, without specifying what kind, Ihnat said. Both Britain and France have supplied Kyiv with such missiles. Russia has hinted it may try to seize more Ukrainian territory along the Black Sea coast. Putin earlier this month said that Odessa, the headquarters of Ukraine’s own navy, was a Russian city. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea, said on Telegram that one person had been killed. The RIA news agency said four people had been injured.
    Although a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made little in the way of battlefield gains and the Russian military has regained the initiative in several places, Ukraine has been able to launch a series of attacks on Crimea, the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, inflicting serious damage. — Reuters

  • King Charles III’s annual Christmas message from Buckingham Palace includes sustainable touches

    London (TIP): King Charles III will be giving his second Christmas message from Buckingham Palace in front of a live tree decorated with sustainable ornaments. The message, to be broadcast at 3 pm on December 25, will be the king’s second holiday address since he ascended the throne, but the first since his coronation in May. The natural decorations adorning the tree were made from wood, dried oranges, brown glass, pine cones, and paper. The tree will later be replanted, the palace says.
    Charles has promoted environmental causes, such as protecting wildlife and combating climate change long before it became popular, throughout much of his life. He spoke at the beginning of the month at the UN’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai. Last year, in his first Christmas message as monarch, Charles evoked memories of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and paid tribute to the ‘selfless dedication’ of Britain’s public service workers.
    Many of those workers spent much of the past year in a fight with the government over pay, creating disruptions in transportation, education and adding to already long wait times at hospitals as doctors, nurses, and ambulance workers walked off the job — some for several days at a time — throughout the year. (AP)

  • UK inflation falls by more than anticipated to 2-year low of 3.9% in Nov

    UK inflation falls by more than anticipated to 2-year low of 3.9% in Nov

    London (TIP)- Inflation in the UK as measured by the consumer prices index eased back to its lowest level in more than two years, official figures showed on December 20, in a development that is likely to bolster speculation that the Bank of England may start cutting interest rates sooner than expected.
    The Office for National Statistics said inflation dropped to 3.9 percent in the year to November, its lowest level since September 2021, from 4.6 percent the previous month. That decline was bigger than anticipated in financial markets.
    The agency said the biggest driver for the fall was a decrease in fuel prices after an increase at the same time last year. Food price inflation also contributed to the decline.
    Last week, the Bank of England left its main interest rate at a 15-year high of 5.25 per cent, where it has stood since August following the end of nearly two years of hikes. Bank Gov. Andrew Bailey said interest rate policy would likely have to remain restrictive for an extended period of time.” The Bank of England has managed to get inflation down from a four-decade high of over 11 per cent but still has a way to go to get to its target of 2 per cent.
    Higher interest rates targeted a surge in inflation, first stoked by supply chain issues during the coronavirus pandemic and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which pushed up food and energy costs.
    While the interest rate increases have helped in the battle against inflation, the squeeze on consumer spending, primarily through higher mortgage rates, has weighed on growth in the British economy. There are growing worries that rates will stay high for too long, unnecessarily damaging the economy.
    Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said November’s surprisingly sharp fall in inflation reinforces the likelihood that the central bank will begin to reduce interest rates in the first half of 2024, far earlier than it has been prepared to signal so far.

  • Terror funding case: Indian held in UK extradited to United States

    Terror funding case: Indian held in UK extradited to United States

    LONDON (TIP): An Indian national arrested in London on a provisional American warrant as part of a US-UK coordinated action targeting terrorism financing has been extradited to the US after consenting to face trial in America, the British authorities said on Tuesday, December 19. Madurai-born Sundar Nagarajan (65) was arrested from Hayes in west London on April 18. The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told Westminster Magistrates’ Court at the time that Nagarajan, linked to the Hizballah terrorist organization, was a “requested person” (RP) by the US authorities for fraud and money laundering offences.
    (Source: PTI)

  • Indian-origin undercover reporter Balakrishnan Balagopal finds exploitation of care workers in UK

    Indian-origin undercover reporter Balakrishnan Balagopal finds exploitation of care workers in UK

