- Wednesday, May 01, 2024
THE police are losing the trust of their communities because of weak leadership, “wilful blindness”, and politicians “bullying” chief constables, the country’s former top south Asian cop has told Eastern Eye. In a wide-ranging interview for this paper, Neil Basu, former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner and head of counter terrorism,…
TWENTY FIVE men who sexually abused young girls in Kirklees have been imprisoned for a total of 346 years after a major investigation, West Yorkshire police said in a statement on Saturday (27). They were sentenced for their roles in the rape, sexual abuse and trafficking of eight young girls…
THE Duke of Gloucester visited Regal House in Bradford, the head office site for Regal Food Products Group, known for its baked products. CEO Younis Chaudhry showed the duke and Ed Anderson CBE, the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, around the bakery which makes Maderia cakes, biscuits, pastries and cake rusk.…
The world celebrates World Earth Day on 22nd April. The significance of the day is to raise awareness about the critical environmental challenges facing our planet and to mobilise efforts to address them. If one travels from Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, England, a gigantic painting will be seen on…
A POLICE watchdog is examining whether the two forces - West Yorkshire police and Greater Manchester police (GMP) missed any opportunity to protect Kulsuma Akter before she was fatally stabbed in Bradford on April 6 while pushing a pram. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the two forces…
THE former chairman of the Post Office has defended himself against claims of using derogatory language during a board meeting, reported the BBC. An investigation into Henry Staunton and the Post Office's current CEO, Nick Read, revealed that Staunton made inquiries about a potential board member's race and background. During…
Yorkshire, Leicestershire, and Kent have voiced their disappointment after not being granted Tier 1 status by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for hosting professional women's cricket teams from 2025. This decision, reported by the BBC, has led to a notable backlash from these counties. While Yorkshire and Glamorgan…
SARAH GORDON’S play at the National, Underdog: The Other Brontë, brings the story of the Brontë sisters from the 19th century and locates it in modern times. The play focuses not just on the bond between Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, but just as much if not even more on…
Actors Rasika Dugal and Arjun Mathur’s Lord Curzon Ki Haveli will serve as the closing film at the prestigious UK Asian Film Festival, the makers said on Wednesday. Anshuman Jha, who makes his directorial debut with the movie, and Dugal are expected to walk the festival's red carpet on May…
THE husband of Kulsuma Akter, who was stabbed to death in Bradford last Saturday (6), has appeared in court charged with her murder. Akter, 27, was attacked near Westgate in the city centre, while she was pushing her child in a pram. She succumbed to her injuries in hospital. Her…
Zayn Malik, who shot to fame when he auditioned for The X Factor in 2010 and became a member of One Direction, was initially driven by a desire to help his family have a better quality of living, but as his ambitions grew, he wanted to be able to see…
A 25-year-old Asian man has been charged with the murder of Kulsuma Akter (27), who was stabbed to death in Bradford city centre last Saturday (6). Habibur Masum, who hails from Bangladesh, was arrested on Tuesday at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire after a four-day manhunt. West Yorkshire police said Masum, of Leamington…
A 26-year-old man from Bradford has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to a series of offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and the production of indecent images of a child. Abdullah Mhana of Hirst Lodge Court, Bradford, admitted to 17 offences at Bradford Crown Court on…
A MAN suspected of killing a woman in broad daylight in Bradford city centre last Saturday (6) has been arrested. Habibur Masum, 25, was detained early on Tuesday (9) in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The police launched a nationwide manhunt for Masum, after 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter was stabbed while she was pushing…
THE man who fatally stabbed a woman in Bradford on Saturday (6) is from Bangladesh and came to the UK on a student visa. The police have launched a nationwide manhunt for Habibur Masum, 25, a resident of Oldham area with links to Burnley and Chester. West Yorkshire Police have…
Women from the Bangladeshi community in the United Kingdom (UK) are facing severe distress due to relentless harassment from a TikTok troll. Despite reaching out to authorities and social media platforms, many feel helpless as the abuse continues unchecked, a BBC investigation has found. The troll, Hasan Syed, inflicts psychological…
Rishi Sunak's Conservative party is set to win less than 100 seats in the general election and draw a blank in Scotland and Wales, according to a survey published in The Sunday Times. Around 15,000 people were surveyed by Survation, on behalf of Best for Britain. It indicated that the…
PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak has admitted it is a hard balance for him to strike as the father of two young children and holding the top job of leading the country through various crises. In a friendly podcast interview for The Times with former Tory leader William Hague, the 43-year-old…
An employment tribunal in Leeds has cleared a hospital in West Yorkshire of religious discrimination and racial profiling accusations made by a consultant doctor, according to media reports. Fahrat Butt, an ophthalmology specialist, who wears a hijab and covers everything other than her hands, feet and face while in public…
THE National Trust, which has come under sustained attacks from the far-right of British politics, has been defended strongly by the classical historian Dame Mary Beard, who last week delivered the Octavia Hill Lecture. Her theme was, “Who owns the past?” The trust, founded in 1895 by three people…
ENGLAND World Cup winner Liam Plunkett says cricket superstars such as Virat Kohli and Babar Azam can help bolster the game in the United States when it hosts the T20 World Cup. The Twenty20 showpiece, which starts on June 1, is being jointly staged by the United States and the…
ADEEBA MALIK has been appointed as the first Asian female High Sheriff for West Yorkshire, according to a statement released on Tuesday (26). She took oath at Leeds High Court on Monday (25) in a formal ceremony presided by High Court Judge Sir Nicholas Hilliard, the statement added. Professor Malik’s…
BBC Asian Network on Friday announced the launch of new chat show in a podcast format, One More Chai, coming to the station on Wednesdays (22:00 – 23:00) from 17 April. One More Chai will be hosted by SMASHBengali and Guranisha Randhawa, who will team up to chat through various…
British police said on Friday they were investigating possibly racist comments allegedly made by the biggest donor to the ruling Conservative party at a meeting in 2019. The Guardian newspaper reported on March 11 that businessman Frank Hester - who gave £10 million to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's party in…
With his upcoming film Monkey Man, award-winning actor Dev Patel is set to begin his directorial career. Also featuring Sobhita Dhulipala and Sikander Kher in important roles, the film is set to enter cinemas on April 5, 2024. But do you know that Monkey Man was initially scheduled for a…
BRITISH Asian donors made significant contributions to political parties in what is shaping up to be the highest-spending general election contest expected to be held later this year. Political parties accepted £93 million in donations last year, nearly double the £52m from the previous year, according to the Electoral Commission…
THERE was a sense of occasion at the Garrick Theatre in London last Sunday (17) when Charithra Chandran made her West End debut in a solo show, Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon. You had the feeling many young Asians had been drawn by the show’s lead, billed as “Bridgerton’s Charithra…
THE BBC has announced a “truly diverse” cast for Virdee, a six-part television series adapted from AA Dhand’s crime novel, City of Sinners. Having a mainly Asian cast playing both heroes and villains is regarded as being a groundbreaking first for British TV. The tale has a characteristically grim opening:…
ENGLAND cricket chiefs have been criticised for lacking a “morale backbone” for not questioning Lord Ian Botham over his claims that a report into racism, sexism and class-based discrimination in the game was “nonsense”. Cindy Butts, the chair of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket which produced the report,…
HEALTH experts have urged West Midlands residents to get the measles vaccine as cases in the region are spreading in “disproportionately high rates”. Figures published earlier this month showed 329 of 465 (71 per cent) cases across England from October to February were in the region. The sharp rise over…
A family from Huddersfield has been convicted and sentenced for their involvement in the severe abuse and mistreatment of a 29-year-old woman, Ambreen Fatima Sheikh in their home, resulting in her current vegetative state. The Leeds Crown Court handed down the sentences on Wednesday (14) to Asgar Sheikh (31), Khalid…
The mastermind of an armed robbery that took place in Bradford in 2005 has been captured and extradited from Pakistan, according to media reports. A police officer was killed and another seriously injured when they responded to reports of a robbery at the Universal Express travel agency in Bradford, West…
THE senior official accused of downplaying allegations of racism made by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq called for a “line in the sand” to be drawn last Friday (2), after members approved his return as chairman of the financially stricken English county club. Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chairman from 2012- 2015,…
THE senior official accused of downplaying allegations of racism made by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq is set to return for a second stint as chairman of the financially stricken English county club. Colin Graves, Yorkshire's chairman from 2012-2015 having first saved the club from commercial collapse in 2002, was…
THE UK and Indian governments are striving to establish a modern relationship, Alex Chalk, the lord chancellor and justice secretary, said last Friday (26). He was speaking at the Guildhall in the City of London where the Indian High Commissioner, Vikram Doraiswami, hosted a reception to mark the 75th anniversary…
MANY British Asian families are badly affected as poverty has increased in the UK to around pre-pandemic levels, a new report said. The UK poverty 2024 report by Joseph Rowntree Foundation published last Tuesday (23) said Asian households also have higher rates of child poverty, very deep poverty and persistent…
THE former head of religious studies at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire remains in hiding, nearly three years after sparking protests for displaying a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad to students, reported The Times. The incident, which occurred in March 2021, led to several days of demonstrations outside the…
Katy Galloway Productions has announced a limited run at the Garrick Theatre of the one-woman show Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon. Charithra Chandran, the break-out star of the hit Netflix drama Bridgerton, is set to star in the show. Written by actor-director Rosie Day, Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon received…
FORMER Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq said he has received racist messages on social media following the club's approval of a loan offer from a consortium headed by ex-chairman Colin Graves. Yorkshire were fined £400,000 ($510,560) and handed a 48-point deduction in the County Championship last year after an investigation into…
An unexpected turn of events at a wedding celebration in Sheffield, South Yorkshire led to tragic consequences when a Good Samaritan was killed and a teenage groom was stabbed amidst a wedding brawl, last week. Hasan Khan, 19, who was celebrating his marriage to Amani Jhangur, also 19 found himself…
Tories have expressed strong disapproval and concern over allegations that Rishi Sunak offered Dominic Cummings a secret deal to assist him in winning the election. One Tory MP said that Boris Johnson's former chief aide should have no role in the political sphere, following these claims. Within WhatsApp groups, other…
During the Christmas holidays, Rishi Sunak shared a quirky skit inspired by the 1990s Hollywood film 'Home Alone' on social media. The post included the message “Merry Christmas from Downing Street,” aiming to showcase the prime minister's humorous side during the festive period. The 43-year-old can be seen hard at…
LEICESTER UNIVERSITY is conducting a study on the extent of racism in rural England with the aim of changing attitudes and making visits to the countryside less intimidating for non-white people. It is being led by Neil Chakraborti, director of the Centre for Hate Studies and professor in criminology, who…
A THRILLING year for British Asian music saw everything from much-awaited single releases to world-class performances by international artists in sold-out arenas. Newcomers breaking through, the rise of devotional music, established names making headlines, melas, music festivals and an interesting comeback were among the noteworthy events. Eastern Eye decided to…
A POLICE watchdog said that forces up and down the country do not have a “full understanding of the nature of scale” of child exploitation, writes Danielle Andrews. A review of 27 cases of child sexual exploitation (CSE) was undertaken by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue…
Harpreet Kaur, who runs her own desert parlour business called Oh So Yum, has spoken about what it is really like working with Lord Sugar once the hit BBC One boardroom series The Apprentice came to an end. For those not in the know, the 31-year-old landed a whopping £250,000…
SEVERAL cricketers who played for English county side Essex were subject to racist abuse and discriminatory treatment, according to an independent report released on Friday (8). References to players' ethnic, racial and religious origins were "entirely normalised and tolerated behaviour" within the dressing-room culture between the mid-1990s and around 2013,…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday (4) announced it had set up an independent cricket regulator after a damning report revealed racism, sexism, classism and elitism in the sport. The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) published its findings in June, revealing “widespread” discrimination in the…
ASIAN small business owners have accused council leaders of a lack of support to help them deal with rising costs and bills. Entrepreneurs said energy prices, the cost of goods they sell, and local regeneration projects were among the biggest challenges they have faced in 2023 as Small Business Day…
A new strain of swine flu has been detected in a person in the UK for the first time and close contacts are being monitored to determine its potential to spread among humans, health authorities reported on Monday (27). The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the virus strain found…
A disciplinary tribunal has found a police officer from northern England guilty of gross misconduct for imitating the Indian accent of a woman reporting a hate crime to the West Yorkshire Police call centre. Patrick Harrison was found guilty following a misconduct hearing last month, and the panel concluded that…
The prime minister has shown that “he has a backbone” by sacking his controversial home secretary, south Asian Conservative parliamentarians and grassroots members have told Eastern Eye. Rishi Sunak fired Suella Braverman on Monday (13), five days after she wrote a Times newspaper article in which she criticised the Met…
A British Pakistani academic has been nominated as the new High Sheriff of West Yorkshire for 2024-25, a statement said on Thursday (16). Prof Adeeba Malik CBE DL was nominated on Monday (13) as part of the annual selection process overseen by the Lords of the Council in the King's…
BRILLIANTLY talented baritone Oscar Castellino has had a beautiful journey that has taken him from working as a software engineer in Mumbai to becoming an acclaimed opera singer. He will add to his impressive stage achievements with a lead role in a new The Barber of Seville adaptation, which will…
A PASSENGER who unleashed a series of racist and misogynistic verbal attacks towards women on two flights to Britain has been sentenced to 14 months in jail. Mohammed Shiraz Riaz, a 42-year-old father of three, insulted a female cabin crew member using derogatory language during a flight from Marrakesh, Morocco,…
A passenger who unleashed a series of racist and misogynistic verbal attacks towards women on two flights to Britain has been sentenced to 14 months in jail. Mohammed Shiraz Riaz, a 42-year-old father of three, insulted an air stewardess, using derogatory language during a chaotic trip from Marrakesh, Morocco, to…
TIKTOK can help make the next generation of British Asian musicians popular and the scene more ethnically diverse, according to leading industry figures. Highlighting the lack of support for south Asian artists, record label bosses believe social media can allow upcoming musicians to gain audiences and therefore become mainstream. New…
VERY few people in the Middle East will be familiar with Sir Keir Starmer, so whether or not the Labour leader calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s military action on Hamas in the Gaza strip is pretty much irrelevant. Even prime minister Rishi Sunak is not really a player. Starmer’s…
Jasbir Pahal, a 44-year-old teaching assistant, and a mother of four, tragically died in November 2022, after experiencing a severe stroke during the weekend, an inquest has heard. Jasbir’s husband, Satinder Pahal accused the hospital of not promptly transferring her to a facility equipped with 24-hour treatments to remove blood…
A TRUSTEE of the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation has been removed from his role over his anti-Semitic comments on social media. Amjad Bashir, appointed to the role in March this year, accused Israel of being involved in violence, “slavery and “ethnic cleansing”. His comments came amid the escalating conflict between Israel…
