TERROR THREAT TO MIGRANTS IN PUNJAB
DATE: 29.06.08
Updated: 09:04

A new terrorist plot targeting migrant workers from Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has been discovered by police in Punjab .

The conspiracy involves young Sikhs who have never had a criminal record or any association with the Khalistan movement for an independent Sikh state. Jaragon police caught three young men with 35kg of high explosives hidden in their car.

Amrik Singh, Daljit Singh and Sarabjit Singh admitted stockpiling explosives in different locations for possible attacks on migrants. The men are believed to be part of a larger terrorist network.

It's thought the group is jointly run by operatives in the German city of Hamburg and within the Pakistani security service.

CURRY HOUSE DENIES EMPLOYING ILLEGAL WORKERS
DATE: 29.06.08
Updated: 09:02

The owners of a curry restaurant in Tooting, south London have protested after the Border and Immigration Agency website named them in a list of businesses employing illegal workers. The ‘name and shame' campaign is part of the Home Office's crackdown on people smuggling.

Mirch Masala says the claims are untrue, and the owners are refusing to pay the £10,000 fine given as a result of an immigration raid on 31st March in which two workers were arrested.

Manager Hassan Shazad says he tried to confirm the men's immigration status with the Home Office, but was told the information was protected by the Data Protection Act.

MET APPEAL FOR ASIAN KIDNAP WITNESSES
DATE: 29.06.08
Updated: 09:00

The Met Police are looking for an Asian couple thought to have witnessed the kidnapping of a man at gunpoint outside his home in Wembley. The incident happened in Bowrons Avenue on 22nd May at around 23:00.

A 34-year-old man was bundled into a white Ford transit van by three black men, after the gang confronted him in a neighbouring road. Police believe the motive was robbery. The man was eventually released after four hours and was treated for head injuries in hospital.

NEW SCHEME TO TACKLE HONOUR CRIME
DATE: 28.06.08
Updated: 15:14

A new strategy for tackling forced marriages and honour based violence is being piloted in the West Midlands, Lancashire and several London boroughs.

The CPS Pilot Guidance for Honour Crime and Forced Marriage is being managed by West Yorkshire Crown Prosecution Service.

It aims to collect information on these types of crime in order to draw up good practise guidelines.

The scheme has been prompted by several recent high profile murders, such as the murder of Banaz Mahmood by her father and uncle, for leaving an arranged marriage.

PROTESTERS TARGET TATA MOTORS IN WEST BENGAL
DATE: 28.06.08
Updated: 15:12

Police in Singhur district in India 's West Bengal state used tear gas to repel farmers protesting outside a Tata Motors Nano factory yesterday.

Over 200 farmers attempted to stop Tata Motor executives entering the site. Some farmers say they were forced to sell their land by the Government, at half its market value.

Violence broke out between demonstrators and police after the farmers tried to demolish a wall of the building – six policemen and several protesters were injured.

Tata have yet to comment on the incident.

APPEAL FOR ASIAN BONE MARROW DONORS
DATE: 28.06.08
Updated: 15:11

There is a serious shortage of South Asian bone marrow donors in the UK .

Now the family of a six year old girl who desperately needs a transplant are urging Asian people between 18 and 40 years old to join the bone marrow register.

A registration clinic is being held at the David Lloyds Centre in Heston, west London , tomorrow.

Villiers High School in Southall is dropping Urdu language classes as it says there is not enough demand. The Boyd Avenue school will not teach GCSE classes for the language during the forthcoming academic year, though there is a chance Urdu will be taught the following year if there is enough support.

Headteacher Juliet Strang said the school offers a choice of four languages at Key Stage 3 and at GCSE: Urdu, Punjabi, Spanish, and French.

However, she said that this year, 6 out of 240 students wanted to study Urdu, which is not enough to justify full-time classes.

Catering groups and immigration lawyers have slammed the Government's new 'name-and-shame' policy for firms employing illegal migrant workers, claiming it unfairly punishes good businesses and drives shady operators underground.

The criticism comes after the Border Agency last week published the names of 35 businesses, which had been fined a total of £303,000 for employing 56 illegal workers in May, on its website. 27 of those businesses were restaurants and takeaways.

Khalil Hosenbux, principal lawyer at specialist immigration and nationality law firm The Immigration Lawyers, said: "Changes to the rules on work permits have worsen the problems as regards the inability to recruit specialist chefs, while raids carried out on restaurants to uncover illegal working have caused mayhem in numerous establishments.

Small employers face a "bureaucratic nightmare" from plans to tackle inequality set out by the government yesterday, business has warned.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, told MPs a wide reaching equality bill in the next parliamentary session would be the catalyst for a "radical shift in our approach to fighting unfairness".

The Trade Union Congress hailed a landmark piece of legislation, but employers’ organisations warned of the potential costs and practical difficulties in implementing the new law.

However employers’ concerns centre on plans to use state’s £160billion a year procurement spend to deliver transparency and change in the private sector.

The bill allow public sector bodies to require companies supplying goods and services to publish their staff gender gap and the proportion of employees who are disabled or form ethnic groups.

An astonishing dossier of evidence supports by Britain’s most senior Asian police officer claims that he is the victim of racism, his colleagues say.

Members of the National Black Association said that Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur had been treated "extremely poorly". They called on the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, to intervene.

The documents are believed to include claims of victimisation by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and the police authority chairman Len Duvall. Both have strongly denied the allegations.

The London Asian community is being urged to act in forthcoming council by elections to prevent the BNP winning seats. BNP candidates are standing in Chadwell Heath ward in Barking and Dagenham and South Hornchurch in Havering.

Last weekend anti-fascist campaigners went about handing out leaflets in east London, calling on Asians to vote against far right councillors.

Terry Fitzpatrick from the anti-fascist organisation Searchlight said: "the BNP equates all Muslims as Asians, they make no distinction between Hindus and Sikhs…they see them all as terrorists."

Militants in Pakistan have carried out what officials have called a "public execution" of two Afghans before thousands of cheering supporters. The pair were alleged to have helped an American missile strike that killed 14 people in a border village last month.