    LONDON (TIP): A UK-based reporter from Kerala who went undercover as a care assistant in a care home for the elderly in north-east England discovered worrying levels of exploitation of staff, many of them recruited from overseas countries such as India.
    Balakrishnan Balagopal’s report for the ‘BBC Panorama’ investigation, which will be telecast here on Monday, December 18 evening, found care givers being charged thousands of pounds by an Indian recruitment agency and nurses locked into lengthy contracts with a care home with financial penalties if they tried to leave jobs.
    According to official statistics for the past year, 140,000 visas were issued to overseas workers to come to the UK to meet staff shortages in the health and care industry and 39,000 of these went to people from India.
    “As I delved deeper into the lives of overseas caregivers, I heard a narrative of exploitation, debt, separation from family, and the constant fear of making mistakes,” Balagopal said in a statement.
    “The pursuit of a permanent visa became a tightrope walk, impacting the quality of care provided. The very individuals tasked with ensuring the happiness and well-being of residents found them entangled in a web of instability. Nurses and care workers from overseas eligible for a skilled worker visa need to be sponsored by an employer. In theory, they can switch jobs but within a limited timeframe, which can give employers a certain exploitative hold over them.
    The ‘Care Workers Under Pressure’ investigation for the BBC comes soon after the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the independent body advising the UK government on immigration, warned of exploitation in the country’s social care sector in its annual report released last week.
    “Underfunding and consequential low pay contributes to the exploitation of workers in the social care sector. Migrants in the sector on the H&CW (Health & Care Worker) visa are even more susceptible to exploitation as their right to reside in the UK is directly linked to their employer, creating a power imbalance,” the report notes.
    It issued a series of recommendations for the government to crack down on the exploitation of workers in the social care sector.
    “Government could consider greater support for migrants when they enter employment and when experiencing exploitation in the UK… such as creating a portal specifically for the care sector where vacancies that would allow migrants to switch employer are posted,” it said.
    MAC also called on the government to ensure higher wages for the sector on the whole in a bid to wean it off the over-reliance on lower-paid migrant workers.
    Earlier this month, the Home Office announced that such care workers on a visa will be banned from bringing any close family members as dependents from the New Year. The move has been categorized as “extremely unfair” by the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), the UK’s largest representative body for doctors and nurses of Indian origin. “For anyone to provide a satisfactory and good quality care service, they can’t be separated from their own family,” said BAPIO founder Dr Ramesh Mehta.

  • Eight-year-old British Indian schoolgirl chess prodigy named Europe’s best female player

    Eight-year-old British Indian schoolgirl chess prodigy named Europe’s best female player

    LONDON (TIP): An eight-year-old British Indian schoolgirl has made chess history after being named the “super talented” best female player at a European championship. Bodhana Sivanandan, from Harrow in north-west London, won the European Blitz Chess Championship in Zagreb, Croatia, over the weekend after a winning streak since she took up chess during the COVID pandemic lockdown.
    In the European championship, she went head-to-head with some of the best players in the world and defeated an international master to win her crown.
    “Eight-year-old super talented Bodhana Sivanandan made an astonishing result in the Blitz competition. She scored 8.5/13 points to win the first women prize and earn 211.2 blitz ELO points,” said the European Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, which concluded in Croatia on Sunday.
    Praise for the chess prodigy has since been pouring in on social media, with leading professionals highlighting her “unbelievable” performance. “I always try my best to win, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t,” Bodhana told the media after her win.
    Father, Siva Sivanandan said his daughter was “trying her best and it has worked in favor of her”.
    “She likes chess and she likes travelling. We keep trying and keep going,” he said.
    A few months ago, Sivanandan was among a group of young chess enthusiasts invited by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to 10 Downing Street to mark the government’s major new GBP 1 million investment package for the game.The package has since been put in place to support children attending schools in disadvantaged areas across England to learn and play chess, improve visibility and availability of the game and fund elite playing.
    “I was struggling to support my son with the required chess tournaments and coaching instrumental to his development at such a young and crucial age,” said Jitendra Singh, father of another British Indian chess prodigy nine-year-old Shreyas Royal.
    “With this grant from the government we will be able to help more kids flourish at the game through the hard-working organizations of the English Chess Federation and chess in schools and communities. I believe that it is also a very beneficial hobby and would love to see more people getting into the game from this monumental announcement,” he said.
    As part of the package, the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says it will invest GBP 500,000 in the English Chess Federation (ECF) over two years in order to develop the next generation of world-class talent.
    Funds will support expert coaching, training camps and cutting-edge computer analysis for international events to assist current grandmasters and up-and-coming players.
    “We want to give more young people the opportunity to find the thing that they love and realize their potential. So, this package is focused on getting more young people playing chess and supporting them to develop their talent,” said UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.
    “We’re also equipping our elite chess players with expert coaching to help them dominate at the highest levels of the global game and restore England’s reputation among the best in the world,” she said. Alongside the support committed to elite players, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will provide GBP 250,000 to 85 local authorities across England to install 100 new chess tables in public parks and outdoor green spaces, to allow more people to play, connect, tackle loneliness, and develop problem solving skills.
    In addition, the Sunak-led government has set out plans to encourage more primary school children, particularly girls, to learn to play the game. The UK Department for Education said it will award grants of up to GBP 2,000 to at least 100 schools in disadvantaged areas across England, subject to interest.