A PAKISTANI woman who suffered a ‘severe' burn to her lower back in 2015 continues to remain in her vegetative state while her West Yorkshire-based husband and in-laws are facing trial over the serious physical harm. Paramedics found Ambreen Fatima Sheikh unconscious at her family home in Huddersfield in August…
A Sheffield man, widely dubbed 'Britain's worst landlord,' has been handed a ten-year ban on letting properties due to serious safety concerns. Nilendu Das, 55, created controversy last week when he claimed that his tenants "love" him despite the ban, reported MailOnline. The ban follows Sheffield city council's legal action…
A 74-YEAR-OLD man accused of being involved in the killing of police constable Sharon Beshenivsky 18 years ago has pleaded not guilty to her murder. Piran Ditta Khan, extradited from Pakistan, however, admitted to one charge of robbery on the day of the West Yorkshire Police officer’s murder but denied…
A MAN, charged with murdering his two housemates in Leeds last week, will be tried in March next year. Robert Jean, 46, was arrested after Abdullah Mirzada and Khaja Raisoddin Mohammed were found fatally injured at Hill Top Mount, Harehills on Saturday (30). The defendant appeared at Leeds Crown Court…
AA DHAND is making history as the first British Asian crime writer whose work is being adapted for a six-part BBC TV series. His tales are set in the dark, mean streets of Bradford and his main protagonist is a Sikh police officer, Detective Chief Inspector Hardeep Virdee. He doesn’t…
AN INDEPENDENT regulator and investment in talent pathways for children from disadvantaged backgrounds are among the initiatives that will be implemented by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in its efforts to make cricket more inclusive, after a report found widespread discrimination across the sport. The ECB published its…
AMIR KHAN, the TV doctor, admits that he delved into parts of his own life in writing his first novel, How (Not) To Have An Arranged Marriage. Khan is a familiar figure to audiences, with regular appearances on Lorraine, This Morning and Good Morning Britain. He has also been in…
FORMER Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq, whose allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire rocked English cricket, said the ECB’s response to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) on Monday was inadequate. “I expected the threemonth response to be detailed and clear with strong commitments. Unfortunately, from what I’ve read,…
RISHI SUNAK was not at last year’s Conservative Party conference. Having lost the party leadership election, he kept a low profile in his Yorkshire constituency to not distract from then prime minister Liz Truss’s chance to set out her vision. A chaotic week of u-turns trying to contain the implosion…
THE England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will establish an independent regulator and increase investment in the women's game as part of efforts to make cricket more inclusive after a report found widespread discrimination across the sport. The ECB published its response on Monday (25) after the Independent Commission for…
THE use of laughing gas by young British Asians is a growing problem with tougher punishments needed for possession, according to doctors and community experts. Nitrous oxide, sold in small metal canisters or balloons, can lead to a host of health problems. After cannabis, nitrous oxide is the most commonly…
INDIAN Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals is understood to have launched a bid to take over Yorkshire Club as the ECB intends to open up cricket to overseas investment. The winner of the 2008 IPL title offered £25 million to take full control at Headingley, Mail Sports reported. If…
Actor Sacha Dhawan, who is known for Doctor Who and The Great, Wolf, has been roped in to play the title role in a new BBC detective series Virdee. The six-part series is the screen adaptation of pharmacist A.A. Dhand’s bestselling Harry Virdee crime novels that follow an enigmatic detective.…
MIKE BREARLEY, a very successful England cricket captain from 1977 to 1980, has been a practising psychoanalyst in London for the past 40 years. Brearley very sportingly placed himself on the couch for the benefit of Eastern Eye – and answered questions on the many Indian connections that are mentioned…
A former cricketer has criticised the prime minister’s decision not to intervene on Lord Botham’s comments about racism in the sport. The peer told a podcast that he thought the England and Wales Cricket Board’s inquiry into racism, misogyny and elitism was a “waste of money”. Eastern Eye reported earlier…
A CITY which has one of the country’s largest and youngest south Asian communities has become a hotspot for Hollywood producers and music chiefs. Bradford in Yorkshire, famous for its textile mills and the setting for Riz Ahmed film Four Lions, was named the UK’s City of Culture in 2025…
IN FEBRUARY 1999, Sir William Macpherson released a devastating report into the racist murder of the black teenager, Stephen Lawrence. The term ‘institutional racism’ started to prick the conscience of our wonderfully tolerant country. I say this without any hint of sarcasm or irony because I can’t imagine living in…
THE Apprentice star Lord Sugar has parted ways with two entrepreneurs, including the reality show winner Harpreet Kaur, in quick succession.While Kaur bought back shares in her desserts firm Oh So Yum! from Lord Sugar, it is also revealed that his investment in young entrepreneur Amani Zubair’s online jewellery business…
ACTIVISTS from Greenpeace were arrested Thursday (3) after scaling prime minister Rishi Sunak's constituency home in northern England and covering it with black fabric to protest his fossil fuel policy. Sunak this week approved hundreds of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea off Britain's east coast, angering…
GREENPEACE protesters draped the private home of prime minister Rishi Sunak in black fabric on Thursday (3), stepping up their campaign against his government's policy on drilling for oil. Sunak's record on environmental issues has come under scrutiny in recent months after he said he would take a "proportionate approach"…
AYESHA SMART, the youngest-ever ethnic minority crown court judge in the UK, hopes the story of her career – from being a pathologist in a hospital to practising law – will inspire other people of colour and women. Smart, 35, was last month appointed as a recorder in crown courts…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has failed to step up and investigate why Lord Ian Botham trashed an independent report which found cricket to be racist and misogynist, according to those close to the sport. Eastern Eye has spoken to several prominent cricket sources who have accused the…
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club were slapped with a huge 48-point deduction in the English County Championship on Friday (28) after admitting four charges related to the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal. The independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) also fined the club £400,000, out of which £300,000 is suspended for two years.…
IT WAS fun catching Shomit Dutta’s play, Stumped, at Hampstead Theatre before the run ended. The two-hander involves an entertaining, though not always friendly, conversation between the great Nobel Prize winning playwrights, Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, played by Andrew Lancel and Stephen Tompkinson respectively, as they wait in a…
ONE traditional explanation of rival political philosophies is that progressives tend to be more optimistic and conservatives more pessimistic about human nature. Yet those psychological profiles are sharply reversed when the major parties consider their electoral prospects. The contrast between the Tory Tiggerish tendency and Labour’s Eeyore anxieties was rarely…
A hate crime investigation has been initiated by the police in response to the damage of a Sikh holy text found outside a residential address in Leeds, England. The report of the incident was received by West Yorkshire Police from a member of the local Sikh community on Sunday (16).…
Award-winning charity Open Door has announced applications for their Acting and Behind the Scenes programmes are open, with auditions and interviews set to take place in September and October. Boasting 178 offers at leading drama schools so far and with a growing number of Open Door participants securing roles across television, film…
ONE of the key public purposes of the BBC is ‘to reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities’ of the United Kingdom. The broadcaster’s operating licence from Ofcom goes further – ‘the BBC should accurately and authentically represent and portray the lives of the people of the United Kingdom today…
THE chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, John Robins, has called for a change in the law, allowing police forces to engage in positive discrimination to increase the number of ethnic minority officers, reported The Telegraph. Robins has become the first in England and Wales to address this issue. He…
RACISM within the NHS costs the health service an estimated £2.3 billion a year, the former head of the British Medical Association (BMA) has told Eastern Eye, as he warned such discrimination also led to patient safety being compromised. A recent BMA survey said racism is “widespread” within the medical workforce.…
AUSTRALIA can expect to face a fired-up England and a furious crowd in the third Ashes Test at Headingley starting Thursday (6) as the row over Jonny Bairstow's divisive dismissal at Lord's rumbles on. British prime minister Rishi Sunak and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have even traded verbal bouncers over…
SOUTH ASIAN cuisine is going more green during the cost of living crisis, with restaurants turning away from charcoal and gas ovens. More eateries are using large combination electric cookers, rather than a tandoor oven, which can cook chicken, lamb and naan together, according to owners. The industry has largely…
The Chase star Paul Sinha has hit out at the media for “ghoulish headlines” after speaking about his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s. For those not in the know, the 53-year-old quiz show host was diagnosed with the degenerative neurological disorder in May 2019. On Monday, he told Daily Star, “Parkinson’s…
PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak has acknowledged having experienced racism while growing up in Southampton. Reacting to last week’s damning report that claimed discrimination in English cricket, he said racism “stings” and “hurts”. Sunak, son of an Indian-origin couple who migrated to the UK from east Africa, told the BBC: "Of…
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes on Tuesday (27) said he was "deeply sorry" to learn of the scale of discrimination in the sport after a damning report revealed "widespread" racism, sexism and classism in the game. His comments followed the publication by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) of…
THE head of English cricket has admitted to Eastern Eye that the game is in an “appalling position” after a damning report found the sport was beset with racism and misogyny. Cricket boards were accused of failing to prevent “structural and institutional racism, sexism and class-based discrimination,” in a report…
ENGLAND cricket chiefs have recommended that Yorkshire be fined £500,000 and given hefty points deductions over their handling of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal. Pakistan-born bowler Rafiq, 32, went public with allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells at the English county. The sanctioning…
EID has become such a hectic time for barbers that some are charging people £100 to beat the queue for a haircut, it has emerged. Salons across the UK were set to be open overnight ahead of the Islamic festival which falls on Wednesday (28). And, with thousands of people…
ENGLAND cricket chiefs have promised to "reset" the game after an independent report on Tuesday (27) said not enough had been done to tackle institutional racism and sexism in the game. The England and Wales Cricket Board set up the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket in 2021 to look…
CRICKET owes Azeem Rafiq and Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford an apology for the way they were treated in exposing and trying to overcome racism in cricket, the chair of an independent inquiry has told Eastern Eye. After a two-and-a-half-year review of the sport, the Independent Commission for Equity in…
THE mother of a woman pushed to death by her controlling husband in Edinburgh said her daughter’s last words expressing fear of death continued to haunt her.Fawziyah Javed, 31, an employment lawyer from Leeds, died after falling off a rocky cliff at Arthur’s Seat in the Scottish capital on September…
ENGLAND’S world cup winning cricketer Adil Rashid is among the British Asian names recognised in King Charles’s inaugural Birthday Honours List announced today. With doctors, politicians, educators, authors, community leaders and philanthropists among the 11 per cent of recipients coming from an ethnic minority background, the list showcases the immense…
THE SUCCESSOR to Boris Johnson's seat in Britain's parliament will be chosen in a by-election vote on July 20, the local council said on Thursday (15), after the former prime minister quit over an investigation into his conduct. The Conservatives selected Steve Tuckwell to be their candidate for the vote,…
The former Yorkshire chairman, Colin Graves, has been criticised by England cricket chiefs for claiming that incidents of racism at his former club were “banter”. Last month, six former Yorkshire players who were found guilty of using racist language in the Azeem Rafiq case, were fined by the Cricket Discipline…
For motorists wanting to put “Singh” or “Krishna” on a personalised number-plate, the price tag could put the brakes on such ambitions. The most expensive registrations sold at auction were revealed by the government’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). And “51 NGH” made the top 10 after being bought…
THE owners of supermarket Asda and petrol stations company EG Group will announce a £10 billion merger of their operations, Sky News reported. Asda, Britain's third-largest grocer, and EG are both owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. According to the report, the announcement…
‘Proud Mancunian’ Yasmine Dar has become Manchester’s 125th lord mayor – and the first Asian woman to hold the ceremonial role, reports Joseph Timan. The Labour representative for Moston ward since 2014 was elected by fellow councillors last Wednesday (17). Addressing the annual council meeting at the town hall, the…
Parts of London with a large Asian population have more adult children living with their parents in 2021 compared to a decade ago, latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. Published on Wednesday (10), the survey showed more than one in four (26.8 per cent) London…
The coronation concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday (7) featured the Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor, the Punjabi poet Daljit Nagra and several Asian women in bright pink outfits from the Bradford-based SongGeet choir. The “wonderful Sonam Kapoor”, described as “one of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars”, introduced a virtual choir from…
A controversial historian has claimed the prime minister was “not fully grounded” in British culture, as he accused Rishi Sunak of being "detached" in the build-up to the King’s Coronation ceremony. David Starkey said the government led by Sunak - the first Hindu and non-white prime minister - was “not…
England cricket chiefs on Wednesday (3) recommended fines totalling £37,000 for players charged in connection with the explosive Yorkshire racism scandal. Pakistan-born bowler Azeem Rafiq, 32, went public with allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells at the county. A Cricket Discipline Commission panel…
The first batch have completed their peer mentor facilitators course, designed to upskill the Punjabi community and support it around mental health, a statement said. The Social Connections challenge was developed in partnership by Taraki, who work with Punjabi communities to reshape approaches to mental health and leading men’s health…
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is urging for national action after a recent analysis conducted by City Hall revealed that private landlords are receiving billions of pounds in rent for sub-standard homes. This situation is particularly concerning given that over a billion pounds of this rent are derived from…
A police reform campaigner has told Eastern Eye that the service’s regulatory bodies were not yet “fit for purpose” as the fall-out from the death of young police officer Anugrah Abraham continues. Abraham, known as Anu, died by suicide on March 21 after he had been left suffering from “severe…
A WEST YORKSHIRE optician has been convicted of murdering his pregnant wife by pushing her off a rocky cliff at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.Fawziyah Javed suffered serious head injuries due to her fall from a height of 50 ft on September 1, 2021 but she told a police officer during…
Former home secretary Priti Patel has backed a legal challenge against plans to turn an Essex RAF base into a migrant camp, the Telegraph reported. Patel has written to home secretary Suella Braverman to back Braintree Council's bid to scrap Essex migrant camp plan. The former minister's stand is a…
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has been cleared of using racist language towards ex-Yorkshire team mate Azeem Rafiq in verdicts released by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel today (31). The panel said it found the charge against Vaughan was not proved, after the case against him and five other…
The family of a student police officer, who committed suicide earlier this month, an independent investigation from the police watchdog as they claimed that he faced discrimination, bullying and a lack of support, The Guardian reported. Anugrah Abraham, 21, known as Anu, went missing on 3 March. The family were…
WITH their heroic work done during the Covid-19 pandemic and underfunding that has led to strikes, the National Health Service (NHS) has been at the forefront of people’s minds. More people than ever before have been appreciative of the amazing work done by the NHS and that is why heart-warming…