Correspondents say one man was decapitated and another shot, to show the Taliban's growing power. The deaths took place in the Bajaur tribal agency near the Afghan border.

An inquest jury has ruled a prison where an inmate was murdered by two Asian prisoners is "unsafe and unstable" for staff and prisoners. In April 2006 Bisharat Chaudry and Ibrahim Musone were convicted of stabbing Wayne Reid at Wye Hill prison in Northamptonshire. A third man, Deedar Syed, was jailed for disposing of a blood stained jacket.

The inquest jury at Rushden and Diamonds Football Club in Northamptonshire said Wye Hill prison was partly responsible for the conditions which led to Mr Reid’s death.

The jury found staff were not properly supported, cells were not thoroughly searched, and poor security allowed knives to be brought in by visitors.

The main opposition party in India has named its candidates for the next general election. Polls are not due to be held until May 2009 – but the ruling coalition is fighting for survival amid a controversial nuclear energy deal with the US.

If the Congress Party fails to reconcile its communist allies to the deal, or find a new partner if the coalition falls apart, it may be forced call elections earlier than planned.

The BJP General Secretary Ananth Kumar said: "the countdown to the end of the United Progressive Alliance has begun."

It has emerged police sniffer dogs patrolling train stations may be banned from touching Muslim passengers. A Department of Transport report has suggested the dogs should only be allowed to sniff passengers’ luggage, after some passengers complained.

Islam regards dogs as "spiritually unclean" and many Muslims avoid any contact for religious reasons. However, banning sniffer dogs from bodily contact would severely hamper their ability to do their job.

The British Transport Police say they will continue to use sniffer dogs as part of anti-terrorism security measures, but they say dog handlers will be trained in awareness of "cultural sensitivitie". Critics say the measures prioritise the rights of minorities over the security of the public.

Today campaigners from the charity War on Want are attending the Tesco’s Annual General Meeting to ask the Chief Executive about his company’s use of factories paying sweat shop wages. A new report by the charity has found a factory in India supplying Tesco is paying workers as little as 16p per hour.

The aim is pressure retailers into action and bring the issue to the attention of the British Government.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a group of Buddhist monks attempting to march towards the President's House in Sri Lanka's capital, demanding that better hostel facilities be provided for student monks.

Some 800 monks in saffron-coloured robes marched towards the President's House when they were confronted by police. The monks sat down on a main highway and chanted anti-government slogans.

After nearly four hours of protest, police used teargas and water cannons and arrested at least eight monks. The monks were ordered to appear in court for disrupting traffic and causing public inconvenience.

An Asian man who threatened to blow up Bluewater shopping centre laughed as he was given a 12 month jail term. Saeed Ghafoor, 33, from Southampton was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

The former English teacher claimed he was plotting to pack three limousines with gas canisters and detonate them at the shopping centre.

However, Kate Cornell whilst mitigating said Mr Ghafoor was a fantasist, and never intended to carry out an attack.

An Indian-born millionairess has been sentenced to eleven years in prison for forcing two Indonesian women to work as slaves in her New York mansion. Varsha Sabhnani, 46, made the women work for up to 20 hours a day and confiscated their passports.

In December 2007 Mrs Sabhnani and her husband Mahender Sabhnani were convicted on twelve federal offences including forced labour, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harbouring aliens.

The victims said they were regularly beaten, slashed with knives, deprived of food and forced to take freezing showers. One woman said she was forced to eat dozens of chilli peppers until she was sick, and then made to eat her own vomit.

The prosecution said Mrs Sabhnani was the driving force behind the abuse. Mr Sabhnani will be sentenced today. He is expected to receive a lighter sentence than his wife. He was charged with the same offences for not preventing the abuse.

The trial has highlighted the problem of exploitation in the US domestic service market.

Four men have been jailed in connection with the execution of a man in a so-called "honour killing" which took place on the outskirts of a West Yorkshire town. 29-year-old Pakistani Mian Shahid Mehmood was shot dead in February of 2007.

The jury heard Arza Khan disapproved of his sister Yasmin's marriage to Mr Mehmood and ordered the killing to be carried out after threats and violence towards his sister had failed to end the relationship.

Sam Lee, John Reeves, Naveed Mahmood and Arza Khan were convicted of the killing at Leeds Crown Court.

Mr Khan, Naveed Mahmood and Mr Reeves were told they would have to serve a minimum of 32 years in prison before being made eligible for parole. Mr Lee will have to serve at least 25 years.Another man is to face a re-trial on his part in the killing.

A judge has criticised an author for trying to stop police obtaining his research for a book about the self-confessed former terrorist fundraiser Hassan Butt.

Shiv Malik, from Golders Green in northwest London, initially won his judicial review, which decided the original order made under the Terrorism Act was too wide. He described it as a "victory for common sense."

But now three judges at the High Court have told him he must hand over the notes within one week, and pay Greater Manchester Police’s court costs.

The conviction of an Essex BNP activist who put up posters of three killers with the description "illegal immigrant murder scum" has been upheld.

Andrew Kendall, 32, from Westcliff on Sea said he was legally entitled to use the posters to promote his party’s views.

However the High Court ruled Mr Kendall was rightly found guilty of committing a racially aggravated offence.

Organisers of an Asian festival in Berkshire have been forced to cancel the event with one month’s notice due to rising costs. The Slough Mela was due to be held on 20th July.

Organiser Ashik Abdiali says the police wanted to charge £32,000 for policing the event and Slough Borough Council wanted £11,000 for road signing costs.

Superintendent Graham Bell from Thames Valley Police defended the force’s actions, saying "it is very common for police forces to charge for policing services, and there is ACPO guidance on this."

Indian Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw has died at the age of 94. He died in Welllington Hospital in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu last night. His victory in the 1971 war between India and Pakistan led to the creation of Bangladesh.

The Indian Defence Minster A. K. Antony said: "his demise has left behind a void that will be really hard to fill...the nation has lost a great soldier, a true patriot and a noble son."