  • London housing block named after British Indian spy Noor Inayat Khan

    London housing block named after British Indian spy Noor Inayat Khan

    ‘It is wonderful that the residents of Camden voted to name the housing block after Noor Inayat Khan”- Khan’s biographer Shrabani Basu.

    LONDON (TIP): A council housing block in north London has been named after British Indian spy and descendent of Tipu Sultan, Noor Inayat Khan, following a ballot of local residents to choose from a shortlist of the area’s historic inhabitants. Camden Council unveiled the “Noor Inayat Khan House” at a ceremony on Wednesday, December 20, attended by local Labour Party MP and Opposition leader Keir Starmer, Khan’s biographer Shrabani Basu and Camden Council leaders and residents.

    Camden was the borough where young Noor lived with her family before she left for Nazi-occupied France in 1943 after being recruited as an undercover radio operator for Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE), becoming the first woman to be dropped behind enemy lines during the Second World War.

    “It is wonderful that the residents of Camden voted to name the housing block after Noor Inayat Khan; the people of Camden have truly taken Noor to heart, and she is known and loved in the borough,” said Basu, the London-based author of ‘Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan’.

    In her speech at the unveiling, she noted: “Today we remember Noor Inayat Khan as a heroine of the war, a young woman of Indian origin, who unhesitatingly gave her life in the fight against Fascism. But it is not just her bravery and loyalty that we remember. At a time when conflict is rife in the world, and countries and communities are divided by gunfire and walls, it is important to remember the values that Noor stood for.

    “She was a Sufi, she believed in religious tolerance, she believed in non-violence and peace between nations. Today, let us take away her message for peace and harmony.”

    In 2020, the English Heritage charity unveiled a Blue Plaque at 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury to commemorate Khan’s home in Camden, following a memorial installed nearby at Gordon Square by the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust in 2012.

    The new housing block in the name of the war heroine shot dead aged just 30 at Dachau concentration camp in 1944 forms part of a social housing project to deliver more affordable homes in London.

    “This isn’t just about some bricks and some windows and a roof; this is about life chances, aspiration and equal opportunity for everyone. When I was growing up we didn’t have a lot of money, but we did have a house. And that gave me the security to go on and do some of the things that I’ve done in my life. I want every child to have that chance,” said Starmer, member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras in Camden.

    Each of the three new residential buildings at the Maitland Park redevelopment has been named after prominent local figures as part of Camden Council’s strategy for diversity in the public spaces.

    Besides Noor Inayat Khan, a second block commemorates Mary Prince – the first black woman to have an autobiography published in Britain and a third is named after Antony Grey – an LGBTQ+ activist whose work led to decriminalization of homosexuality for men.

    “Residents have shaped the legacy of where they live by helping to choose three remarkable figures from our local community to name their new buildings after,” said Councillor Danny Beales, Camden Council Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs, and Community Investment.