Mohammed Taroos Khan has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering his niece, 20-year-old Somaiya Begum, who refused to marry a man in Pakistan. The attack occurred at her home in Bradford, West Yorkshire on 25 June 2022, and Khan then disposed of her body on waste ground.…
WHETHER it is the timely subject of the National Health Service (NHS) being pushed to breaking point by an unforgiving government or an interesting cast that sees a young British Asian actor has a prominent role, among acting legends, there are a lot of interesting aspects associated with Allelujah. This…
During his visit to California, Rishi Sunak indulged in some of his favourite treats from his time living and working in the US. He stocked up on Vons chocolate chip cookie muffins and bottles of Mexican Coca-Cola made with cane sugar, which he has described as the best version of…
First, he broke lockdown law. Then he was fined for not wearing a car seatbelt. Now Britain's prime minister is again in trouble with the police - because of his dog. Rishi Sunak and his family were filmed walking Nova the Labrador in central London's Hyde Park, where signs clearly…
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on British Gujaratis will focus on issues of importance to the community in UK, a statement said. The public launch of the APPG will take place on 25 April 2023 inside the houses of parliament, coinciding with Gujarat Day, the statement added. The inaugural meeting…
MICHAEL VAUGHAN's lawyer said allegations of racism made against the former England captain by Azeem Rafiq are "word against word" at a hearing in London on Thursday (2). Pakistan-born Rafiq, 32, first raised allegations of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells at Yorkshire County Cricket…
FORMER England international Tim Bresnan is accused of making a racist remark towards the sister of Azeem Rafiq, according to allegations made in a hearing into the racism controversy at Yorkshire County Cricket Club that began on Wednesday (1). Rafiq claimed he experienced racial abuse while playing for Yorkshire county…
AN Indian student was killed in a fatal road traffic collision in Leeds last week. Athira Anilkumar Laly Kumari, 28, from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, was pronounced dead at the scene at the junction of Stanningley road and Cockshott Lane in Leeds on Wednesday (22). According to reports, Athira, who was waiting…
LAST year I had written extensively about how some Bollywood stars seem to be rushing to do as many movies as possible before producers find out their time at the top is over. This has resulted in Hindi cinema being dragged down to the kind of depths that it has…
A BRADFORD man involved in a wholesale drug trafficking enterprise across the UK has been jailed for 15 years. Faiz Rehman supplied cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth more than £4.2 million within a short period of 11 weeks in 2020, using the encrypted messaging platform Encrochat to traffic the drugs.…
YORKSHIRE have confirmed documents and data relating to allegations of racism against the county cricket club were deleted or lost during the tenure of a previous regime. Yorkshire had admitted to four amended charges brought by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after an investigation into racism claims by…
Police have said they are acting on fresh information they received about a Bradford car dealer who disappeared 16 years ago.Sajid Saddique vanished on Valentine’s Day in 2007 after attending a business meeting in Shipley and he is now presumed dead.He was last spotted in the car park of the…
A “small and privileged” unnamed racist group has cost Yorkshire County Cricket Club millions of pounds in sponsorship and legal fees, and it is one of the reasons why Lord Patel of Bradford is walking away from the game he loves. In an exclusive interview, Patel told Eastern Eye that…
Representatives from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and regional partners said on Monday that they are planning a visit to India this month to explore "sustainable routes” for workforce recruitments from Kerala, the biggest supplier of nursing graduates to the UK. Health Education England (HEE), part of the NHS…
Former England star Michael Vaughan has offered to bear the travel expenses of Adil Rashid to enable the leg-spinner to appear for the upcoming hearing of Yorkshire’s racism scandal.Vaughan chose to defend himself against the allegation of racism made by former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq while five other individuals charged…
Former England captain Michael Vaughan will defend himself against racism allegations made by his former Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq while other individuals have opted out of the disciplinary hearing next month.Former Yorkshire player and bowling coach Richard Pyrah conveyed to officials he would not attend the hearing by the Cricket…
PRIME MINISTERS are rarely short of advice. Few can ever have received quite so much of it as Rishi Sunak as he completes 100 days in office. There are now seven living former prime ministers, for the first time ever, compared to just three when Gordon Brown was in power.…
Yorkshire County Cricket Club has admitted liability to four amended charges including a failure to address and take adequate action against racist and discriminatory language, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday (7). Yorkshire and a number of individuals were charged by the ECB in June after…
A shopkeeper in Local Mini Market in Bradford has been slapped with a fine after he was caught trying to sell out-of-date food, including a sausage which went past its use-by date by more than five months. It has been reported that during a routine inspection drive at the market…
As the final episode of Happy Valley airs on Sunday, actor Amit Shah, who plays the character of troubled pharmacist Faisal Bhatti on the series, has revealed that he knows the ending of the critically acclaimed and hard-hitting BBC One crime drama. The 41-year-old actor recently appeared on ITV’s Lorraine…
As many as 40 Afghan families with 150 children in Kensington, west London,were asked to settle over 200 miles away in Wetherby, Leeds, the Guardian reported. These refugees have been living in London for the past 18 months after fleeing the Taliban. The latest Home Office order came as a…
FROM where Sir Mike Wigston sits, he can see the most famous address in Britain – 10, Downing Street. “It’s good I can see what’s going on,” he says with something of a wry smile, showing Eastern Eye his impressive office. Mike Wigston is how he was born, but today…
The mother of an eight-year-old boy who died of Strep A said her son had been sent back home from Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) twice in December before finally admitting on the third day.Sajida Jabeen of Yorkshire said Mohammad Izaan Danish who had a cough and a temperature was given…
A 27-year-old student nurse from northern England appeared in court Friday charged with terrorism after allegedly being found with a pressure cooker bomb intended to attack an air base. Prosecutors told the court that Mohammad Farooq, 27, had carried out "hostile reconnaissance" of a Yorkshire Royal Air Force (RAF) base…
A perv who sexually assaulted a teenager has been jailed for one year at Hull Magistrates Court on December 1. Mahmood Noor Ibrahim, 39, was tracked down by the victim's mother soon after the incident, reported Birmingham Mail. He will also be registered as a sex offender for 10 years…
Three persons have been charged with murder and robbery in connection to the murder of Khalfan Seif in Huddersfield on January 14. Seif, 33, was brutally stabbed at his residence in Springdale Avenue around 11 pm. He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved. The three accused, all…
Lord Kamlesh Patel will step down from his role as Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman in March, the club said on Friday. Patel, 62, took over from Roger Hutton in November 2021 with the club in crisis and was tasked with navigating them through a racism scandal involving Azeem Rafiq.…
A successful businesswoman from West Yorkshire and the winner of The Apprentice 2021, Harpreet Kaur opened up about her relationship with co-star Akshay Thakrar admitting “something has blossomed between us”. The entrepreneur, 31, appeared on Thursday’s episode of the spin-off show The Apprentice: You're Fired as the new season kicked…
A hospital in South Yorkshire accidentally texted patients mass "aggressive lung cancer" messages instead of extending them their intended "Merry Christmas" greetings, CBS News reported. The text messages were sent to the patients at Askern Medical Center in South Yorkshire, Doncaster on December 23. Patients were also asked to fill…
A Cambridge professor who is a leading global figure in the economics of the natural environment, Professor Sir Partha Sarathi Dasgupta; COP-26 president Alok Sharma and drinks company Diageo’s CEO Ivan Menezes are among prominent Asians who have been recognised in the New Year Honour’s List published late last Friday…
The South Yorkshire police on Thursday (29) issued the CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection with a hate crime inquiry launched after a man defecated in cricketer Azeem Rafiq's garden. The incident happened in the front garden of an address on Gawber Road in…
A Bradford man was killed when his Lamborghini supercar overturned on M62 in West Yorkshire on December 21, police said. The deceased was identified as Shann Hussain, 20, who was driving a black Lamborghini Urus when it flipped over on the westbound carriageway of the motorway near Kirklees. West Yorkshire…
The UK will require more than 10 million tonnes of steel in the coming years to become more energy self-sufficient, according to new figures published. Earlier this year, the country's government set out plans to secure ‘clean and affordable’ energy in its Energy Security Strategy. Achieving greater self-sufficiency has become…
Akshata Murty, the Indian wife of Rishi Sunak, plans to make 10 Downing Street a more accessible place during her tenure as UK First Lady and has offered a peek into the official residence of the British Prime Minister, according to a magazine feature released on Wednesday (28). The February…
The trial into the allegations of racism in Yorkshire cricket will be held in public, a key demand from the club’s former player Azeem Rafiq.Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard and five other former England stars accused of racism had opposed a public hearing of the case, but the Cricket Discipline…
England have decided against taking teenage rising star Rehan Ahmed to New Zealand for their next Test series despite the 18-year-old leg-spinner's dramatic introduction to international cricket. Ahmed became England's youngest men's Test cricketer when he made his debut against Pakistan in Karachi last week, breaking a 73-year-old record set…
REHAN AHMED’S journey to becoming England’s youngest-ever male Test cricketer is amazing. He is, no doubt, an inspiration. The support he has received from his family, his immediate community and in particular, from Leicestershire County Cricket Club, has been immense. What he has achieved is just reward for the hard…
Four men have been jailed for burglary and firearm offences after one of them was caught telephoning a takeaway from the scene of the theft to order food.Musfer Jabbar, 22, and his three accomplices - Shabaz Ismail, Andrew Coy and Andrew Cross - struck a gun store in Sheffield in…
Former Yorkshire spinner Azeem Rafiq said cricket is still "in denial" over racism which drove him out of the UK.Rafiq, 31, appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday more than a year after he gave evidence about the racism he faced when he was playing…
The hearing of evidence by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee on Tuesday (13) demonstrated why a big overhaul in cricket is required and why achieving that lasting cultural transformation will need sustained action over many years. In a press release the same day, the England and…
As the weather gets colder, more of us naturally take to gather indoors, especially as the festive celebrations get underway. However, the reality is that with Covid-19 and flu around, the most vulnerable amongst us, including those with long-term health conditions, are still at risk of getting seriously ill from…
Former England batsman Gary Ballance has been released from his contract with county side Yorkshire two years early, the club said on Thursday (8). The 33-year-old Zimbabwe-born player has spent a year on the sidelines while dealing with mental health issues. Yorkshire said Ballance, who had asked to be let…
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it has taken key steps to review and improve its policies to become more inclusive, establishing game-wide communities for under-represented groups and ensuring fair recruitment to strengthen its inclusion and diversity strategy.It said the game came together to commit to faster actions…
A man's attempt to steal £1,600 worth of mobile phones from a Yorkshire shop has been foiled by the owner’s quick thinking. The man tried to steal from the Phone Market shop in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on Sunday (4). However, he discovered that the door was locked by the staff…
The West Yorkshire Police on Monday (28) issued an appeal to help trace Zaara Amjad, 17, who was missing from her home in Huddersfield. According to police, she was reported missing from her home earlier on Monday. She was last seen in Huddersfield wearing a black hooded top, black trousers…
An independent investigation will be conducted into the death of a five-year-old boy who could not be admitted to a South Yorkshire hospital apparently because of the shortages of “beds and doctors”.Yusuf Mahmud Nazir who had suffered a throat infection was taken to Rotherham Hospital but the staff expressed their…
Award-winning fundraising star Milan Paul Kumar, 10, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, has met prime minister Rishi Sunak for the Christmas tree lights switch on event at 10 Downing Street on Monday (28). Points of Light winner Kumar has received a personal invitation from Sunak. The prime minister also welcomed Ukrainians…
A roast dinner is a staple of the British menu and especially during the Christmas season. But shockingly, a study by Portsmouth University scientists and ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB) has discovered that a plate of a roast dinner can contain more than 230,000 microplastics, the Mirror reports. Microplastics refer…
A five-year-old boy who died of new pneumonia on Monday could have been saved if a South Yorkshire hospital positively responded to the pleas for his treatment, his family said. Yusuf Mahmud Nazir, who went back home after Rotherham General Hospital said it had no doctors or beds to treat…
In a shocking incident, a teenage British boy has allegedly been killed in Pakistan where he had gone with his mother for holidays. Fourteen-year-old Adil Khan from Bradford in West Yorkshire was reportedly shot dead while he was going to his relatives with his mother. Police said two arrests have…
Dr Mohammad Muneeb Khan, an NHS doctor and consultant clinical oncologist at Queen's Centre for Oncology and Haematology has claimed that spending 30 seconds every day in the early morning sun could cut the risk of getting cancer. According to the doctor who is based in Yorkshire, spending just 30…
Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq is set to leave the UK with his family because of “safety reasons” in a move he said, “breaks me”. He has complained of in-person and online abuse after he raised allegations of racism and bullying during his two stints in Yorkshire County Cricket Club.…
BAFTA Breakthrough recently unveiled its creatives for the year 2022. This Is Going To Hurt star Ambika Mod is among the 33 talents across film, TV, and game who have been selected for the 2022 edition of Bafta Breakthrough. Mod, who was also chosen as a 2022 Screen Star of…
Liberty Steel is inching towards a deal with its creditors to restructure its debt as the struggling company owned by metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta seeks to fend off insolvency proceedings against it. Liberty is part of metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance which owes $1.2 billion to clients of the…
A “smart” 11-year-old boy from Leeds achieved the highest possible score in the Mensa test, beating a feat believed to be achieved by the late theoretical physicist Prof Stephen Hawking. Yusuf Shah scored 162 in the IQ test - the highest possible for under-18s. It compares with 160 Prof Hawking…
Jailed former Conservative parliamentarian Imran Ahmad Khan has challenged his conviction in a case over groping a 15-year-old boy at the Court of Appeal. Khan, 49, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the teenager after a party 14 years ago and given a 18-month jail sentence at Southwark Crown Court in…
To have a member of one World Cup-winning squad is more than what a family wishes for. For Adil Rashid's kin, witnessing him to be part of two is something out of this world. The 34-year-old leg-break bowler from Bradford, Yorkshire, produced an eye-catching performance as England defeated a spirited…
Adil Rashid's game-changing performances in England's T20 World Cup winning campaign could certainly make him a hot property at the upcoming IPL auction in Kochi on December 23. Rashid, who literally choked India and Pakistan in the semi-final and final with high-profile scalps like Suryakumar Yadav and Babar Azam, could…
A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to a young offenders’ institute over a racially motivated attack on an Asian couple. Another teen, aged 16, who was also involved in the incident, is subjected to a two-year youth referral order.The duo turned up at the couple’s home in Thornaby in North…
Six men were sentenced on by Bradford Crown Court this week for their part in violent disorder which led to the death of Bradford man Muhammed Mujahid Hussain. On April 22, 2021, Mujahid Hussain, 19, was stabbed after an altercation in Bradford's Duckworth Lane. He later passed away in the…
Investigators have been trying to piece together events that led to the death of a teenager who crashed through a greenhouse in Halifax, West Yorkshire on Bonfire Night.Qais Muhammad Ratyal jumped over a fence into a back garden before his fatal crash while fleeing police on Saturday, media reports said.Police…