Detectives investigating disguised donations to the Labour Party have handed over their main file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Police were called to look at whether donations given by a property developer through associates to get around the law were in breach of party finance laws.

The Scotland Yard investigation centres around reported £650,000 donations made by David Abrahams.

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a man in the last case linked to the failed July 21st suicide bombings in London.

Lukimon Sulaimon was accused of failing to disclose what he knew about Shepherd’s Bush bomber Hussain Osman. Prosecutor Emma Gargitter told the Old Bailey the Crown has decided to offer no evidence.

Seven days after a breakout at Campsfield House immigration detention centre, in Kidlington, Oxford, three escapees remain on the loose.

Police yesterday continued the hunt for Abdesalam Tarik Ben, Abdelhak Morid and Mohammed Aref Hosseini.

They were among seven who fled the detention centre in the early hours of last Thursday. Three were recaptured within a mile of the centre, while a fourth was picked up in Oxford's Botanic Garden.

The possibility of a general election in India is growing as the ruling Congress Party fails to reach an agreement with its Communist allies over a nuclear energy deal with the US.

Many analysts believe the coalition could break up in a matter of weeks, and if the Congress Party does not find a new partner quickly, it will have to consider going to the polls. Currently the agreed date for the next election is March 2009.

Calling elections earlier than this could lead to a lengthy period of political uncertainty. This could endanger the Government’s attempts to control inflation and a slowing economy.

The Communists have opposed many of the Congress Party’s proposed reforms; now Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may be forced to take a stand.

Delegates at a conference of chief police officers have been shown photos of a blonde 12-year-old boy identified as being at risk of committing acts of terrorism. The boy is the youngest of 24 young people, mainly Muslims of Asian descent, whom police are working with to prevent them being groomed as terrorists.

Sir Norman Bettison, the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, said: "He is at risk of being a violent young man...he is not a Muslim, he is not driven by ideology, but he is being influenced by the imagery and appeal of Jihad and other internet violence."

All of the young people are taking part in scheme identifying vulnerable young adults, currently being piloted in London, Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

Polling in by-elections is under way in Pakistan, a day after the Supreme Court postponed voting in a seat where former PM Nawaz Sharif wants to stand. Candidates are contesting five seats to the national parliament and at least 23 seats in provincial parliaments.

The government appealed on Mr Sharif's behalf against a ban stopping him from running in a Lahore parliamentary seat. He was barred because of convictions relating to his removal from power by Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

Controversial award-winning author Salman Rushdie received his knighthood from the Queen yesterday despite fears of a backlash from Muslim extremists. Sir Salman, 61, was knighted for services to literature.

When the knighthood was announced last year a number of countries condemned the gesture and a Pakistani government minister suggested the award justified suicide bombings.

With the release of his novel "The Satanic Verses" in 1989, a death warrant was put on the writer’s head over accusations of blasphemy against the Muslim world. It was withdrawn in 1998. al-Qaeda has warned it is preparing a "precise response" to Mr Rushdie’s knighthood.

White men could be blocked from jobs and promotions under a so-called 'equality drive' unveiled by Labour today. Instead, women and ethnic minorities will be favoured in the workplace under a new bill to be revealed by Equalities Minister Harriet Harman.

Critics have blasted the measure as an unworkable piece of political correctness that will see good candidates overlooked for jobs in the interests of positive discrimination.

Police are seeking further information in connection with the "suspicious" death of an Asian woman, whose body was found after a fire.

The body of 25-year-old Kuldeep Kaur Sidhu was found by fire crews with a burnt object tied tightly around her neck at her home in Birmingham on 14th May.

West Yorkshire police say a note was also found at the house indicating suicide, but it also hinted someone else "knows something" about her death.

A thief has vowed to change his ways after the staff of an Asian shop in Telford saw him stealing sat on him until police arrived. Russell Calvert, 32, stole a mobile phone from a store in the town in April. He also gave an apology to the staff.

Calvert returned to the store a few days later, disguised with a hat and a wig. However, staff recognised him and restrained him. He was given a 12 month suspended sentence and said he would change.

Heroin addict Calvert faced four charges of theft at Telford Magistrates' Court (only one relating to the phone), and three relating to bail offences. After sentencing he said the shop staff had actually done him a favour.

He added he had recently completed a course which shows the effect of crime on the victims and that had helped him change his outlook.

Store owner Waheed Iqbal, telling of the day he and others caught Calvert, said: "He returned to the shop days later, wearing a hat and a wig but was recognised. I jumped on him, and he was struggling to get away. He was like a cat. His hat and wig fell off." Mr Iqbal added that he was happy if the episode genuinely did turn Calvert around.

The expenses of all MPs are to be scrutinised by forensic auditors with the aim of restoring public trust in parliamentary allowances, which have attracted controversy for members’ abuse of the system.

On average, MPs claim £135,000 a year in expenses. If parliament approves the reforms next week, a number of allowances will be abolished, starting with the right to claim for furnishings and home improvements on expenses.

An Asian member of the BBC Board has criticised the BBC for what he calls a "tick box" approach to diversity, which has led to the over-representation of ethnic minorities in BBC programmes.

Samir Shah says too many black and Asian people are featuring on BBC TV because the corporation is run by a liberal elite.

Mr Shah said: "It’s almost impossible...to find a television news programme that doesn’t have a black or Asian presenter as part of the team – even in areas of Britain where black and Asian faces are thin on the ground in the population as a whole."

After urging commissioners to remember the UK is still 90% white, he noted ethnic minorities remain under-represented off-camera, with very few being promoted to senior roles.

A study by Bristol University has found Asian children have a higher risk of developing short-sightedness than any other ethnic group in the UK. Children of Indian, Pakistani and Chinese descent were found to be more than four times as likely to suffer from the problem.

The study took account of how much reading the children did and whether parents also suffered from short sightedness.

Researchers said they would be investigating genetic and environmental factors to explain the disparity. Over 4,500 children took part in the study.

It is reported that Britain's top Asian policeman is considering action against the Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, alleging racism.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur has complained to colleagues of being undermined, humiliated and subjugated by the Met. Mr Ghaffur has been compiling a dossier for two years.