    The council said the redevelopment at the Maitland Park Estate in Haverstock is the latest social housing project to reach completion in Camden since the council announced the expansion of its house-building programme by committing an extra GBP 1.3 billion investment towards building new homes for residents.

  • UK court finds Mirror Group newspapers guilty of hacking Prince Harry’s phone

    UK court finds Mirror Group newspapers guilty of hacking Prince Harry’s phone

    LONDON (TIP): Prince Harry won his historic phone hacking lawsuit on December 15 against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and was awarded over 140,000 pounds ($180,000) in the first of several lawsuits against British tabloids to go to trial in his battles with the press.
    Justice Timothy Fancourt in the High Court found phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at Mirror Group Newspapers over many years and private investigators “were an integral part of the system” to gather information unlawfully on Harry and his associates.
    He said executives at the papers were aware of the practice and covered it up.
    Fancourt found the newspapers had invaded the Duke of Sussex’s privacy by using unlawful information gathering to produce 15 of the 33 newspaper articles examined at trial as a representative sampling from nearly 150 Harry cited. Harry said the ruling was “vindicating and affirming” and should serve as a warning to other news media that used similar practices, an overt reference to two tabloid publishers that face upcoming trials in lawsuits that make nearly identical allegations.

    “Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability,” Harry said in a statement read by his lawyer outside court.
    “I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues,” Harry’s statement read.
    Fancourt awarded the duke damages for the distress he suffered and a further sum for aggravated damages to “reflect the particular hurt and sense of outrage” over the fact that two directors at Trinity Mirror knew about the activity and didn’t stop it. “Instead of doing so, they turned a blind eye to what was going on and positively concealed it,” Fancourt said. “Had the illegal conduct been stopped, the misuse of the duke’s private information would have ended much sooner.”
    Harry, the estranged younger son of King Charles III, had sought 440,000 pounds ($560,000) as part of a crusade against the British media that bucked his family’s longstanding aversion to litigation and made him the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court in over a century.
    His appearance in the witness box over two days in June created a spectacle as he lobbed allegations that Mirror Group Newspapers had employed journalists who eavesdropped on voicemails and hired private investigators to use deception and unlawful means to learn about him and other family members.
    “I believe that phone hacking was at an industrial scale across at least three of the papers at the time,” Harry asserted in the High Court. “That is beyond any doubt.”
    Harry had a tendency in his testimony “to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception,” which was not the case, the judge said. He said Mirror Group was “not responsible for all of the unlawful activity directed at the duke.” (AP)

  • UK cautioned against ‘unfair’ visa crackdown on Indian professionals, students

    LONDON (TIP): Groups representing skilled professionals and students from India on December 4 expressed concerns over a lack of clarity around the UK government’s latest visa crackdown, branding the ban on family dependents as “unfair.” UK Home Secretary James Cleverly tabled a five-point plan in Parliament on Monday that would see overseas care workers banned from bringing family members and skilled professionals having to meet a much higher minimum salary threshold of GBP 38,700.
    While the Health and Care visa will be exempt from this hiked salary requirement, it remains unclear how the category will operate for Indian medics in future.
    “We will be writing to the Home Secretary urgently to seek clarification; we hope that this does not include doctors and nurses because if it does, we can assure the Home Office that the number of doctors and nurses coming to the UK from India will be nil,” said Dr Ramesh Mehta, founder of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), the UK’s largest representative body for nearly 80,000 doctors and 55,000 nurses of Indian origin.
    “But even if the changes apply only to care workers, it is extremely unfair if they are not allowed to bring their family. For anyone to provide a satisfactory and good quality care service, they can’t be separated from their own family,” he said.
    BAPIO, which works proactively with the National Health Service (NHS) to help address the state-funded system’s “desperate need” for quality doctors and nurses from India, warned that it would be forced to withdraw the voluntary support if the new rules clamp down on family rights. There is also an element of doubt if the Home Office intends to revoke an exemption for professionals under the Health and Care visa from paying the compulsory Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which Cleverly confirmed would be increasing from the current GBP 624 to GBP 1,035. “We’ve just announced the biggest-ever cut in net migration. No Prime Minister has done this before in history. But the level of net migration is too high and it has to change. I am determined to do it,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, regarding the latest set of visa changes which the government claims could cut migrant numbers by 300,000. (PTI)