Former One Direction star Zayn Malik has written an open letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, urging him to offer free school meals for all children whose families are on Universal Credit. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 800,000 children in the U.K. are living in poverty, but still…
Successful people value time and don’t waste it. Being organized and following a morning routine is a top priority for people like Oprah Winfrey who meditates for 20 minutes, Mark Zuckerberg who wears a grey t-shirt each day to avoid “decision fatigue” and Jennifer Aniston who wakes up even before…
SANJANA MODHA ON GOOD FOOD AND HER CROWDFUNDED BOOK Social media has become a special space to share great recipes, cooking ideas and healthy eating advice. A popular online British expert providing top tips to prepare sumptuous meals is Sanjana Modha. She has gone from writing an unknown food blog…
Rishi Sunak is already a marmite prime minister, writes Barnie Choudhury. Feted by his MP colleagues but rejected by the Conservative grass roots just six weeks ago (September 5). They accuse Sunak of causing Johnson’s downfall, rather than accept that it was the fault of his once next-door Downing Street…
In a momentous day, Britain’s first south Asian prime minister, who became the Conservative Party leader on Diwali day [24], has vowed to unite the country and his riven party. Speaking on the steps of Number 10, Rishi Sunak, a practising Hindu, told the country that he would be a…
Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy and author Sudha Murty, is famously less outgoing than her husband Rishi Sunak, but that is likely to change somewhat as she becomes the first Indian First Lady to the UK's first British Indian Prime Minister. The 42-year-old fashion designer and…
I was absolutely delighted to see Rishi Sunak become our first British Asian prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party this week. Not only is Rishi an extraordinarily talented and thoroughly decent man, but he is the embodiment of a seismic and hugely positive shift in attitudes in both…
British Prime Minister Liz Truss, just over a month into the job, is already seen as increasingly unlikely to ride out the turbulence within her own Conservative Party and the financial markets, with her former leadership rival Rishi Sunak the odds-on favourite to make a comeback for 10 Downing Street.…
Azeem Rafiq, whose allegations of racism at Yorkshire led to a series of reviews into the culture of the sport, is leaving England to protect his family from abuse and intimidation. (More Sports News) In 2020, the 31-year-old opened up about an "institutionally racist culture" at Yorkshire, including by former…
A convicted far-right terror group member and “Miss Hitler” beauty pageant contestant is set for early release.Alice Cutter who was jailed for three years in June 2020 for being a member of the outlawed outfit National Action is believed to be held at HMP New Hall, a closed-category prison, in…
Former Yorkshire spinner Azeem Rafiq and ex-head coach Andrew Gale are among five players who have been reprimanded by England’s Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) for historical social media posts, the country’s cricket board (ECB) said. Rafiq, who spoke out last year against the racism he faced at Yorkshire, apologised for…
A 21-year-old man has been arrested and efforts are on to trace two others as part of an investigation into a series of criminal damage incidents in Bradford.While West Yorkshire Police did not attribute any motive to the incidents in their short official statement on Tuesday, it is believed they…
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is believed to be investigating a ‘high-profile’ player following claims that he hurled racist slurs at his former team-mate years ago.According to a Sportsmail report, the player in the eye of the latest storm hitting English cricket used the derogatory word P*** against…
The West Yorkshire Police officer who killed Yassar Yaqub more than five years ago has claimed that the suspect had pointed a gun at him, an inquest has heard. The officer said that he fired the shot as he had no other alternative. He added that he shot Yaqub as…
President Joe Biden has nominated US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy to serve as the country's representative on the executive board of the World Health Organisation. Dr Murthy, 45, will serve in the new position alongside his continued duties as the US Surgeon General, the White House said in a…
British home secretary Suella Braverman may ensure suspects anonymity before they are charged in a radical change to the existing criminal justice system, according to reports. The minister told a Young Conservatives event on Monday (3) that the government is considering such a proposal due to concern over the identification…
Bengaluru-headquartered global technology and business process outsourcing company Mphasis will create 1,000 jobs in the northern England region of West Yorkshire, according to the regional Mayor who has just returned from a visit to India. West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin led a trade mission to India recently and announced on…
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday (29) set out the continued progress that cricket is making in its commitment to promote equity, diversity and inclusion, at all levels of the game. Since the announcement of cricket’s game-wide action plan in November 2021, the ECB has continued to…
Expressing his condolences to the royal family, US President Joe Biden on Sunday (local time) paid his respects at Queen Elizabeth's coffin and said that the Queen had always reminded him of his mother. While mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth, Biden remembered Queen's warm candour and said, "The way…
A limited number of albums being released and even fewer Indian classical ones, makes this a unique musical offering. What makes it even more interesting is that a female artist has masterminded the songs. Acclaimed India-born, Yorkshire-based Carnatic vocalist and musician Supriya Nagarajan has put together an eclectic eight-track album,…
A teenage schoolboy has been jailed for six years for killing three men in horror crash on the M606 motorway in West Yorkshire in June, media reports said. Jack Simpson, 16, caused the tragic deaths of Sohail Ali, Simon McHugh and his friend Kyden Leadbeater. This week, he appeared at…
Rishi Sunak struck a personal note in the final hustings event before the election for a new Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister concludes, as he thanked his parents and wife Akshata Murty for their support. Addressing a teeming concert venue at Wembley in London on Wednesday night, the…
BRITAIN is ready for an Asian prime minister, Rishi Sunak has said, as the prime ministerial hopeful revealed he was “stung” by racism as a child, but now believes Conservative voters will judge him on his policies, rather than his ethnicity, in the leadership race. In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview…
Two sisters who ran a drug ring in Bury, Greater Manchester, have been ordered to pay back over £300,000 they laundered through their beauty salon, according to reports. Shazia Din, 44, and Abia Din, 47, led a beauty business, called The Beauty Booth, as a money laundering operation. They were…
Rishi Sunak pledged to work "night and day" for the “best country in the world” as the election campaign to take over from Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader and the new British Prime Minister entered its final stage on Wednesday, with the very last hustings event set for…
Azeem Rafiq said former teammate Gary Ballance has done cricket and the fight against racism a "great service" by apologising in person to him for using racist language while the pair played for Yorkshire. Ballance, who played 23 tests for England and had previously apologised to Rafiq in November, added…
Yorkshire Cricket Club chairman Lord Patel is understood to be the target when Ben Stokes said “f*** off” on the night of England’s World Cup victory in July 2019.The baron, who was a member of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) at the time, had reportedly taken a hardline view…
RISHI SUNAK, former chancellor and a candidate to be the next prime minister, received a hero’s welcome with loud cheering and Indian drums at a hustings event in north London on Monday (22). Sunak’s popularity in the community was evident as more than 650 British Asians from across the country…
Britain's prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak has said he wants to change the UK-India relationship to make it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India. Addressing a gathering of British Indian Conservative Party members who are voting in the election to…
The Royal Navy will stop migrant patrols on January 31 next year and will hand over operational control to Border Force, according to a media report. The Ministry of Defence has conveyed its plans in this regard to ministers, The Telegraph reported. Currently, the Navy coordinates Border Force and Coastguard…
Britain's Yorkshire Water announced on Friday that it would bring in a hosepipe ban from Aug. 26, saying parts of the northern English region had seen the lowest rainfall since records began more than 130 years ago. The announcement comes as parts of England are likely to declare a drought…
Two NHS surgeons have warned that as a result of the growing popularity of anal sex among straight couples in the UK, women are suffering injuries and sex amsterdam other health problems, as they are unaware of the risks involved, reports the Guardian. Surgeons Tabitha Gana (a trainee colorectal surgeon…
A man from Leeds has given up his plans to become a police officer he was subjected to a stop and search which he believed was based on 'racist profiling'. Hesham Sharif, 33, a British Somali, always wanted to follow a similar career path as his brother who is an officer…
MEET Richie Saint, a capable, charming but ultimately imaginary politician bidding to be prime minister of this country. The son of a GP and a chemist was head boy at a top private school, with a first in PPE at Oxford followed up by a Stanford MBA. Saint met his…
New Zealand Cricket said on Thursday that they are looking into allegations by former skipper Ross Taylor that he suffered racism. The 38-year-old, who is of New Zealand-Samoan descent, retired from international cricket in April after a glorious career spanning 16 years. Taylor's comments are the latest accusation of racism…
The UK government will no longer try to house asylum seekers in a disused air force base in northern England following a backlash from local residents, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Tuesday (9). The home ministry had planned to place up to 1,500 asylum seekers at the site in the…
As part of the supermarket chain’s drive to be directly supplied by net-zero emission farms by 2030, Morrisons has launched a new line of eggs from hens that are fed on insects and food waste from the company’s own bakery, fruit and vegetable sites, reports the Independent. Morrisons claims the…
The UK government has unveiled a trial use of “smart water” technology to address sexual assaults on women at clubs.Clubbers suspected of harassing women will be sprayed with the invisible forensic spray which remains on the skin for up to six weeks and stays on clothes for years. Suspects tagged…
British Conservatives Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss Thursday underwent their first grilling in front of party members as they wage a bitter duel to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The hustings in Leeds, northern England, were the opening bout of 12 nationwide events as the grassroots members elect a new…
To say English Test cricket was a mess before the organization went through root and branch reform in the spring of 2022, would, to say the least, be putting it mildly. Indeed, England had only recorded one win in 17 attempts before the Black Caps jetted into London Heathrow Airport…
Azeem Rafiq said he was "incredibly proud" of former Scotland cricketers Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh for speaking out about the racist abuse they had suffered in their careers, which led to a damning review into Cricket Scotland. The review, which was backed by SportScotland, was published on Monday and…
The board of Cricket Scotland resigned with immediate effect on Sunday, a day before an independent report into racism in the sport is published.The review was commissioned after allegations were made by one of the country's all-time leading wicket-takers, Majid Haq, who said Cricket Scotland was "institutionally racist".Haq's former team…
A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a man and a teenager in Doncaster town centre in January this year, South Yorkshire Police said on Thursday (21). Amrit Jhagra, 19, murdered Janis Kozlovskis, 17, and Ryan Theobald, 20, in Silver Street on 29 January. Police said that CCTV footage…
A LOVING daughter has spoken out about her father’s terminal illness in a bid to raise awareness of the need for greater investment in research. Simran Poonia was left stunned after her father Baljit Mehat was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year. Poonia, a 34-year-old social worker from Potton,…
Yorkshire is believed to have begun paying off its former employees who were dismissed over the racism scandal in the county cricket club.The club ended its legal battle with Liz Neto, who it fired as head of human resources, by reaching an out-of-court settlement with him, The Telegraph reported.The settlement…
Senior Conservative parliamentarians have told Eastern Eye the country is ready for its first south Asian prime minister. They believe the days of the Tories being considered as the “nasty and racist” party are over. Four candidates of colour were among the eight nominated in the leadership race as Eastern…
The Emmy Awards nominations for the year 2022 have been announced by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, with the HBO drama Succession leading the pack with 25 nominations. It was followed by Ted Lasso and The White Lotus with 20 nods apiece. Comedy series Hacks and Only Murders…
SIXTY-ONE schools across the UK are set to receive state-of-the-art rebuilds or refurbishments that will transform education for their pupils. In his first announcement as education secretary James Cleverly confirmed the investment to provide thousands of children access to modern classrooms as part of the Prime Minister’s flagship School Rebuilding…
BIRMINGHAM Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill has written to Warwickshire's chief executive Stuart Cain regarding racist abuse being directed at Indian fans at Edgbaston stadium recently. "Racism is cancer in our society and we all have a duty to act when it raises its ugly head," the MP wrote in…
Birmingham Police on Friday said that a fan has been arrested for a 'racially aggravated public order offence', following reports of racist behaviour during the fifth rescheduled Test match between India and England at Edgbaston. A number of allegations were made on social media following the close of the Day…
LEADING Asian MPs and commentators have condemned racist attacks on Asian fans watching the fifth Test between England and India at Edgbaston on Monday (4), which left some “literally in tears”. Footage shared on Twitter showed India supporters being targeted with abuse such as “you smelly P****”. One fan, Anil…
West Yorkshire Police, investigating the disappearance of Somaiya Begum from Bradford, said a man has been rearrested on suspicion of murder after a body was found.Extensive enquiries were carried out since Begum, 20, had been reported missing from Bradford on June 26, the force said. The body, found near Fitzwilliam…
ENGLAND cricketer Moeen Ali has said that the participation of British Asians in football at the professional level is minuscule in the country, according to a report. Asian involvement in UK cricket is healthy even in the backdrop of allegations by former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq in which he claimed…
Following his side's seven-wicket win over India, England batter Jonny Bairstow said that he is not afraid of failing and just wants to put pressure on the opposition. A 269-run partnership between Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow helped England create history, with the side completing their highest successful run chase…
While India and England were involved in an intense battle on the fourth day of a test match at Edgbaston on Monday evening, several fans in the stands allegedly faced racist slurs and complained of inaction by stewards.India supporters took to social media claiming they were called ‘smelly p**’, ‘curry…
DEDICATED mental health staff to help children and young people in GP practices and blood pressure checks in betting shops are among initiatives devised and delivered by new integrated care systems that come fully into force on Friday (1). Boosting health checks in the community to find people with health…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended a senior official for making a 'racial slur' about former England player Devon Malcolm, The Telegraph reported. The employee was stood down pending an investigation into an alleged jibe made earlier this season about being unable to see Malcolm until he smiles,…
Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has decided to step back from his commentary at BBC amid the "ongoing dialogue" around him for making racist comments ahead of a Yorkshire cricket game in 2009. Vaughan believes his decision to step down is the best thing for the game of cricket.…
In the wake of the Yorkshire racism scandal, members of BBC staff have written a letter condemning the broadcaster’s decision to stand by Michael Vaughan, who allegedly said to a group of players of Asian ethnicity in 2009 that there were “too many of your lot” at the county and…
ENGLAND spinner Adil Rashid will not be featuring in the white-ball series against India as he is all set to make his way to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. England will be squaring off against India in a multi-format series, starting from July 1 with the Test match. It will…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed a Muslim inclusion body as an adviser, a report said. Nujum Sports, which devised the Muslim athlete charter, will work with the men's and women's England teams, the 18 counties and the recreational game, the BBC reported. Former Yorkshire player Azeem…
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is believed to have charged prolific Scottish cricketer John Blain in its investigation into the allegations of racism surrounding Yorkshire County Cricket Club.The board had said last week that Yorkshire and a "number of individuals" were charged but had not named anyone.During his…