He has now persuaded the legal committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers his case deserves funding, and has retained the law firm Kingsley Napley.

Tarique Ghaffur was one of the first Asians to join the Greater Manchester Police and on his first day in the job, the desk sergeant refused to let him enter the police station because he did not believe that an Asian man could be a police officer.

He eventually became Assistant Chief Constable in Lancashire before moving to the Met and becoming Assistant Commissioner in charge of Operation Trident cracking down on gun crime in black communities.

Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur will be taking his file to a meeting of the executive of the National Black Police Association today and they are expected to back him.

This is the latest in a string of controversies to hit Sir Ian Blair, including the De Menezes shooting and the Forest Gate raid.

A fourth man has been found guilty of murder of taking part in a Halifax honour killing. Sam Lee, 30, from Sheffield was found guilty by a jury of six women and five men at Leeds Crown Court.

During an eight week trial prosecutors told the court that Mr Lee had been recruited to kill victim Mian Shahid Mehmood by his brothers in law, 27-year-old Arza Khan and 22-year-old Tahir Mahmood.

The court had heard that the brothers did not approve of Mr Mehmood's marriage to their sister and took out a contract on his life.

Naveed Mahmood, 23, and John Reeves, 54, both of Sheffield, have already been found guilty of murder along with Mr Khan. The jury is still deliberating over Tahir Mahmood, who denies the killing.

MPs have pledged support to hundreds of London Underground cleaners who are due to take strike action in a pay dispute.

A number of Labour MPs called for cleaners to be paid a ‘London living wage’ of £7.20 an hour, rather than the current rate of just over £5.50. Hundreds of members of the RMT union are to go on strike for 24 hours this evening.

Heathrow needs a third runway and downgrading it in any way will harm the UK’s economy, the chief executive of airport operator BAA has warned.

Colin Matthews said that it is crucial that Britain faces up to the complex and fundamental issues facing aviation in this country. He said Heathrow has a unique role as the country’s only global hub airport.

Crisis talks between India's ruling Congress party and its left-wing allies have ended without resolving a dispute over a nuclear energy deal with the US.

The parties will meet again for more negotiations over the pact with Washington. The dispute has threatened to bring down the government and send India into early elections.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the coalition partners discussed "all aspects" of the deal, which would give India long-denied Western nuclear energy technology.

Pakistani military sources have rejected a US report which says the country may have misused more than £1billion given for the use on war on terror.

The report by the US Government Accountability Office says there is no adequate proof that Pakistan used the funds for their intended purpose.

A Pakistan army spokesman refused to comment, saying it was a matter for the US Congress and the Pentagon. The report was compiled by auditors on behalf of the US Congress.

A report released yesterday claims four people have died or been killed in police custody in India every day for the last five years; many of whom were tortured to death.

The Asian Centre for Human Rights says just as many people are killed in military custody but most cases go unreported allowing those guilty to escape justice. Representatives of the human rights group say "India is in a worrying state of denial about torture".

Police and security forces in India are often accused of using violence to extract confessions from suspects. The government denies this charge.

The Home Ministry says most deaths in custody are caused by illness, suicides and accidents, but human rights activists say India needs to investigate all deaths suspected to be related to torture.

Police have relocated an Asian sex offender who went missing on Tuesday during a supervised trip to a farm in Bristol.

Local officers found 26-year-old mental health patient Tamer Mahmoud yesterday and returned him into care.

Mr Mahmoud, a registered sex offender, is considered by authorities to be “high risk”. He escaped from custody while being held under the Mental Health Act.

The former patients of an Indian doctor accused of malpractice have welcomed his decision not to fight extradition from America to Australia. Dr Jayant Patel will be tried in Australia for 16 offences, relating to the deaths of 17 people during his time as the head of surgery at a Queensland hospital between 2003 and 2005.

A government inquiry linked the 17 deaths to Dr Patel, who was arrested at his home in Oregon in March. He was expected to contest his extradition. His patients have campaigned for three years to bring him back to Australia.

An Asian woman from Derbyshire has dedicated an award for her work in the Muslim community to her murdered daughter.

The body of Zareen Ahmed’s 19-year-old daughter Halimah Ahmed was found next to that of Khalid Peshawan, 33, last November.

Police in Normanton, where the bodies were found, believe Mr Peshawan killed Miss Ahmed and then hung himself. They are not looking for anyone else in connection with her murder.

A man who had his special constable wife killed in Wembley has been jailed for life, with a minimum of 20 years. Fadi Nasri, 34, of Barnet was jailed at the Old Bailey over arranging the murder of Nisha Patel Nasri in 2006.

Jason Jones, 36, and Rodger Leslie, 38, both of Barnet, were also jailed for life with minimum terms of 18 and 20 years respectively.

A man wanted over the murder of a Leeds teenager four years ago has been spotted in Pakistan. The photograph was obtained of Qasim Majid by Yorkshire Evening Post, taken just weeks ago in the city of Dina, 70 miles from the capital Islamabad.

A man from south Leeds visiting relatives in Pakistan was driving through Dina when he saw 24-year-old Mr Majid, wanted for questioning over the murder of 16-year-old Tyrone Clarke.

Four men were jailed for the murder of Mr Clarke, who was chased, beaten and fatally stabbed in Beeston, Leeds, in April 2004.

Schools Minister Jim Knight visited Guru Nanak Sikh Secondary School today to mark the first Who Do We Think We Are? Week. The initiative was launched in an attempt to encourage students to explore their identity, ask what it means to be British and celebrate diversity.

Activities held throughout the week seek to counter statistics which show students (both ethnically diverse and white working class) are feeling increasingly disenfranchised and negative about their British identity.

Guru Nanak Sikh Secondary School in Hayes, Middlesex is considered by OFSTED to be a model school for perpetuating community cohesion. Mr Knight says South Asians have carved a special place for themselves in British education.

Protests in Indian-administered Kashmir over the controversial transfer of land for a popular Hindu pilgrimage have spread. The capital city, Srinagar, is shut down for the second day in a row, and protests are now being held in the southern towns of Shopian, Pulwama and Anantnag.