  • India-origin media veteran Samir Shah selected as new BBC chairman

    India-origin media veteran Samir Shah selected as new BBC chairman

    LONDON (TIP): Samir Shah, an India-born media executive with over 40 years of experience in TV production and journalism, has been named as the UK government’s preferred candidate to take over as the new BBC chairman. The 71-year-old, who was honored with a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 for services to television and heritage, will replace Richard Sharp, who was forced to resign after his communication with former prime minister Boris Johnson came under scrutiny.
    Shah will now be quizzed by cross-party MPs of the House of Commons Media Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny before formally taking charge of the public service broadcaster.
    “With a career spanning more than 40 years in TV production and journalism, Shah has a wealth of experience to bring to the position of BBC Chair,” UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said on Wednesday, confirming the selection as per the appointment process.
    “He has a clear ambition to see the BBC succeed in a rapidly changing media landscape, and I have no doubt he will provide the support and scrutiny that the BBC needs to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future,” she said.
    The minister said Shah’s knowledge of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and his belief in its role as a national broadcaster alongside his extensive work to promote diversity in broadcasting will be invaluable in helping to ensure that the BBC reflects, represents and serves communities across the whole of the UK.
    “The BBC is, without doubt, one of the greatest contributions we have made to global culture and one of our strongest calling cards on soft power,” Shah said.
    “If I am able to put what skills, experience, and understanding of public service broadcasting I have built up during my career to help this brilliant organization meet the complex and diverse challenges it faces over the coming years, it would be an honor,” he added.
    “The BBC has a great place in British life and a unique duty to reach a wide audience right across the country and I will do all I can to ensure it fulfils this in an increasingly competitive market,” Shah said.
    Born in Aurangabad, Shah came to England in 1960 and was previously the head of current affairs and political programs at the BBC.
    The CEO and owner of Juniper, an independent television and radio production company, Shah has also served as a non-executive director of the BBC between 2007 and 2010.
    Besides, the Oxford University alumnus is a race relations expert who co-authored the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report in 2021.
    More recently, he was named on a three-member panel set up by the government to independently review the unrest that took place in the city of Leicester last year, as community groups clashed in the aftermath of an India-Pakistan cricket match.
    As BBC chairman, a three-day-a-week role with an annual salary of 160,000 pounds, Shah will be responsible for upholding and protecting the taxpayer-funded license fee-operated public broadcaster and ensuring it fulfils its mission to “inform, educate and entertain”.
    He will also lead negotiations with the government over the future of the license fee.
    “We welcome the announcement that Samir Shah has been selected as the government’s preferred candidate to take up the role of BBC chair and look forward to him joining the board once the formal process has been completed,” a BBC spokesperson said.
    Shah’s selection marks a sea change, as it means there will now be a journalist at the top of the BBC.
    Although the BBC is politically independent, its chairperson is appointed by the government.
    His appointment comes at a challenging time for the BBC, which is looking to make 500 million pounds of savings in the face of high inflation and a two-year freeze on the cost of a TV license.
    The license fee, which provides most of the BBC’s funding, is currently 159 pounds but is due to rise in April in line with inflation. On Monday, Culture Secretary Frazer said an increase to the fee by almost 15 pounds would “absolutely” be too much.
    She also said she was looking at how “we fund the BBC going forward”.
    Shah’s half-brother, Mohit Bakaya, is also a BBC veteran as controller of BBC Radio 4.