Nadeem Ahmed, the Conservative candidate for Wakefield by-election, said the people of the West Yorkshire seat were “forgiving” despite the party’s previous MP being jailed for a child sex offence.The by-election for the “Red Wall” constituency is triggered by the resignation of Imran Ahmad Khan from the House of Commons…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has charged Yorkshire cricket club and seven people for bringing the game into disrepute over racism allegations, according to a report. However, the board has chosen not to name the individuals, the Sky News reported. The ECB began an investigation in 2021 after…
RECORD fuel and energy costs are dragging regular pay in the UK at the fastest rate in more than a decade, data has revealed. According to the Office for National Statistics, pay excluding bonuses was down 2.2 per cent from a year earlier when adjusted for inflation between February and April.…
THE producer of the movie The Lady Of Heaven has blasted Muslim protesters and accused them of 'poisonous rhetoric, bullying tactics and propaganda', according to a report. Executive producer Malik Shilbak asked his critics to 'take their heads out of the clouds' in a heated discussion with Roshan Salih, editor…
Private equity firm Endless LLP has acquired KTC EDIBLES, one of the UK’s largest distributors of edible oil. The family business, which was founded in 1972 by Jernail Singh Khera, supplies over 250 million litres a year to manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers across the UK and globally. Based in Wednesbury,…
A relieved Joe Root said the England test captaincy had taken a toll on his personal health after he guided his side to a memorable five-wicket win against New Zealand on Sunday in his first match since relinquishing the role.The 31-year-old stepped down as skipper in the aftermath of England's…
CHEERS greeted Prince Harry and his wife Meghan outside St Paul's Cathedral on Friday (3) as they made their first public appearance in Britain for two years. But opinions were split among the throng of fans waiting at the London landmark to catch a glimpse of the royals, reflecting a…
PRIVATE equity firm Endless has acquired KTC (Edibles), the UK’s largest edible oil supplier founded by entrepreneur Jernail Singh Khera.The acquisition will provide additional investment for KTC’s growth plans through further development of its operations, range and service offerings, Endless said but did not disclose the size of the deal.With…
Author Sir Salman Rushdie and cricketer Moeen Ali are among a number of British Asians honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List published on Wednesday (1). With doctors, politicians, educators, authors, community leaders and philanthropists among the 13.3 per cent of recipients coming from an ethnic minority background, this list showcases…
The Mind mental health charity said mainstream services often fail to provide therapies that meet a person’s cultural or language needs and they are not referred to the right support. It comes after a study in May by the Mental Health Foundation found that people from a black, Asian or…
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club chair Lord Kamlesh Patel said a “very small minority” of people at the organisation are still in denial about what went wrong with it.Yorkshire members approved a package of reforms last month following a racism scandal, paving the way for lucrative England matches to be played…
A top government adviser on extremism has urged to ban Britain’s biggest far-right organisation Patriotic Alternative for racially abusing the England footballer Raheem Sterling, according to a report. Dame Sara Khan, the first counter-extremism commissioner and No 10’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience has made the demand as footage…
A MARINE pilot, who loves to blend classic French food with Indian spices, is declared BBC One’s MasterChef 2022 Champion, becoming the 18th amateur cook to claim the title.Eddie Scott, from Beverley in East Yorkshire, faced off strong competition in the final week from eventual runners up Pookie Tredell and…
ESSEX have been fined £50,000 by an independent Cricket Discipline Commission panel after the English county club pleaded guilty to two charges in relation to a racist comment made at a board meeting in 2017. Essex chairman John Faragher resigned from his role in November 2021 after the allegation that…
Local elections for councils and cities will be held in England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday, and polls for the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast. Here are details about the voting and what's at stake: - When does voting take place? - Polls open at 0600 GMT on Thursday…
The world premiere of Satinder Chohan’s new play, Lotus Beauty, directed by Pooja Ghai will stage on 13 May 2022 at Hampstead Downstairs, in association with Tamasha Theatre Company. It will be running until 18 June 2022. Lotus Beauty follows the intertwined lives of five multigenerational women. The cast features Anshula Bain (Tartuffe, Birmingham Rep; (This Isn't) A…
FORMER Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq has urged everyone to do their bit to end discrimination in the world, according to a report. He made the appeal while taking part in the March of the Living to Auschwitz-Birkenau, an annual walk between the original labour camp at Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site…
INDIA's Clean Slate Studioz has unveiled a series of new initiatives as part of its principal partnership deal with Yorkshire county cricket club including funding free cricket kits for young female cricketers. The announcements were made during the official unveiling of the Clean Slate branding on the east stand and…
When we heard the compelling testimony of former Yorkshire cricketer, Azeem Rafiq, in front of the sport select committee last November, few people of colour would’ve been surprised. We know the racism we face on an almost daily basis. We know the fact our complaints are excused as banter. We…
STATE BANK OF INDIA UK has appointed former Bank of Ireland (BoI) executive Iain Smith as its new head of intermediary, a statement said on Thursday (28). In his new role, Smith will be responsible for managing the sales teams dealing with intermediaries placing Buy to Let business with SBI…
Paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi hopes Pakistan will reap the benefits of their players' involvement in English county cricket as he prepares for his home debut with Middlesex. The young bowler is one of 10 Pakistani cricketers who have signed as overseas players for at least part of the 2022 season.…
ENGLISH cricket has been through its “annus horribilis” partly due to the poor performance of Joe Root’s Test team, but mainly because of the revelations about the racism suffered by Azeem Rafiq at Yorkshire, it has been stated in Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2022. The expression was famously used by the…
In 1999, a court found a brother and mother guilty of murdering a 19-year-old Muslim woman. While he strangled her, their mother sat on her legs. Her crime was to be carrying the baby of her childhood sweetheart while her husband, by forced marriage, was in Pakistan. The story of…
Tan France, one of the stars of Netflix’s popular makeover show Queer Eye, has revealed that he used to bleach his skin when he was younger. “I was just a child and I felt so much pressure to be lighter. The shame about my skin I experienced outside the house…
India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara hit an undefeated double century to help his English county side Sussex draw against Derbyshire on Sunday. The 34-year-old was unbeaten on 201 from 387 balls and shared a stand of 351 with Tom Haines who batted for almost 11 hours for his 243. Pujara,…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will charge up to 12 former Yorkshire staff in connection with the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, it was reported on Monday (11). The ECB announced their investigation into Yorkshire's handling of Rafiq's allegations in November 2021 after receiving the club's report on the…
ACTRESS Anushka Sharma's brother Karnesh Ssharma and partner Amreesh Chandra's streaming platform Clean Slate Studioz will be the new principal sponsor at Headingley for the 2022 season. The Indian firm will also become the new Principal Partner for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Two-year deal fills the naming-rights slot vacated by…
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club (YCCC) aspires to be a "beacon of hope" for diversity in English cricket, its chairman Kamlesh Patel has said. The club was rocked by a racism scandal last year after Azeem Rafiq, a former England under-19 captain of Pakistani descent, alleged that he had been a…
INDIA batsman Cheteshwar Pujara's debut for English county Sussex has been delayed by visa problems, it was announced Monday (4). Sussex had hoped to have Pujara available for their opening County Championship match at home to Nottinghamshire starting on Thursday (7). But delays in issuing the 34-year-old a visa mean…
ESSEX COUNTY have pleaded guilty to two charges of bringing cricket into disrepute over an alleged racist comment at a board meeting five years ago, a media report said. Former chairman of the county John Faragher allegedly used a racial slur during a 2017 board meeting that the county failed…
Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan has signed to play for Yorkshire in the Twenty20 Blast, the English county announced Friday. The 23-year-old leg-spinner will be available for the club's first five and last six fixtures of the domestic T20 competition. Shadab has represented Pakistan in all three international formats, including 64…
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club can continue to host international cricket at Headingley after its members voted in favour of governance reforms on Thursday (31), meeting the conditions set out by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Yorkshire were barred from staging internationals in the wake of a racism scandal…
British chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak is being accused of being out of touch with ordinary voters, in a sudden fall from grace just months after he was tipped as the next prime minister. The star of the 41-year-old had been in ascendancy for his handling of public finances…
THE British government has supported a parliamentary committee's recommendation to limit public funding for cricket unless the sport can demonstrate continuous progress in getting rid of racism, it said. The government also said it expected to see "clear and lasting evidence of positive progress" across English cricket after a damaging…
THE co-chair of Middlesex's equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee has urged to 'evolve with society' to achieve diversity goals as communities will continue to change. In an interview with The Cricketer, Ankit Shah said that the perception of cricket cracked on matters of diversity, inclusion and anti-racism 'can never…
LORD PATEL has threatened to quit Yorkshire over the bitter civil war to engulf the club since the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, according to a media report. He has written to the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) amid calls for him to resign over his handling of the fallout…
SUSSEX have signed Cheteshwar Pujara as a replacement for Australia's Travis Head, with the India batsman set to be available for most of the 2022 English season. Head asked to be released from his contract with the south coast side due to increased international commitments, as well as the fact…
A NUMBER of remarkable women were amongst the winners at the annual GG2 Leadership and Diversity Awards, held at the Park Plaza hotel on Tuesday (8). Bina Mehta took home the coveted GG2 Hammer Award, presented to a BAME person who has smashed the proverbial glass ceiling, for her rise…
WOMEN are very much on the move – rising to roles not previously seen before and smashing glass ceilings in the process. The GG2 Power List was unveiled on Tuesday (8) evening at Eastern Eye publisher AMG’s high-profile and glittering GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, where the role of highflying women…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have pledged around £1million to install multi-faith prayer rooms at every county cricket ground before the season starts, according to a media report said. The ECB is providing the grant as part of their attempt to improve the diversity of the sport, reported…
THE Mayor of South Yorkshire held a Round Table discussion with the Indian High Commissioner on increased trade opportunities earlier this week, a statement said. Mayor Dan Jarvis MP MBE, High Commissioner of India to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar and chair of the South Yorkshire India Advisory Board Richard Stubbs…
YORKSHIRE CRICKET CLUB is in soup again as four former employees have taken the county to the court. It is believed the legal dispute could hit the finances of the club after staff were sacked following former player Azeem Rafiq's testimonial on racist abuse he faced at the club during…
SIX men have been jailed for more than 60 years for multiple sexual offences against a child in the Keighley area, the West Yorkshire Police said on Friday (8). The child was raped by the gang over a period between 2008 and 2009, when she was aged between 14 and…
There must be a root and branch investigation into the culture of racism, misogyny, and Islamophobia in every police service in England and Wales. That is the demand from south Asian and black MPs, as well as serving and past police officers. They have told Eastern Eye that they do…
Britain's chancellor Rishi Sunak is on a meteoric trajectory that could, if Boris Johnson is forced out, propel him next door to 10 Downing Street to become Britain's first Hindu prime minister. It would mark a historic landmark, for a descendant of immigrants from Britain's old empire in India and…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) lifted an international match ban on Yorkshire County Cricket Club on Friday (11) subject to further requirements, in the wake of a racism scandal involving former player Azeem Rafiq. Yorkshire were barred from hosting any international games after Rafiq, a player of Pakistani…
PROFESSIONAL Cricketers' Association chief executive Rob Lynch told British lawmakers on Tuesday (8) that the organisation had made mistakes in how it dealt with Azeem Rafiq's allegations of racism against Yorkshire.The Pakistan-born former player delivered harrowing testimony to MPs in November in which he said his career had been ended…
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has admitted to attending prime minister Boris Johnson's lockdown birthday party in 2020 but refused to say what happened when he entered the room and claimed that he was there for a meeting to discuss the Covid-19 situation. His comments came after Johnson's five aides, including longstanding…
Yorkshire chair Kamlesh Patel claimed on Thursday reform at the troubled English county is being derailed by a group concerned that the club will be "sacrificed on the altar of Black Lives Matter". Patel took charge at Yorkshire in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal that rocked English…
ACE writer Vinay Patel’s critically acclaimed theatre play An Adventure makes a welcome return with a brand-new production at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton this month, from February 4 until February 26. A talented cast of four bring the epic global story spanning seven decades, about a couple who leaves…
THE thought of not boxing scares Amir Khan as many predict the grudge fight against Kell Brook on February 19 will be his last. But the former world champion is not sure and will take a call after the bout. "It does scare me, it does because boxing is what…
FORMER Hampshire cricketer has slammed the chairman of Middlesex for his south Asians prefer studies comment. John Holder, who is only non-white British umpire, said Mike O'Farrell's testimony to a racism inquiry by Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, was "utter horse muck". O'Farrell later apologised after commenting that black…
WHEN English cricket is going through a rough patch tackling racism, a British Asian player Saqib Mahmood is making a name for himself by bowling fast. After his teammates Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, Mahmood is the new face of British Asian cricketers trying to inspire the next generation with…
English cricket is back in the firing line over racism in the game after "stereotypical" and "outdated" views were expressed about the reasons for a lack of interest in the game among Britain's ethnic-minority communities. Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq delivered harrowing testimony to lawmakers in November in which he…
FORMER England player Ebony Rainford-Brent has called Middlesex chairman comments on black and south Asian interest in cricket as "painful" and "outdated". Mike O'Farrell said football and rugby become "much more attractive to the Afro-Caribbean community" and cricket for south Asian players was sometimes "secondary" to education. O'Farrell was speaking…
Britain-India pact will open doors in every nation of the UK, Jayawardena says A BRITISH minister has made it clear for the first time that all parts of Britain will benefit from a UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Ranil Jayawardena, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of International…
AZEEM RAFIQ’S treatment at Yorkshire and the subsequent racism storm that engulfed English cricket can be a “watershed moment” for the game to addresses its mistakes and make meaningful long-term changes, according to the journalist who the cricketer first spoke to about his ordeal. James Buttler, of the Cricket Badger…
FEW Commons inquiries have had so dramatic an impact as the Culture Select Committee’s probe into racism in cricket published last week. Just announcing the hearings had proved a crucial tipping point towards regime change at Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC), once the chair and chief executive has been invited…
ENGLISH cricket club Yorkshire announced on Wednesday (19) they had appointed former West Indies allrounder Ottis Gibson as their new head coach on a three-year deal. The 52-year-old replaces Andrew Gale, who left the county club along with the rest of the coaching staff in the fallout from a damaging…