On Monday two civilians were injured when police fired at protesters in the capital; one of them later died. Demonstrators are rallying against a government decision made last week to transfer nearly 100 acres of forest land to a Hindu shrine trust.

The trust intends to erect temporary structures for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine deep in the Himalayas.

Kashmiri separatist groups say the transfer of land is part of a "conspiracy to settle non-local Hindus in the valley with a view to reducing Muslims to a minority".

A third man has been convicted of taking part in an honour killing after a body was found near Halifax. Arza Khan, 27, has been found guilty at Leeds Crown Court of the murder of Mian Shahid Mehmood. The 29-year-old was found shot dead at a remote location in February last year.

Two other men, 54-year-old John Reeves, and 23-year-old Naveed Mahmood, have already been convicted of the murder. Leeds Crown Court was told Mr Mehmood was shot by hitmen hired to carry out the honour killing by two of his wife's brothers.

The court was told Tahir Mahmood, 22, and Arza Khan disapproved of their sister Yasmin's relationship. It is alleged the actual killing was carried out by 30-year-old Sam Lee, John Reeves and Naveed Mahmood. The jury was told the murder plan was hatched after threats and violence towards Yasmin failed to stop the marriage. All five men deny murder.

Militants loyal to Pakistan's top Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud have killed at least 22 rivals from a pro-government faction. The deaths bring to 37 the reported toll from the clashes this week, which underline the fragile hold of Pakistan's central government on its regions bordering Afghanistan.

The territory, in particular the semi-autonomous tribal regions, is believed to be rife with Taliban and al-Qaida fighters and subject to inter-tribal and militant feuds.

Attempts by the Pakistani government to agree a peace deal with militants in the area have been criticised by US officials, who say such negotiations will only give extremists time to regroup and plan new attacks in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's supreme court has ordered the postponement of a parliamentary by-election that former PM Nawaz Sharif was banned from contesting.

It said that Thursday's vote should not be held until it had decided on a government appeal against Mr Sharif's disqualification from the Lahore poll.

A panel of three judges in Islamabad said that it would not deliberate on the issue until 30th June. The government filed an urgent appeal challenging the ban today.

A curry house has been fined £10,000 for employing two illegal immigrants. Silsila Tandoori in Reading was handed the hefty fine by the Home Office after the restaurant owner was found to be employing the illegal workers, and was fined £5,000 for each.

The fine comes days after the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced the introduction of local immigration teams across the UK by 2012 to prevent businesses employing illegal workers.

Businesses will also be named and shamed on the UK Border Agency website, and those who continue to break the rules will face huge fines of up to £10,000 per illegal worker.

A Leeds primary school headteacher has apologised after talking about Muslims and bombs while dealing with a playground squabble and will undergo race equality training, education chiefs confirmed.

Jon Farley, head of Kerr Mackie Primary in Roundhay, was asked to explain his comments following a minor playground argument between four pupils - all of them Muslim. He has been told to watch his words after referring to Muslims and bombs while apparently trying to encourage squabbling youngsters in the playground to get on.

Chris Edwards, chief executive of Education Leeds, said: "The complaint has been taken extremely seriously. It has been fully investigated by the school's governing body twice, and the procedure has been reviewed by both Education Leeds and the council's chief executive.”

An investigation is underway after an Asian woman died in a fire and her daughter and granddaughter were left fighting for their lives. Three firefighters who braved the inferno at the house in Great Lever were also seriously injured, with one suffering 50% burns.

Detectives say they are keeping "an open mind" about the cause of the fire, but last night confirmed they were treating it as suspicious.

Yesterday, the community was mourning the death of 71-year-old grandmother, Hameeda Begum. Her daughter, 24-year-old Saima Main, and granddaughter, Alana Main, aged five, escaped with their lives, but suffered burns and the effects of smoke.

The death rate for babies in the Caribbean and Pakistani communities is more than twice that of the White British population of England and Wales, new statistics have revealed. There was almost one death for every 100 live births in Caribbean and Pakistani families but the figure fell to one for every 250 live births in White British families.

The Office for National Statistics looked at the 645,835 live births in England and Wales in 2005. The Caribbean community had the highest rate of infant mortality at 9.8 deaths per 1,000 live births but the Pakistani community was only slightly lower on 9.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. Both were more than double the rate in the White British group where there were 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Counter-terrorism talks between Pakistan and India were held in Islamabad yesterday in a bid to quell mutual suspicions over each other's involvement in recent border area attacks.

Though talks are meant to be scheduled between the rival nations on a quarterly basis, this was only the third meeting of the "anti-terrorism mechanism" since Indian and Pakistani leaders agreed to establish it almost two years ago.

The initiative is intended to provide a platform for exchange of intelligence and assistance in investigations.

A joint statement released after the meeting gave no hint as to the content of the talks, but Pakistan's new civilian-led government has repeatedly stated its intent to build better relations with India.

Around 50 pilots each year in India are being grounded because they had consumed alcohol before taking a flight, the country's civil aviation authorities said yesterday.

The Director General of Civil Aviation, a body controlling airline operations in India, said dozens of pilots are found to have consumed alcohol during routine pre-medical tests every year.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world with dozens of new airlines competing with each other everyday, often resulting in pilots forced to fly at short notices.

The country has about 4,500-5,000 commercial pilots, and another 2,500 are undergoing training. Civil aviation rules specify that pilots and cabin crew cannot consume alcohol 12 hours before taking a flight.

A pilot can be grounded for three months and he can lose his licence if he repeats the mistake again. A flight from India's capital to the eastern city of Patna was cancelled on Saturday after a routine medical test on crew members revealed the pilot had consumed alcohol.

An Asian teenager who drunkenly beat up a priest walked free yesterday after a judge announced the attack a "one-off mistake".

Babul Islam, 19, of Limehouse punched Canon Michael Ainsworth in the head while three other Asian youths attacked the vicar in his churchyard in Shadwell, east London March. The victim spent nearly two weeks in hospital after the assault which Mr Islam denies was religiously-motivated.