  • Indian-origin man from London campaigns for patients’ rights after son’s death

    Indian-origin man from London campaigns for patients’ rights after son’s death

    LONDON (TIP): An Indian-origin man from London who lost his son due to what he terms as a “cascade of errors” by medics has launched a new charity foundation to campaign for the rights of patients.
    Jay Patel registered Patients Lives Matter earlier this month after his 30-year-old son, Balram, died due to “failures” in treatment and care from a hospital in London. The coroner’s office has since told him that it is opening an investigation into the conditions leading up to Balram’s death last month.
    “Balram died in a huge amount of pain, and discomfort, and before his time, due to a cascade of errors and failures in treatment and care from the hospital consultant and a number of staff,” said his father in a mission statement for the new foundation.
    “We feel very strongly that the government is taking steps ‘after the event’ so as to speak to see what went wrong with patient care and/or patient treatment. However, totally inadequate steps are available at the time of the incident to rectify the failure and ensure little or no harm comes to the patient. Whether you are the patient, a parent, a family member, a friend or none of the above we want to hear from you,” he said.
    Patel said he wants to lobby Parliament and get them to listen and effect a change. His son suffered from six life threatening conditions and was “developmentally delayed” with a mental age of eight to 10 years old.
    “He was our baby. He was happiness personified, loved life to the fullest and made everyone he came in contact with happy, as well as those that didn’t even meet him but just heard his voice or knew about him,” said Jay Patel.
    “We are deeply saddened for the loss of our Balram but we are mortified that he passed in a huge amount of unnecessary pain, before his time and this was due to the lack of care, inappropriate medical treatment, and delay in appropriate treatment. A coroner’s investigation has now been opened and the coroner is investigating the delays in Balram’s treatment and the treatment itself,” he said.
    Through Patients Lives Matter, he is campaigning for simple steps towards a swift and straightforward second opinion on treatment plans, with an independent body governing this process.

  • Indian-origin author Chetna Maroo’s debut novel shortlisted for Booker Prize

    Indian-origin author Chetna Maroo’s debut novel shortlisted for Booker Prize

    LONDON : (TIP): London-based Indian-origin author Chetna Maroo’s debut novel ‘Western Lane’ has been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.
    Sarah Bernstein’s ‘Study for Obedience’, ‘If I Survive You’ by Jonathan Escoffery, Paul Harding’s ‘The Other Eden’, Paul Lynch’s ‘Prophet Song’ and Paul Murray’s ‘The Bee Sting’ complete the shortlist of six that will compete for the 50,000-pounds prize to be unveiled on November 26 at an award ceremony in London.

    Kenya-born Maroo’s novel set within the context of the British Gujarati milieu has been praised by the Booker judges for its use of the sport of squash as a metaphor for complex human emotions. It revolves around the story of an 11-year-old girl named Gopi and her bond with her family.“Chetna Maroo’s deeply evocative debut of a family grappling with grief conveyed through crystalline language which reverberates like the sound of ‘a ball hit clean and hard with a close echo’. It is stunning and it stays with you,” said Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan, the chair of the Booker Prize 2023 judging panel, as she announced the shortlist here on Thursday. With reference to her shortlisted work, Maroo said it would be fair to call it a “sports novel”. “It’s also been called a coming-of-age novel, a domestic novel, a novel about grief, a novel about the immigrant experience. Recently a friend asked me if the book has something of the detective story about it, with Gopi trying to find her way, piecing together the clues of small gestures, actions and fragments of overheard conversations; she has little to go on and since she’s dealing with the mysteries of loss, there are no answers for her,” she said. She was the recipient of the 2022 Plimpton Prize for Fiction, awarded annually since 1993 by the Paris Review to celebrate an outstanding piece of fiction by an emerging writer published in the magazine during the preceding year. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as an accountant. Western Lane, which is shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023, is her first novel.
    (With inputs from PTI)