The chair of Yorkshire cricket has urged south Asian communities to trust that his team and he will stamp out racism at the club. Lord Patel of Bradford was speaking exclusively to Eastern Eye after the culture, media and sport select committee concluded there was “deep-seated racism in cricket”. The…
A woman was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for her threat to Bradford West MP through a series of email last year. Sundas Alam, 30, of Princeville Street had threatened Naz Shah in one of the emails to put a "bullet through the head", which eventually…
AZEEM RAFIQ said many victims of abuse have been deterred coming forward because of the backlash he faced as a whistleblower for racism in English cricket. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee on Friday (14) warned the sport in the country to "clean up its act" on…
PUBLIC MONEY should be withheld from cricket unless the sport makes clear progress in rooting out "deep-seated" racism brought to light by a scandal at Yorkshire, British lawmakers said on Friday (14). Former player Azeem Rafiq, 30, delivered harrowing testimony to MPs in November in which he said his career…
LORD PATEL wants international cricket to return to Headingley again or it would be a "catastrophe" for Yorkshire Cricket Club. After former player Azeem Rafiq accused the county club of racism during his two stints at Yorkshire, Lord Patel has since then put in charge to bring in the change.…
YORKSHIRE'S interim coach Ryan Sidebottom has apologised for using "a poor choice of words" while discussing about the racism scandal at the club on Sky Sports. A former Yorshire player himself, Sidebottom joined Yorkshire's coaching staff to work under new directer of cricket Darren Gough. Sidebottom told Sky Sports News…
AZEEM RAFIQ said the ban on Yorkshire from hosting internationals over the handling of his racism allegations should be lifted as the county club is taking steps in the right direction to bring about change. In November, the 30-year-old former England under-19 captain, who is of Pakistani descent and played…
ENGLAND'S allrounder Ben Stokes is the only player who can replace Joe Root as Test captain and turn their fortunes around following the team's meek surrender in the Ashes series, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said on Saturday (8). Root has come under pressure since England lost the third Test…
ROOKIE BOWLER Marco Jansen took four wickets as South Africa bowled India out for 202 in their first innings on the opening day of the second Test at the Wanderers on Monday (3). The 21-year-old Jansen, playing in only his second Test, returned impressive figures of 4 for 31 in…
MANY NHS trusts across England have declared “critical incidents” amid soaring staff absences caused by Covid-19, The Guardian reported. More than half a dozen trusts have issued alerts over “internal critical incidents” in recent days, as concerns mount that some may be unable to deliver vital care to patients, the…
PARENTS of Fawziyah Javed, a pregnant newlywed who fell to her death on honeymoon, are yet to recover from the shock, The Times reported. Her mother said that her “world has collapsed” after the tragedy. Javed, 31, fell from Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, on September 2. The solicitor was expecting a baby…
By Nylah Salam Human rights campaigner and counter-terrorism commissioner Sara Khan, paediatric cardiology professor Shakeel Ahmed Qureshi, Leicester academic professor Kamlesh Khunti and actor Nitin Ganatra are among several British Asians who have been recognised in the New Year Honour’s List published tonight (31). Khan has been recognised with a…
FORMER England captain Ray Illingworth, who famously captained the team to an Ashes series victory in Australia in 1970–71, has died at the age of 89, county club Yorkshire said on Saturday (25). Illingworth said in November he had been undergoing treatment for oesophageal cancer. "Our thoughts are with Ray's…
Cricket commentator David Lloyd announced his retirement from Sky Sports on Tuesday, a month after he was named by Azeem Rafiq in his testimony about a culture of widespread racism at his county club Yorkshire. Lloyd, a former England player and coach, has been behind the microphone with Sky Cricket…
Yorkshire announced on Tuesday they had formed a partnership with Pakistan Super League team Lahore Qalandars that includes a player exchange programme following a damaging racism scandal at the English club. Pakistan-born former player Azeem Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with his allegations of abuse while at…
AN MP accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008 is to go on trial in March next year, media reports said. Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan, who represents Wakefield in West Yorkshire, faces a single count of sexual assault against the teenager in Staffordshire. The 48-year-old appeared at…
Chair of English cricket racism inquiry urges fans to have their say The chair of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) has warned of “a time of reckoning for cricket”. In March, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) appointed Cindy Butts to investigate racism, gender and social…
A NEW drive by motorsport bosses to make the sport more racially diverse led by Lewis Hamilton has been backed by campaigners. The Motorsport UK governing body held a conference in November in Bicester, Oxfordshire, to discuss the lack of BAME people employed in the sport. Its Racial Diversity Sub…
THE COURT of Appeal has extended the minimum jail terms of six people, who murdered a man in Batley last year, by up to six years. Usman Karolia, 20, Raja Nawaz, 19, Ahmed Karolia, 24, Nabeel Nasser, 19, Nikash Hussain, 17, and Irfan Hussain, 18, were convicted of stabbing Bradley…
South Asians feel "like outsiders" even in grassroots cricket, a senior figure in a Yorkshire league told MPs on Tuesday (7) as the English game grapples with a racism scandal. Former Yorkshire county player Azeem Rafiq gave harrowing testimony to the same committee of MPs last month, saying his career…
All members of Yorkshire's coaching team have left, including director of cricket Martyn Moxon and coach Andrew Gale, the club said on Friday as it vowed to regain trust and rebuild after being rocked by allegations of institutional racism. First team coach and former captain Gale was suspended last month…
'No jab, no job' policy adds to mounting care worker vacancies WORKERS from India are needed to help tackle the UK’s care home staffing crisis, according to industry leaders. They have appealed to the government to put care workers on the list of shortage occupations to fill more than 112,000…
BT Sport has said it will not use former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan in its upcoming coverage of the Ashes series following allegations of racism made by Azeem Rafiq. English cricket has been rocked by racism revelations from Pakistan-born Rafiq. He recently gave harrowing testimony to lawmakers in which…
GLAMORGAN wants to improve its diversity on and off the field, for which the county's chairman Gareth Williams has set out a plan. In order to tackle racism and discrimination in cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last week came out with a five-point action plan after Azeem…
AS MANY AS 42 people including three women were charged during a police investigation into a non-recent child sexual exploitation case in West Yorkshire, the BBC reported. The 39 men and three women, most from Kirklees, have been charged with a variety of offences. Those charged appeared at Leeds Magistrates'…
ENGLAND Test captain Joe Root said on Monday (29) he stood by his statement that he could not recall witnessing any instances of racism at Yorkshire as English cricket grapples with the fallout from the scandal. The game in England has been rocked by damaging revelations from Pakistan-born former Yorkshire…
FORMER England captain Michael Vaughan denied making a racist remark when he was skipper of Yorkshire but told the BBC on Saturday (27) he apologises to his accuser ex-teammate Azeem Rafiq if he was "responsible for any of his hurt". English cricket has been rocked by revelations of racism from…
THE East Lancashire Cricket Club has recruited more young Asian players this year, reported ITV News. Coach Farouk Hussain has managed to recruit almost 200 players of Asian heritage to the club in Blackburn as English cricket attempts to repair its damaged reputation after the racism scandal, the report added.…
FORMER England bowler Monty Panesar has said the "blacklisting" of Michael Vaughan is a "distortion of natural justice". Vaughan, a former England captain, was dropped from the BBC radio commentary team for the upcoming Ashes series amid an ongoing racism row. English cricket has been rocked by revelations of racism…
A week after apologising for using anti-Semitic slur in exchange of messages with another cricketer, Azeem Rafiq on Thursday (25) met a Holocaust survivor at the Jewish Museum London. The former Yorkshire cricketers spoke with Ruth Barnett, who arrived in Britain in 1939 after fleeing Nazi Germany. He also spoke…
MEMBERS of the Muslim and Sikh community protested alongside deselected councillors this morning against the decision by Labour to remove councillors from their elected position in Sandwell. It comes after four Labour councillors of Asian background did not pass selection panel interviews to stand again as Labour candidates and that…
ENGLISH CRICKET'S top administrator said the sport had been hit by an "earthquake" as he announced an anti-racism action plan on Friday (26) in response to the Azeem Rafiq scandal. The 12 measures unveiled by the England and Wales Cricket Board include a review of dressing-room culture, action to help…
ON the eve of ECB's unveiling of plan to avoid another racism scandal in English cricket, one of the two non-white chairs of a county club has quit on Thursday (25), with immediate effect. As ECB is fighting hard to make the game diverse and inclusive, Leicestershire’s Mehmooda Duke has…
CRICKET SCOTLAND is "institutionally racist", Scotland's all-time highest wicket-taker Majid Haq has claimed. His former teammate Qasim Sheikh has also alleged the cricket body of racism during his career. Both the former players have called for an independent inquiry as the duo was treated differently to their teammates of the…
Former England spinner Monty Panesar has been appointed as a talent-spotter by English county side Middlesex, it was announced Tuesday. Middlesex will look to Panesar, a veteran of 50 Tests, to develop talent in the inner city boroughs of the capital as he nominates players for the county's Under-10, Under-12…
Michael Vaughan has been left out of the BBC commentary team for the upcoming Ashes series in Australia to avoid a "conflict of interest" amid an ongoing racism row. English cricket has been rocked by revelations of racism from Pakistan-born former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq. These have included an allegation…
AZEEM RAFIQ’S testimony in parliament offered powerful, harrowing and persuasive proof that issues of racism in Yorkshire cricket were sustained, deep-rooted and reflected an institutional failure of culture, leadership and governance. Within days, Rafiq was himself apologising, as anti-Semitic social media messages [he had sent as a teenager] surfaced, using…
ANOTHER former player of English county Essex has said he suffered racist abuse at the club following allegations made by Zoheb Sharif and Maurice Chambers in the last week. Jahid Ahmed, who bowled for Essex from 2005-2009, told The Cricketer he was bullied by a senior coach and that his…
THE aftermath of Yorkshire racism scandal saw the formation of equality commission, which have so far received complaints from every first-class county over the last fortnight. On November 9, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) opened a call for evidence by issuing an online survey, and since then…
BRITISH ASIAN comedian Ahir Shah, who is touring the UK with his new show, has spoken about his worry of “authoritarian attempts by governments to limit speech” in response to the impact of cancel culture on comedy. Shah, 30, from Wembley, is currently solo touring across the country with his…
A new research has found how class and ethnic disparities are rife in English cricket. This comes after when Yorkshire's racism scandal has rocked the sport. It said privately educated British players are 34 times more likely to become professional cricketers than state-educated British south Asians. The research, done by…
SAJID JAVID said he was racially abused almost every day at school when he was growing up, as he urged the ECB to "take a long, hard look at themselves" after the racism scandal rocked the sport. The health secretary was asked about the racism scandal at the Yorkshire County…
ENGLAND'S major cricketing bodies collectively apologised on Friday (19) to all those who have suffered racism and discrimination in the game following former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq's revelations about the abuse he encountered. Rafiq told a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday (16) that he had suffered "inhuman" treatment in his…
FORMER Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq apologised on Thursday (18) for using anti-Semitic language in an exchange of messages with another cricketer from 2011. Rafiq, a player of Pakistani descent, this week testified before a British parliamentary committee and spoke of the discrimination he faced while at Yorkshire, saying the sport…
FORMER England batsman Alex Hales apologised for an old photo showing him in blackface at a fancy dress party, saying on Friday it was "incredibly reckless and foolish". The Sun newspaper published the image on Thursday (18) and said it had been taken at a New Year's Eve party in…
FOLLOWING leaked reports that the British government would be scrapping plans for the UK’s long-awaited high-speed rail network to extend to Leeds, transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced in the House of Commons that the eastern leg of HS2 will now reach only from Birmingham to the East Midlands. He…
FORMER England batsman Alex Hales denied on Wednesday (17) there was "any racial connotation" in the name of his dog after allegations by ex-Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq. Rafiq told a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday (16) that former team mate Gary Ballance used 'Kevin' as a derogatory term and that…
FORMER Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq said on Wednesday (17) his revelations about racism in the English game may have opened the floodgates for further victims to come forward. Rafiq told a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday (16) that he had suffered "inhuman" treatment in his time at Yorkshire and described…
CRICKET commentator David Lloyd has apologised after Azeem Rafiq told a UK parliamentary committee that the former England coach had made disparaging comments about Asian cricketers. In Tuesday's (16) distressing testimony, Rafiq, 30, catalogued a culture of widespread racism at his county club Yorkshire, describing the "inhuman" treatment he had…
ENGLISH county club Essex pledged on Monday (15) to investigate fresh allegations of historical racism made by their former Jamaican-born fast bowler Maurice Chambers. Chambers, who played for Essex between 2005 and 2013, told The Cricketer that he was so upset by the racist bullying he faced at the county…
ENGLISH CRICKET is close to an emergency over its failure to address diversity issues, according to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison. Harrison was quizzed by members of a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday (16) shortly after former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq's harrowing account of…
IN an emotional apperance before the parliamentary select committee on Tuesday, former player Azeem Rafiq gave more details to the racism scandal at Yorkshire. Explaining to the MPs, he broke down into tears as he explained in details of the racism that he experienced at the club. A report had…
FORMER Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq broke down in tears on Tuesday (16) as he told a British parliamentary committee of "inhuman" treatment at the cricket club and described the sport in England as riddled with racism. In more than an hour of questioning by members of parliament, Rafiq, 30, an…
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has "categorically" denied making an alleged racist comment to a former Yorkshire teammate, whose account was supported by current England player Adil Rashid on Monday (15). Azeem Rafiq, 30, was found by an independent report to have been subject to "racial harassment and bullying" at…
A whistleblowing hotline will be opened on Monday by Yorkshire County Cricket club for victims of discrimination. The decision to open up the hotline was announced last Monday by the Club's new chair Lord Patel, and has urged other victims to "come forward and share their experiences". Patel says hearing…
England's Adil Rashid has confirmed he heard former Test captain Michael Vaughan question the number of Asian players in the Yorkshire team, supporting an accusation made by an ex-teammate who branded the club institutionally racist. Former player Azeem Rafiq was found by an independent report to have been subject to…
ESSEX chief executive John Stephenson has said he is "extremely shocked and saddened" by allegations the club's former batsman Zoheb Sharif received racist abuse that included being called "bomber" by his teammates. Sharif, whose parents were born in Pakistan, played for Essex between 2001 and 2004. He said the slur…
THE chief constable of West Yorkshire Police has backed “positive discrimination” to allow the force to be more diverse. John Robins said favouring ethnic minority candidates during recruitment would help the force “get to where we want to be”, but warned he was legally unable to impose such a system.…
YORKSHIRE chief executive Mark Arthur has resigned with immediate effect in the latest fallout from the allegations of institutional racism made by former player Azeem Rafiq, the club said in a statement on Thursday (11). The club have appointed Paul Hudson as interim chief executive. "Today (11 November) the Board…
A hilly landscape dotted with serried terraced housing, mill chimneys, church spires and mosque minarets reflects the industrial past and multicultural present of Bradford. But a racism row at local county cricket team Yorkshire has shattered trust between the club and its diverse fanbase in the northern English city. Yorkshire…