Judge Glenn Brasse told Mr. Islam he deserved a prison term for his crimes, but ‘under the circumstances’ a four-month suspended sentence, payment of one thousand pounds to the victim, and 100 hours of unpayed work would suffice.

Making hospitals compete for patients by publishing data such as cancer survival rates could save up to 100,000 lives a year, David Cameron has said.

The Conservative leader said scrapping Labour’s NHS targets based on processes not results could form a key part of a Tory government’s health reform plans.

He said the Tories would aim to give patients the best chances in Europe of surviving the most common conditions.

The bodies of 22 tribal elders who were kidnapped by local Taliban in Pakistan on Monday have been found. Officials say they were discovered in Jandola town in South Waziristan district.

The elders were kidnapped by militants loyal to Pakistan's top Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud. The militants overran Jandola, located in the south-eastern tip of the region, after clashes with the Bhittani tribe who are friendly to the government. Jandola is an important garrison town in the area, where the Taleban have a strong presence.

Police who take on anti-terror powers are motivated to "save life and nothing more", the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers has insisted.

Ken Jones told the Acpo conference that any new measure such as the 42 day detention limit should not be seen as a descent into an "Orwellian nightmare". He added, the debate on civil liberties must be rebalanced to reflect demands on the criminal justice system.

An Indian man has been arrested in New York on charges of sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said 68-year-old Lal Chand is accused of hugging and kissing a 12-year-old girl and then forcing her to touch him in a park on 3rd June.

Mr Chand let the girl go after she screamed and a group of her friends came running. Mr Chand of Long Island in New York was arrested on Monday after the girl recognised him from photos.

Two Asian men have been jailed for cultivating a cannabis farm said to be worth £1million. Police uncovered the farm at an industrial plant in Rochdale in Greater Manchester.

Upon entering the property, officers found hundreds of cannabis plants at various stages of growth and large bags of the plant dried and packaged for distribution.

Mahmood Anwar, 50, and Mujahid Ishaq, 36, both of Greater Manchester pleaded guilty yesterday at Bolton Crown Court. Mr Anwar was sentenced to 18 months in jail and Mr Ishaq received 21 months.

A researcher from the University of Leicester has announced that in order for Indian banks to remain competitive globally, they must recognise their responsibilities as global corporate citizens.

Sophie Hatfield-Hill, a PhD student in Geography, says this means declaring a commitment to environmentally and socially responsible business.

Her research has pointed to the fact that while banks and financial institutions worldwide are signatories of the Equator Principles (a set of environmental and social guidelines for financial services), Indian banks have yet to sign on.

Ms Hatfield-Hill says banks in India have significant influence over the safeguarding of fragile social groups and environments in Asia, and explains the reasons they have yet to commit to the Equator Principles.

High-street fashion retailer Zara has forced the closure of a supplier's factory in Bangladesh after workers told reporters for a UK news outlet they had suffered harsh treatment there.

On inspection of the premises in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, inspectors sent to the site by the property’s owner Inditex, say they found "really poor conditions". Inditex says this particular site did not make clothes for Zara, but was run by a firm that has supplied the store in the past.

Inditex told the supplier it must close the factory and redeploy its workers. Unions must also be introduced to its other plants.

This news comes as hundreds of protesters demonstrated yesterday outside Primark on Oxford Street in London, over claims that the retailer has been using child labour in its Indian manufacturing operations.

Dozens of suspects were arrested in Britain and across Europe yesterday in one of the largest co-ordinated crackdowns on people-trafficking.

Europol said that 75 people were detained in nine countries as 1,300 officers focused on a gang believed to have smuggled a large number of illegal immigrants into the European Union at between £8,000 and £9,500 a time.

Six people were arrested in Britain. The network was believed to be arranging travel from Afghanistan, China, Turkey and Bangladesh and Iraq.

An aide to Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed has announced the ruler has been admitted to hospital with a high fever. While his condition is reportedly improving, doctors are carrying out tests on Mr Ahmed.

The president, a former professor of soil science, is in his seventies and had a heart bypass operation two years ago. Mr Ahmed heads the interim government which has ruled with emergency powers for the past 18 months, and been president since 2002.

Australia and India will step up defence and intelligence links, holding annual talks between defence chiefs and working more closely on counter-terrorism.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, yesterday signed an extradition treaty and agreed to improve security exchanges on a broad front, including border security, counter-terrorism financing, money-laundering and energy security.

Mr Smith said he wanted Australia to take its relationship with India to "the front line of its international partnerships". At yesterday's meeting, the two countries agreed to establish an Australia-India Roundtable, which will be jointly convened by the Lowy Institute and the Indian Council for World Affairs.

With 52,000 Indian students studying in Australia and two-way tourism booming, the two governments also signed off on a new joint working group to examine passport and consular issues.

A group of Indians are planning to present a statue of the revered Indian monkey God, Hanuman, to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The group decided to order the idol after they read a magazine article saying that Mr Obama carried a good luck ‘monkey king’ charm.

According to the leader of the group, the two-foot tall, gold-polished, brass idol has been made as a present for Mr Obama because "he will be good for India if he becomes the next president”.

Monkeys are revered in Hindu culture revere monkeys as they are believed to be descendents of the monkey God Hanuman.

Police in the capital of Indian administered Kashmir fired tear gas and used batons in an attempt disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters yesterday. Demonstrators are rallying against a government decision made last week to transfer nearly 100 acres of forest land to a Hindu shrine trust.

The trust intends to erect temporary structures for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine deep in the Himalayas.

The protest was called by Kashmiri separatists who claim the ecology of the region will be ruined by the structures. The government says this charge is misleading citing previous attacks on the pilgrimage by separatist militants.

It is reported police detained at least 50 protesters from different parts of Srinagar. Around 250,000 Hindus fled the Kashmir valley after a separatist Muslim rebellion broke out in 1989. Only about 10,000 Hindus remain after years of violece in India's only Muslim-majority region.

The metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair has been accused of racial discrimination by a most senior Asian officer. Commander Shabir Hussain, 45, claims that Sir Ian Blair has a "golden circle of hand-picked favourites", which leaves little chance for non-whites and Asians to be promoted.

Commander Hussain applied for the deputy assistant position four times between 2003 and 2007. Several officers have been promoted over him, including Cressida Dick, who was part of the disastrous police operation that killed Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, when he was mistakenly taken for a terrorist in the Underground.

Commander Hussain joined the Met in 1993 says that he has continuously suffered racist abuse from fellow colleagues, threats and even an assault.

Award-winning novelist Ian McEwan has lashed out against militant Islam accusing it of "wanting to create a society that I detest". The author says he "despises Islamism" because of its views on women and homosexuality.

The writer of "Atonement" and "Enduring Love" insists he is not a racist and says it is "logically absurd and morally unacceptable" that writers who speak out against militant Islam are immediately branded racist.

Mr McEwan made the statements in an Italian newspaper whilst defending his friend, writer Martin Amis, against charges of racism in connection with a controversial essay he had written for the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Aircraft landing and departing Heathrow Airport are responsible for around 100 heart attacks in London every year, new research has found.

The Greater London Authority commissioned consultants Berry Environmental to look at the effect of aircraft noise on people's health.

The report, Effect of Noise on Physical Health Risk in London, also found that traffic noise is responsible for 108 heart attacks and 499 cases of heart disease in the capital each year.

Suspected militants have kidnapped at least 17 policemen in the Khyber tribal district in north-western Pakistan, officials say. The incident is linked to an attempt by the police to arrest a suspected would-be suicide bomber on Sunday.

The kidnappings took place along the main highway that connects Pakistan's north-western city, Peshawar, with the Afghan capital Kabul. Negotiations are taking place for the release of the policemen.

Pakistani authorities reported a new outbreak of avian flu at a commercial poultry farm in the country's north-west, killing thousands of birds, officials have said.

Local livestock department chief Ibrahim Khan, tests conducted at a government-run laboratory in Islamabad confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a farm in Swabi district.

The virus was detected after the owner of the farm informed the local livestock department, where some 4,000 birds had died within the past few days. According to the farm owner, local health officials are monitoring surrounding farms and have advised to take precautionary measures, including vaccination of birds.

Boris Johnson faced embarrassment when a key aide resigned after calling for black critics of the Mayor of London to return to the Caribbean. James McGrath stood down as a senior political adviser over an ill-judged remark to an internet journalist interviewing him on the Mayor’s policies on race.

Mr Johnson said last night he accepted the resignation with regret and insisted his departing Australian-born aide was not a racist, but Mr McGrath’s departure, just seven weeks after the Tories captured City Hall, is a damaging blow to the new administration.

Mr McGrath, who has worked for the Tory party for seven years, was appointed Director of Political Strategy at City Hall following Mr Johnson’s victory over Ken Livingstone last month.

An Asian estate agent is due to be sentenced today for kidnapping and 'torturing’ her former boss. Ambreen Gul, 23, was so furious when she was fired she recruited another sacked colleague and two other thugs to make him pay.

Miss Gul lured Waqas Malik to her flat, where the unsuspecting businessman was kicked, punched and pistol whipped repeatedly. London's Southwark Crown Court hear that during seven hours of suffering, one of his captors stood on his head, while another warned he would never see his family again unless he paid a £200,000 ransom.

He was told failure to raise the money would result in the executions of both himself and his 13-year-old son.

After being ordered to make several phone calls to his wife in a desperate bid to raise the money, he was given a powerful sedative, but the plot went wrong as the estate agent fell ill. Ms Gul, from east London, will be sentenced with three co-defendants.

Urgent action is needed to prevent millions of people being dragged into poverty because of rising fuel and food prices, Oxfam warmed yesterday.

Poor countries must reduce their carbon footprint and invest in greener energies, while giving their people more of a voice, the charity said.

The report warns that every year, 30million children are born facing a lifetime of poverty, poor nutrition and sickness; but the current crisis leaves millions more in dire straits unless states embrace a low-carbon economy.

An Asian police officer has dropped a £25,000 discrimination claim against police chiefs who prevented him from guarding Tony Blair. After two weeks of secret hearings, Police Constable Amjad Farooq, 40, from Gloucester halted his employment tribunal action against the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Farooq was removed from the Diplomatic Protection Group in 2003 after it emerged there were links between a terror group and a mosque at which his children studied.

Mr Farooq and Scotland Yard came to the agreement he should work for the National Association of Muslim Police at the Met's expense.

Thousands more teenagers are being dragged into the criminal justice system for petty offences, threatening to set them on the path to adult crime, ministers are warned today.

The numbers of under-18s being convicted or formally cautioned has almost doubled in some parts of the country, the Institute for Public Policy Research has disclosed.

The centre-left think tank discovered that the number of children convicted or cautioned rose by 27% between 2002 and 2007, a period during which crime levels fell, and the number of under-15s being criminalised has leapt by a third.

James Crabtree, the Institute’s Associated Director of Public Services said: "Current targets to bring more offenders to justice have resulted in the police concentrating on easier to resolve low level crimes committed by children and teenagers who often have complex problems."

An Indian anaesthetist has appeared in court accused of sexually abusing three women in a family planning clinic. Dr Narendra Sharma, 50, was charged with engaging in sexual activity with the women, after they had been sedated.

It was alleged at Manchester Magistrates Court the offences took place in April at the Marie Stopes International Clinic in Manchester, where the women were having terminations.

Dr Sharma pleaded not guilty to the charges and was bailed until August 11th for committal to the Crown Court. He was ordered not to contact prosecution witnesses and to stay away from the clinic.

A prominent UK newspaper has revealed that, according to classified US military reports, the Pakistani Frontier Corps has been heavily infiltrated and influenced by Taliban militants.

Details of the level of infiltration emerged over the weekend. It’s reported the US documents describe the direct involvement of Frontier Corps troops in attacks on the Afghan National Army and coalition forces.

