• Thursday, April 03, 2025

The contentious events behind India’s Ram temple

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi led a ceremony on Monday (22) to consecrate a grand new temple to the Hindu god-king Ram, delivering on a campaign promise his political party made more than three decades ago. The construction, begun in 2020, had been a contentious issue as the temple stands…

Veronica Mehta’s phoenix moment after intense cancer battle

AT THE end of the video for her new song, Gone, British Asian music pioneer Veronica Mehta transforms into a phoenix rising from the ashes – a symbol, she said, of her “second chance at life” after a gruelling battle with cancer. Mehta was riding high in her career after collaborating…

UK sees surge in maternal deaths, Asians doubly at risk

THE number of women in Britain dying during pregnancy or soon afterwards has reached its highest level in almost two decades, a new study reported last Thursday (11). The figures from MBRRACEUK, which monitors maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths and their causes, showed black women and those from deprived…

India shuttler Prannoy ‘not worried’, eyes set on Paris Olympics

OLYMPIC qualification is on the horizon, but star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy said he was not looking too far ahead and was focused on the next couple of months in his bid to get into “tournament mode” after a productive off-season. Prannoy, 31, who secured a maiden bronze medal at…

Musical aims to decipher the Enigma of brilliant Turing

JOEL GOODMAN, a lyricist and composer, wanted to write a musical “about someone who changed the world. I brainstormed different people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and also Alan Turing. In the end we decided on Alan Turing.” The result is Alan Turing: A Musical Biography at the Riverside Studios…

Riar Saab: Rebel without a pause

AN EXCITING new generation of artists, such as the late great singer Sidhu Moose Wala, has pushed Punjabi music across new horizons around the world. Riar Saab falls firmly into that new wave of pathbreakers. Having started off as a member of the successful hip-hop quartet Aavrutti, the singer and…

Ex India tennis star Sania confirms divorce with former Pakistan…

SANIA MIRZA’s family on Sunday (21) confirmed that the Indian tennis icon and Shoaib Malik have separated, a day after Pakistani cricketer announced his second marriage with actor Sana Javed. Their split marks the end of a high-profile union that had generated huge interest among sports lovers from the two…

Tata Group awarded IPL title rights for record $300m

INDIA’S Tata Group has again been awarded title sponsorship rights of the Indian Premier League for five years, for a record sum of $300 million (£236m), the national cricket board said. Tata already holds the title sponsorship for the IPL and its sister competition, the Women’s Premier League, which staged…

Religious spectacle to mark opening of Ram temple in India

A grand temple to Hindu god Lord Ram opens on Monday (22) on a site in India millions believe is his birthplace, in a religious spectacle led by prime minister Narendra Modi months before he seeks a rare third term in elections. The construction of the temple is a 35-year-old,…

Hunt hints again at pre-election tax cuts

CHANCELLOR Jeremy Hunt said he would use his budget statement in March – possibly his last before a national election expected this year – to boost economic growth and he said tax cuts were part of his plans. “My priority in the upcoming Spring Budget will be to build on…