ENGLAND captain Joe Root on Thursday demanded change after a racism row engulfed Yorkshire County Cricket Club, saying the events had "fractured our game and torn lives apart". Root, who is currently in Australia leading England's Ashes preparations, issued his statement following weeks of escalating pressure at the club he…
IN a latest racism allegation against Yorkshire, a former player at the academy said he was racially abused by a member of staff when he was a 16-year-old. Irfan Amjad, who was later released from the club, claims a member of the staff used a term in reference to his…
IF Yorkshire and the ECB fail to take "real action" in the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal then the UK government is ready to "step in". An investigation followed by a report found former Yorkshire player Rafiq was a vactim of "racial harassment and bullying" but the county club said it…
YORKSHIRE have suspended coach Andrew Gale as part of an investigation into a tweet he sent in 2010, the club said in a statement on Tuesday (9). Yorkshire, which has been rocked by allegations of institutional racism at the club made by former player Azeem Rafiq, added that director of…
Cricket’s governing body, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), must immediately investigate racism at all levels of the sport. That is the demand from Bradford West MP, Naz Shah. Speaking exclusively to Eastern Eye, Shah said that the game was institutionally, structurally and systemically racist, and the problem went…
ENGLAND all-rounder Moeen Ali said he was not surprised by the allegations of racism made by Azeem Rafiq against Yorkshire Cricket Club but hopes the issue will lead to change in the sport. Rafiq, who is of Pakistani descent and a former captain of the England Under-19s, said in September…
By Sunder Katwala Director, British Future thinktank ‘That word – the ‘P**i’ word – has real meaning for me. I don’t need to be told it’s not banter’, said Lord Kamlesh Patel, after becoming the new chair of Yorkshire County Cricket Club because the county’s leadership lost all confidence in…
YORKSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET'S new chairman, Lord Kamlesh Patel, on Monday (8) praised Azeem Rafiq for speaking out over racist abuse as he apologised to the former player. Pakistan-born Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with racist abuse he suffered while playing for the county, saying he had been…
THE leader of Leeds City Council has condemned the response from Yorkshire County Cricket Club as “totally unacceptable” following racism allegations from a former player. It follows claims this week that the club had dismissed racial taunts from former teammates of Azeem Rafiq as “banter”, which drew condemnation this week…
England cricket chief Tom Harrison said on Friday (5) he was braced for an "uncomfortable" few months but believes the game will emerge stronger after the Azeem Rafiq racism affair. Former player Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal with abuse he suffered while at the county, saying he had…
YORKSHIRE have launched an investigation after another former player alleged that he was subjected to repeated racial abuse at the club. According to a report in the Daily Mail, an unnamed cricketer of Asian origin, said he was once urinated on by a teammate. This allegation comes after Yorkshire's response…
THE BBC has dropped former England captain Michael Vaughan from a radio show next Monday (8) after he was named in a report looking into allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire made by former player Azeem Rafiq, the broadcaster said on Friday (5). In a column for The Telegraph on…
MICHAEL VAUGHAN'S position as a cricket analyst at the BBC is under review after a second Asian cricketer said that he heard the former England skipper say racist comments while playing for Yorkshire in 2009. Vaughan said on Thursday (4) that his name is there in the report of the…
ENGLAND'S limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan wants the cricket board to tackle the Yorkshire racism row "head on", insisting there was no place for any kind of discrimination against any player. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been rocked by former player Azeem Rafiq's allegation of racism at Yorkshire…
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club chairman Roger Hutton has resigned with immediate effect following the club's handling of allegations of racism by former player Azeem Rafiq, the BBC has reported on Friday. Rafiq, a player of Pakistani descent and a former captain of the England Under-19s, said last year he was…
A British Asian member of the panel has stood by its findings after Azeem Rafiq was called a P**I by former England batter, Gary Ballance. In a investigation, the panel ruled it as ‘banter’ despite them being condemned but Boris Johnson and other members of the cabinet. Mesba Ahmed, a…
Azeem Rafiq demanded on Thursday (4) sweeping changes at his former club Yorkshire and cricket as a whole, in a deepening racism row that has cost the county side a host of sponsors. The county offered the 30-year-old Pakistan-born off-spinner "profound and unreserved apologies" in a report into his allegations…
Cricket had promised to have a reckoning with racism, and to embark on a new era of inclusion, in the wake of the anti-racism protests of last summer. [caption id="attachment_146207" align="alignright" width="300"] Sunder Katwala[/caption] Yet the game is now going backwards before it goes forwards. The bungling of an anti-racism…
0Former England international Gary Ballance on Wednesday (3) admitted using the racial slur P**i against former Yorkshire teammate Azeem Rafiq in a swirling row that has cost the county a host of sponsors. Ballance said in a statement: "I regret that I used this word in immature exchanges in my…
YORKSHIRE is facing the heat from the UK political figures over the handling of Azeem Rafiq's allegations of racism, with the health secretary Saji Javid calling for "heads to roll". Javid, son of Pakistani immigrants, was among the group of MPs angry by a report published in ESPNcricinfo on Monday…
AN unnamed senior cricketer at Yorkshire club has admitted regularly calling Azeem Rafiq 'P**i' but was cleared of any wrongdoing on the basis it was "good natured banter between friends". Yorkshire County last week said no disciplinary action was needed against any employees after conducting an independent inquiry into Rafiq's…
Adil Rashid said on Sunday he is ready to play a full part in England's bid to lift the T20 World Cup after overcoming a persistent shoulder injury. The leg-spinner had to have two cortisone injections in his bowling arm during England's triumphant campaign in the 50-over World Cup in…
AFTER receiving death threats, a Labour MP along with her children were forced to flee her home in the middle of the night. A 30-year-old woman, Sundas Alam has admitted threatening the Bradford West MP Naz Shah via email. Shah said she had previously received many death threats, but this…
YORKSHIRE will take no disciplinary action against any of its employees, players or executives following the independent report after allegations of racism by their former player, Azeem Rafiq. The cricket county club on September 10 released a summarised version of the report, where it apologised and accepted Rafiq had been…
VIRENDRA SHARMA and other Asian-origin MPs in Britain have spoken about the threat facing them following the murder last week of Sir David Amess, the Conservative member for Southend West, who was stabbed 17 times in a frenzied attack. British politicians have to decide whether their traditional approach of freely…
Kia Abdullah discusses her gripping new novel PURSUING a passion for writing led Kia Abdullah on an inspiring journey from working at a magazine to becoming an accomplished author with an impressive body of work. Born in Tower Hamlets, London, and now living in Yorkshire, she recently released her gripping…
A risk manager who experienced “horrific” racism when she moved to York is behind a bid to make the city the first ‘anti-racist city’ in the north of England. Haddy Njie was shocked at the level of racism she experienced after moving to the city in 2015 and set up…
SOME work-in-progress to address health inequalities affecting BAME communities in Calderdale is starting to have an impact, health partners heard. Director of Transformation and Partnerships at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Anna Basford, said since April 2020 evidence had emerged about the disproportionate impact the Covid-19 pandemic was having…
AUTHOR Michael Mann has stressed the importance of representation in literature, as he revealed his own motivations to include a mixed-race protagonist in his new children’s fantasy book. Mann’s Ghostcloud follows Luke, a 12-year-old who is kidnapped and forced to shovel coal underneath a half-bombed, blackened power station. Luke soon…
BRITAIN'S young adults are facing a "cost of living crisis" as they struggle to pay bills while trying to save for the future, a study showed on Wednesday (13). Hard hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, almost half of 18-30 year olds in Britain have "low financial resilience",…
Yorkshire could be charged by the ECB for bringing the sport into disrepute over the county club's handling of the Azeem Rafiq case. An independent inquiry set up by Yorkshire came out with its report last month where they upheld Rafiq's seven complaints regarding racism and bullying during his time…
OFF-SPINNER Azeem Rafiq’s sister is believed to have formally complained against the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB) where she is employed, claiming she felt “shunned”. Amna Rafiq, 26, the clubs and community development manager at the YCB, is understood to have alleged that she was made to feel ostracised because of…
ENGLISH county cricket club Gloucestershire have apologised "unreservedly" to retired Test bowler David Lawrence for failing to investigate incidents of racist abuse he suffered while playing for them. Lawrence recounted the incidents in a Sky Sports documentary about the experiences of black cricket players and officials in England and Wales…
DATA shows that 30 per cent of pupils who need glasses have not been to an optician, with disadvantaged children being less likely to get, or wear glasses. Hence 'Glasses in Classes' programme has been started to prevent disadvantaged pupils from being left behind because of poor eyesight. Thousands of…
SOUTH YORKSHIRE'S Police and Crime Commissioner says that as a society, we have become “less resilient” . When asked about the forces’ work on young people’s mental health during a police and crime panel meeting on September 20, Dr Alan Billings said it is a “very, very difficult issue.” “I…
AZEEM RAFIQ has now suggested that his allegations against Yorkshire will be "told to the world". Last Friday Yorkshire released the findings and recommendations of an independent panel report, where the club admitted of the former player being a victim of racial abuse and bullying. The independent panel had upheld…
IMRAN AHMAD KHAN, 48, an MP who represents Wakefield in West Yorkshire appeared in court and denied sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2008. The MP faces a single count of sexual assault against the then teenager in Staffordshire, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Ahmad Khan, who has…
YORKSHIRE have issued an apology to former player Azeem Rafiq and accepted that he was a victim of racial harassment and bullying during his first spell at the county, the club said on Friday (10). Rafiq, a player of Pakistani descent and a former captain of the England under-19 side,…
MPs have called on Yorkshire to publish the findings of the club's report into allegations of racism made by former player Azeem Rafiq. According to the report which was published by the county last month said that several of the allegations made by Rafiq had been upheld and also found…
A British Indian surgeon has conducted the first practice operation on virtual brains using an artificial intelligence (AI) system, The Times reported. Professor Tufail Patankar at Leeds Teaching Hospitals has carried out the surgery using the AI system designed to make brain surgery safer for patients, less stressful for surgeons…
Revealed: 10 south Asians stopped and searched every hour during pandemic Police in England and Wales stopped and searched almost 10 south Asians every hour during lockdown. Eastern Eye has found that during April 2020 and March 2021 they detained almost 86,000 south Asians. This is a rise of more…
As Asian and Black police attack recruitment of new officers, we reveal that not one single force represents diverse communities The president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) has criticised the way police forces across England and Wales have recruited new officers as a “once in a lifetime opportunity…
A MAN from West Yorkshire has been charged with murder after his wife fell to her death at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Kashif Anwar, 27, who appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday (6) was remanded in custody. He is expected to appear in court again within eight days. Fawziyah…
IN a two-year pilot programme as part of the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) South Asian Plan - six British Asian boys have been awarded cricket scholarships to boarding schools. As reported by The Telegraph, the six boys were selected by the National Asian Cricket Council, and are funded…
SCOTLAND police arrested a man as part of their investigation into the death of a newlywed woman at Arthur's Seat in Edinburg. Fawziyah Javed fell from the landmark in the Scottish capital on late Thursday (2) evening and died at the scene, police said. “We received a report that a…
THE president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) has criticised the way forces across England and Wales have recruited new officers as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity missed”. Speaking exclusively to Eastern Eye, Inspector Andy George said the NBPA was “very concerned” that not one single police force was representative of…
England coach Chris Silverwood believes his side's ongoing contest with India could prove to be one of Test cricket's most memorable series. The teams travel to London for next week's fourth Test at the Oval all square at 1-1 in a five-match campaign after a rain-marred draw in Nottingham was…
India captain Virat Kohli insisted his side would not be "demoralised" by a resounding innings-and 76-run defeat in the third Test at Headingley on Saturday that saw England level the five-match series at 1-1. The tourists' fate in Leeds was effectively sealed when they were dismissed for just 78 by…
TOP doctors and pharmacists have been praised for using quirky TikTok videos in order to pass on vital health advice to Asian communities. The medics have gained large followings on the video-sharing app for posting musical footage about issues including the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine, sleep tips and diet…
WHEN UK's furlough scheme ends next month, thousands of jobs at Liberty Steel would be at risk unless its owner Sanjeev Gupta manages to secure a financer. After the collapse of its key lender Greensill Capital in March, Gupta's conglomerate GFG Alliance is urgently looking for a new lender. The…
Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara held firm for India as they denied England a fresh breakthrough in the third Test at Headingley on Friday. India were 112-1 in their second innings at tea on the third day, still a huge 242 runs adrift of England's first-innings 432. Rohit was 59…
YORKSHIRE could possibly come under political pressure to release the findings of an independent report into allegations of institutional racism at the county. The inquiry was put in place after former Yorkshire captain Azeem Rafiq made accusations of racism in August last year. The report of the findings were received…
India captain Virat Kohli has promised his side won't back down in the remainder of their series against England after saying verbal abuse from the hosts inspired a memorable win at Lord's last week. India are 1-0 up in the five-match contest heading into Wednesday's third Test at Headingley following…
RASHID KHAN saw Sussex into the finals of English cricket's T20 Blast despite the turmoil in his native Afghanistan as his dashing innings capped a five-wicket win over Yorkshire on Tuesday (24). After Luke Wright had made 54, Khan came in with south coast club Sussex needing 43 off 21…
CALDERDALE Council is supporting the Root Out Racism movement being launched by healthcare and violence reduction partnerships. The council is one of nearly 500 organisations to join Root Out Racism movement being launched by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit. To…
England captain Joe Root has expressed sympathy for Azeem Rafiq after the former Yorkshire spinner alleged that he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club. Yorkshire said on Thursday they had apologised to Rafiq after an independent investigation found that historically he was the "victim of inappropriate…
AFTER an independent report upheld some of Azeem Rafiq's allegations, Yorkshire have issued 'profound apologies' to the former player of the county. In a statement, Yorkshire said Rafiq was "the victim of inappropriate behaviour", which they have described as "clearly unacceptable". But in response, Rafiq has accused the county of…
England recalled Dawid Malan on Wednesday (18) and dropped opener Dom Sibley from their squad as they looked to bolster their faltering top order for next week's third Test against India at Headingley. India are 1-0 up in the five-match series after a 151-run win in the second Test at…
THE findings of an independent investigation into the racism allegations made by Yorkshire's former player Azeem Rafiq is belived to be received by the county club. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo last September, Rafiq had claimed that "institutional racism" at Yorkshire had pushed him close to taking his own life.…
INDIA captain Virat Kohli promised there would no let-up from his side following an impressive 151-run win over England in the second Test at Lord's on Monday (16) he labelled a "day late" Independence celebration. This match was in the balance early on the final day before a ninth-wicket stand…
A fashion designer who claimed to own a bottle of perfume made by Michael Jackson worth £44m has denied two counts of fraud, one count of possession of criminal property and one count of theft of a motor vehicle. Appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Hrh Arfaq from from Batley, West…