The documents also describe attacks launched so close to Frontier Corps outposts that the co-operation of some Pakistanis with the Taliban is said to be assumed. Frontier Corps personnel have in the past been implicated in murdering US and Afghan officers.

The news comes as Nato officials report a dramatic increase in cross-border incidents compared with the same period last year.

Unions over the weekend warned of industrial action if NHS Shared Business Services’ plans to outsource 60% of its workload to India are implemented.

Shared Business Services runs the finances of 98 NHS Trusts, but is expanding to manage data on cancer screening tests. A concerned union spokesperson said: “This means a loss of jobs and the distribution of data to a place where fraud can go undetected."

The Government has given its approval to outsource its workload in an attempt to cut costs. The first trust to consider outsourcing is Waltham Forest Primary Care where 40% of jobs are at risk.

Four civilians including two children were killed yesterday when militants from inside Pakistan fired rockets at NATO bases in eastern Afghanistan. NATO Intelligence says around 20 rockets blasted the area in two separate incidents, with five coming from inside Pakistan.

It went on to say Nato and Afghan forces "responded in self-defence", firing on the launch site, said to be "located about 300m inside Pakistan". The Pakistani government was immediately notified about the rebel attack on NATO bases.

News of these attacks come only days after President Hamid Karzai threatened to target militants on the Pakistani side of the border where Afghan and NATO officials say Islamic militants have established training camps.

India has urged Sri Lanka to settle its long-running conflict with Tamil separatists. In talks with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and other top officials, India's National Security Advisor said the Indian government did not believe a military solution was possible.

The Sri Lankan government formally withdrew from a truce in January and since that time has accelerated attacks against the rebel Tamil Tigers. Indian authorities also met with the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, the political wing of the Tigers.

India has announced it will be signing an agreement with Pakistan and Iran to construct a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline. Officials say "minor problems" over the pipeline have been sorted out. Crucial to Indian energy needs, the pipeline will transport gas from Iran to India through Pakistan.

The pipeline is seen as a positive contribution to regional security as Iran, Pakistan and India will need to depend on one another in order to insure the project’s success.

The deal had previously been stalled by disputes between rival nations India and Pakistan over transit fees and security issues.

A convicted Asian drug dealer has won the first stage of his fight to overturn a £116,000 confiscation order. In 2005, police caught Jawaid Khan, 33, of Werneth in Oldham with stashes of heroin, crack, and cannabis. Mr Khan pleaded guilty to a number of offences and was imprisoned for four years.

He was also handed a confiscation order for over one-hundred-sixteen-thousand pounds which he failed to pay. As a result, he was given an extra 21 month sentence for defaulting.

Mr Khan now claims the total was "double counted" and instead the figure should have been £49,000. At London’s Criminal Appeal Court last week, he was granted leave to appeal against the confiscation order at a full Appeal Court hearing.

Hundreds of protesters will gather today outside Primark's Oxford Street store in London in a show of anger over claims that the retailer has been using child labour in its Indian manufacturing operations.

Organised by charity War on Want, the protest coincides with the airing of a television documentary to be broadcast tonight showing children making clothes for Primark. The documentary will air scenes in which an 11-year-old girl is shown sewing sequins on a shirt from one of the high street shop’s ranges.

Last week Primark announced it had terminated contracts with three of its south Indian clothing suppliers after being made aware the programme had evidence it was subcontracting to child workers.

Supporters of disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan are launching a nationwide campaign to push for his release from detention. Mr Khan has been under house arrest in Islamabad since 2004 after he confessed on television to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

Pakistan's new coalition government have relaxed some of the restrictions on Mr Khan's detention, though there has been no announcement over whether he would be released.

Mr Khan denies involvement in the sale of nuclear secrets and has declared as lies a report that he was the source of warhead blueprints found on the computers of Swiss smugglers.

A cross-dressing Asian taxi driver could face jail time after being convicted of raping an intoxicated woman in the back of his cab. Manchester Crown Court heard in November of last year Qasim Anwar, 30, from Prestwich in Manchester carried out the sex attack wearing make-up, a wig, women's clothing and high heels.

The jury heard Mr. Anwar chose the victim after seeing her fall off a bar stool at a nightclub after a night of heavy drinking. He told club staff he would take care of the woman and left with her, then raped her in his taxi filming the attack on his phone.

Mr Anwar pleaded not guilty. The victim gave evidence via television link saying she could not remember much of what happened but would not have given her consent to sex. Judge Andrew Blake warned Mr Anwar he was likely to be sent to prison when he is sentenced next month.

An Asian man from Southall has been jailed for eight months after his driving led to the death of a pedestrian who was crossing the road.

Naushaad Hussain, 20, of Southall hit 34-year-old Harvinder Birdi with a rental car then fled the scene, almost hitting a couple in a side road on 3rd May last year. Mr Birdi was taken to hospital but died soon after from multiple injuries.

Mr Hussain was originally charged with causing the death of Mr Birdi, but was jailed for the lies he told to cover up events surrounding the crime.

He admitted careless driving, dangerous driving, attempting to pervert the course of justice, giving false information to obtain insurance, and failing to stop following an accident at Isleworth Crown Court.

APOLOGY ORDERED FOR SMEAR CAMPAIGN OF ASIAN ACTIVIST
DATE: 22.06.08
Updated: 12:55

It is reported Labour Deputy Leader Harriet Harman has ordered Culture Secretary Andy Burnham to apologise for smearing an Asian civil liberties campaigner about the nature of her relationship with Tory David Davis.

A Sunday newspaper says Ms Harman advised Mr Burnham the best way to end the controversy was to say sorry to director of Liberty , Shami Chakrabarti. Mr Burnham wrote to Ms Chakrabarti on Friday, but stopped short of a full apology.

He has been under attack by MPs from all parties for claiming Ms Chakrabarti shared ‘late-night, heart melting phone calls' with Mr. Davis whilst working on their joint campaign opposing the Government's plan to detain terror suspects for up to 42 days without trial. Both Ms Chakrabarti and Mr Davis have denied any improper relationship.