  • Claire Coutinho: Newest Indian-origin minister in Rishi Sunak Cabinet

    Claire Coutinho: Newest Indian-origin minister in Rishi Sunak Cabinet

    LONDON (TIP): Claire Coutinho, a close aide of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, got a big promotion as his new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary in a mini reshuffle on August 31. Coutinho, 38, becomes the second Goan-origin minister after Home Secretary Suella Braverman in the Sunak Cabinet and has a tough brief ahead of her as energy costs have been soaring in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
    She has committed herself to work on safeguarding energy security and reducing bills for families struggling with a cost-of-living crisis. In her first Cabinet role, Coutinho replaced Grant Shapps after he was promoted to the post of Defence Secretary following the resignation of Ben Wallace.
    “I am delighted to have been appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. I will work with the Prime Minister to safeguard our energy security, reduce bills for families, and build cleaner, cheaper, homegrown energy,” she tweeted.
    Like Sunak, UK-born Coutinho grew up in a family connected with the National Health Service (NHS) and was in the field of investment banking before joining politics.
    The pro-Brexiter with a Master’s degree in Maths and Philosophy from Oxford University was elected member of Parliament for East Surrey, south-east England, in 2019 with a promise to serve people. “I was elected the Member of Parliament for East Surrey in 2019. Growing up, I watched my parents work as GPs (general practitioners) in the NHS, listening to people’s problems and solving them as best they could. It is in that spirit that I hope to serve the people of East Surrey,” reads the London-born politician’s mission statement as a Tory MP. Sunak’s decision to catapult her into the cabinet – as its youngest member in fact – marks her out instantly as a major figure in Conservative politics, present and future, the BBC reported. She says she started her career at Merrill Lynch, before leaving the City of London firm for a career in social justice policy.
    “I focused on a wide range of issues from education to financial inclusion, to the regeneration of deprived communities including at the Centre for Social Justice. I then spent two years within government as a Special Adviser, including at HM Treasury. My local priorities include fixing our roads, supporting the local economy, and protecting our environment,” she adds in her mission statement.
    Having worked as a special adviser in the UK Treasury department, Coutinho went on to become an aide to Sunak in his role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and later Chancellor of the Exchequer. She backed the British Indian candidate for Prime Minister in his leadership bid last year and was later rewarded with a junior ministerial post in the Department for Education. “Big thank you to my stellar team who supported me as Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing. I know my successor, David Johnston, will be champing at the bit to improve the lives of children and families up and down the country,” she tweeted after her promotion.
    “From the largest expansion of childcare in history to our new Freedom of Speech Act to driving forward reforms in SEND, for foster carers, in children’s social care and for childminders. It has been a privilege to work with so many talented people,” she said. (PTI)

  • Punjabi-origin Indian British model Neelam Gill in a relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio’s “good friend”

    Punjabi-origin Indian British model Neelam Gill in a relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio’s “good friend”

    LONDON (TIP): Indian-British model Neelam Gill has put romance rumors with Leonardo DiCaprio to rest, People magazine reported. The model and DiCaprio were photographed boating together in Sardinia on Friday, July 28, fueling the rumors that the two were dating. Gill took to Instagram and made an announcement via a post. She wrote, “Just to clear up any rumors. I am not Leonardo DiCaprio’s new flame. In fact, I am in a committed relationship with his good friend and have been for many months now.”
    She added, “The only reason we have been pictured in the same vicinity is because I have been there with my partner. I hope this clears up all the false stories,” she concluded.
    DiCaprio and Gill were last seen together in the company of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ actor’s other rumored lover, Gigi Hadid.
    In June, the models were the first to arrive at an exclusive London restaurant, followed by DiCaprio and his parents shortly after,” as per People. An exclusive source told People earlier this month that DiCaprio and Hadid were “definitely dating.” “They were in separate groups, but they partied together for two nights.” “They were flirty, and Gigi looked happy,” the insider claimed. “It’s pretty obvious that they are seeing each other. Maybe not exclusively, but they are definitely dating,” the source added.
    “It’s just always very predictable: Leo shows up to parties first, then Gigi second. It’s like a game.”
    The source said that inside the parties “there is subtle touching and lots of flirting” when “they are able to be more private.”
    And Hadid typically “stays by his side”.
    Meanwhile, Gill continues to make headlines for her gorgeous appearances and fashion projects. Back in 2022, she attended the LuisaViaRoma for Unicef Gala in a bright yellow gown, showing skin from all angles.
    The British Indian model said in an interview with The Guardian why she “would never complain about what I do”. “You fly to all these different places, get off the plane, have to be ready to shoot and look amazing, then you fly back out somewhere else and do it all over again,” she explained in 2017. “I spend a lot of time alone in hotel rooms and airports; I don’t go out; I can count my pals on one hand…But I will always be thankful.”