WEST YORKSHIRE Combined Authority will publish an ethnicity pay report for the first time, the Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin announced on Friday (13) after recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted how most of the minority ethnic groups in Britain continue to earn less than…
England could be without both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in a home Test for the first time in nearly a decade following a double injury setback at Lord's. Broad, 35, has been ruled out of the rest of the five-match series against India after pulling up with a calf…
A BRITISH ASIAN firefighter has revealed how his cultural background has helped him build relations within his local community. Asif Mahroof, 42, has worked for the West Yorkshire Fire Service for 15 years. Acting as the crew commander at Dewsbury station, he features in the BBC Two documentary series Yorkshire…
Survey shows violent incidents in shops increased during the pandemic TOUGHER laws are needed to tackle rising levels of abuse and violence against shop workers, according to business owners and retail chiefs. Around 85.5 per cent of employees surveyed said they suffered verbal abuse in 2020, with 56.8 per cent…
India's Jasprit Bumrah took four wickets as England suffered their latest batting collapse in slumping to 183 all out on the opening day of the first Test at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. Bumrah, who struck with the fifth ball of the match to remove Rory Burns for one of four…
WEST Yorkshire police arrested 19 men from Bradford as part of an investigation into child sexual offences dating back to the 2000s. They were arrested on the suspicion of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault on an alleged victim, and were released under caution after interviews, police said. The investigation…
LONDON boroughs with a substantial Asian population have some of the lowest first and second Covid-19 vaccine intake in the country, statistics showed. Tower Hamlets has the lowest percentage of second doses administered at 40.3 per cent. According to the 2011 census, more than two thirds (69 per cent) of…
CONCERNS are growing over the future of Indian-born British businessman Sanjeev Gupta’s speciality steel business, as customers abandon it and resources are squeezed. The business, which employs about 750 staff at plants in South Yorkshire, has been put up for sale by Gupta as part of restructuring of his sprawling…
CHEAP taxi rides and discounts from the biggest food takeaway companies will be offered soon to unvaccinated young Britons in an attempt by prime minister Boris Johnson to boost the relatively low Covid-19 vaccine take-up among 18-30s. Talks are on with Uber, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims for offering incentives…
TO reduce flooding in England, the Environment Agency will spend a record £5.2bn over the next six years, reported The Guardian. Next year, more than 1,000 schemes will get £860m with significant funds for Yorkshire and the Humber and the north-west, regions that have been hit hard in recent years, the…
SOME children in Bradford remain at risk of exploitation despite a "vast improvement" in the way the agencies responsible for their protection are working, according to an independent review. The review, commissioned after nine men were jailed for sexual exploitation of girls housed in a council care home, noted that…
DOCTORS and nurses in England’s National Health Service (NHS) are being trained on aspects of structural racism and white privilege, a recent media report claimed. Medics in Northern Care Alliance, which covers two trusts and nearly 20,000 staff, have recently been offered guidance on “white privilege, structural racism and…
RADIO and TV presenter Anita Rani feels that she would have made it to the final of Strictly Come Dancing if she “didn't have a brown face”, recent media reports claimed. Speaking to Radio Times, Rani has admitted there have been many times in her career where she thinks things…
WITH upcoming Universal Credit cut, England is heading for the biggest cut to the basic rate of social security “since the creation of the welfare state at the end of World War II”, experts have warned, adding that workers in south-west England will be hardest hit with some half a…
Photographer Derry Moore reveals the stories behind his portraits NO ONE has probably taken a more evocative photograph of the Indian film director Satyajit Ray than Derry Moore. Taken in 1982 at Ray’s home in Calcutta (now Kolkata), there is something about Moore’s black and white image which is reminiscent…
THE UK government flagged up an Islamic boarding school in Yorkshire after finding a book in its library with “inappropriate content” that undermined “British values”. Ofsted, an organ of the education department, said the book titled 'Islam on Homosexuality', which bore the official stamp of the school library, advocated “punishment”…
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak's Eat Out to Help Out scheme last summer may have triggered a rise in Covid-19 related deaths among Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities, a scientist has said. Since more people from the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities in the UK work in small restaurants and eating joints, Professor…
HEATWAVE continues to bake Britons as deaths were being reported across the country during England's hottest weekend this year so far. A man collapsed and died while playing cricket in the extreme heat while four people have reportedly drowned in separate incidents. Maqsood Anwar, 44, died on the pitch…
SEX offenders, accused of raping a teenaged girl, have been jailed for a combined 41 years in the latest convictions, bringing an end to a major child sexual exploitation investigation, West Yorkshire police said on Friday (16). Banaras Hussain (44), Talish Ahmed (41) and Mohammed Akram ( 44) were…
THE Conservative MP for Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Imran Ahmad Khan will face the court on Thursday (15) on charges of molesting a 15-year-old boy in 2008, reported The Daily Mail. He will appear by video link before the Recorder of London Judge Mark Lucraft QC for a formal plea and directions…
“BATLEY and Spen” were the words on the rosette of a pumped-up Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and “Battered and Spent” on a frazzled prime minister Boris Johnson’s. The Times cartoonist had clearly prepared his material so it could be flipped, either way, depending on the actual result. And by 323…
LABOUR has been urged to engage with Asian communities and “treat them as individuals”, as polls suggest its popularity with Muslim voters is dwindling. The call comes after the party’s victory in the Batley and Spen by-election last week, with candidate Kim Leadbeater, the younger sister of Jo Cox, who…
By AMIT ROY THE Labour Party has dragged India’s prime minister Narendra Modi into Thursday’s (1) Batley and Spen by-election by issuing a leaflet which says prime minister Boris Johnson has failed to condemn the Indian leader for his policies in Kashmir. The literature has been widely condemned by many…
The Labour Party has dragged India’s prime minister Narendra Modi into Thursday’s (1) Batley and Spen by-election by issuing a leaflet which says prime minister Boris Johnson has failed to condemn the Indian leader for his policies in Kashmir. The literature has been widely condemned by many of Labour’s Indian…
LABOUR activists were pelted with eggs and “kicked in the head” by a group of young men in Batley on Sunday (27), the region's mayor said, while they were on a campaign trail for the upcoming by-election in the region. Newly-elected West Yorkshire mayor Tracey Brabin claimed that she…
SOCIAL MEDIA has branded them as 'pettiest neighbours ever' after retired Irene and Graham Lee chopped their neighbour's fir tree in half in a boundary row. The elderly neighbours chopped the 15ft fir tree outside their home in a south Yorkshire suburb last week and said they would "do it…
Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the rest of England's white-ball matches against Sri Lanka after picking up a right calf injury in the opening Twenty20 match in Cardiff. The wicketkeeper-batsman, 30, who scored 68 not out in England's win on Wednesday, had an MRI scan the following day,…
DAWID Malan's dynamic 76 from 48 balls helped England to an 89-run win at Southampton on Saturday (26) as the hosts claimed a 3-0 clean sweep of Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 series. Malan had managed just single-digit scores in England's two wins in Cardiff earlier this series and a…
THREE men have been found guilty of raping a vulnerable teenage girl in her home in Keighley. The convicts-Nazir Khan, Usman Sultan, and Kamran Hussain, all 28-year-old, will be sentenced on 10 September, reported the BBC. Jurors at Bradford Crown Court heard the teenager took to sleeping with a knife…
Running in groups helps tackle threats and gives confidence BRITISH Asian runners have revealed the racist and sexist behaviour they have suffered and how local clubs have helped them tackle safety fears. A recent survey found that 60 per cent of women said they had been harassed while out jogging…
Help children overcome Covid impact on education and mental health, say parents PARENTS have revealed the impact that the Covid crisis has had on their children’s education, and have criticised the government’s catch-up package for schools. Some believe the shift to remote learning has led to their child falling behind,…
ENGLAND have been left "chasing their tail" in the last few Tests due to an incorrect rotation policy which has robbed skipper Joe Root the chance to play his best XI, feels former captain and opener Alastair Cook. The new rest-and-rotate policy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic has…
YORKSHIRE county said it failed to resolve their dispute with former player Azeem Rafiq via judicial mediation and it will now go to a private Case Management Conference. A hearing was due to begin in private this week after Rafiq had filed a claim against his old club under the…
A British MP faces trial over accusations he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy in 2008, it was revealed on Friday after reporting restrictions on the case were partially lifted. Imran Ahmad Khan, 47, the Conservative MP for Wakefield, West Yorkshire, faces a single count of sexual assault against the individual,…
PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson's former race adviser, Samuel Kasumu, said he feels the government is stoking a “bitter culture war” that could lead to another “Jo Cox, Stephen Lawrence and Windrush scandal” - referring to the murder of a Labour MP, a black teenager and discrimination by the Home Office…
EDUCATION leader Hamid Patel, charity boss Javed Khan and period poverty campaigner Amika George are among prominent British Asians named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List unveiled this evening (11). Patel, chief executive officer of Star Academics in Blackburn, a multi-academy trust which operates 30 free schools and academies, is…
HAVING suffered a humiliating byelection defeat in Hartlepool last month, a Labour heartland - the pressure is now on the party and Sir Keir Starmer to deliver in Batley and Spen byelection. In a town where the south Asian community makes up most of the population, it is a close…
Exclusive The government, police and councils are failing thousands of south Asian children, some just a few months old, who have been sexually abused, an eleven month Eastern Eye investigation has uncovered. Using freedom of information requests, we asked 50 councils and 13 police forces how they collate figures for…
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak said he grew up watching Bollywood films and the epic Indian mythological series Mahabharat, with Baywatch and Blind Date also included as part of his weekend viewing at the time. “I watched Bollywood movies, but the big, defining TV thing for probably all Indian families was Mahabharat,”…
JEMIMAH RODRIGUES will play for Northern Superchargers in the inaugural edition of The Hundred, starting on July 21. The 20-year-old joins her T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, opener Shafali Verma and allrounder Deepti Sharma in the 100-ball tournament involving eight men's and women's teams. "I am really looking…
A BATLEY teacher, who was suspended after showing children an image of the Prophet in school, has been reinstated following an independent inquiry. Batley Multi Academy Trust, which runs the school in west Yorkshire, said the teaching staff who developed and delivered the lesson genuinely believed that using the image…
LABOUR party has announced that sister of murdered British lawmaker Jo Cox has been chosen to stand in an upcoming byelection in northern England. Kim Leadbeater, 44, will contest in Batley and Spen, the Yorkshire constituency where her late sister represented at the time of her death in 2016. When…
CONFUSION prevailed over the alleged “sneaky” announcement made by the government under which Britons are told not to travel in or out of eight Indian variant hotspots to stop the spread of the mutant strain. The eight Indian variant hotspots identified are Bedford, Blackburn and Darwen, Bolton, Burnley, Kirklees, Leicester,…
To encourage more people to get tested and self-isolate if required, the UK government is launching a $12 million scheme in nine areas in partnership with local authorities. People living in overcrowded houses who have to self-isolate will be offered alternative accommodation under the new scheme. Apart from self-isolation, the…
THE government will invest an additional £18 million in 12 Opportunity Areas across England including Blackpool, Derby and Oldham to level up outcomes in education and support recovery from the pandemic. The funding will be part of the Opportunity Area programme, which entered fifth year, and aims to help children and young people…
A NEW study has revealed that voting pattern of British Indians in 2021 has now been shifted towards the Conversative Party from Labour in 2019. The study by the 1928 Institute, a University of Oxford backed think-tank, also said that only 8 per cent of British Indians feel accurately represented…
THERE is some good news for women cricketers in England as 41 became first full-time professionals at the domestic level. One of them is allrounder Naomi Dattani, who told BBC: "I still haven't seen what my 100 per cent potential looks like. That's what is so exciting." "I've always been…
By Seema Malhotra MP THIS week saw a very mixed set of results in the elections, with positive news in different areas for the main parties. There was a strong draw towards the incumbent, whoever that may be. In London, we saw Labour’s Sadiq Khan elected with a historic…
TWENTY-NINE men have been charged against the sexual exploitation of a girl for seven years in West Yorkshire. The offences took place in Calderdale and Bradford between 2003 and 2010 when the victim was aged between 13 and 20 The men are due to appear at Bradford Magistrates' Court on…
THE sister of the murdered MP Jo Cox announced her intention to become Labour’s candidate for Batley and Spen a in the upcoming byelection. Kim Leadbeater, 44, on Wednesday (12) said that she hoped to become Labour’s candidate, and added that she had never seen herself as a 'political animal',…
By Richard Beecham TRACY BRABIN starts her first day in her new job as West Yorkshire Mayor today (10), following her thumping victory in the region’s first ever vote for a metro leader. Brabin insisted she would work co-operatively with the government but would “stand up” for the region’s interests…
BRITAIN’s third largest steel business may avoid collapse as owner Sanjeev Gupta is close to securing a £200 million loan from a private firm. Gupta, who is currently in Dubai, has agreed on financing terms for Liberty Steel UK with White Oak Global Advisers, which is also providing fresh funding…
By George Torr Ros Jones will be Doncaster’s elected mayor for a third term and secured a majority of over 10,000. It wasn’t as simple for Labour this time around as the count went to second preference votes. Jones received 48.3 per cent on the first ballot – any candidate…
AFTER accusing Yorkshire of institutionalised racism, the county cricket club launched an investigation. It has been months now, Azeem Rafiq has heard nothing. "I spoke out and I thought it would be the start of a healing process but it's been anything but that," the 30-year-old told Sportsmail. "It's been…
A MAN employed as a paramedic with Yorkshire ambulance service NHS Trust has been struck off from service following complaint that he engaged in sexual activity with a patient while on duty Mohammed Seedat was removed from service after the health and care professionals tribunal service (HCPTS) passed an order…
AN independent investigation into events at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire will start in April, the trust which runs the school has said. Protests were held at the school after a teacher showed pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on 22 March. Protesters said the cartoon had offended…
Revealed: Asian children under 10 ‘arrested’ for sex crimes By Barnie Choudhury & Abhijeet Gaur Police have arrested more than 30,500 south Asians for sex offences in the past decade. Shockingly, during that period they arrested 1,490 children, Eastern Eye can reveal. Two of these were under 10 and cannot…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed Cindy Butts as chair of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, reported the BBC. Formed in November 2020, the Commission will look to tackle inequalities and discrimination in all forms of cricket. "I am committed to ensuring that cricket has…
Jonny Bairstow believes England will ultimately gain from their players' involvement in the Indian Premier League even if it means they miss some international matches. The wicketkeeper-batsman, already retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, watched Thursday's IPL player auction from the England camp in Ahmedabad, the venue for next week's third Test…
A FORMER Labour peer repeatedly sexually abused two younger children in 1970s when he was a teenager, a court heard on Wednesday(17). Nazir Ahmed, 63, formerly Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, is on trial at Sheffield crown court where he denies two counts of attempting to rape a girl under 16,…
RDB: Mastered the northern desi sound at the turn of the century and continued to do so for well over 10 years. Growing up in the same community as these three brothers from Bradford, they were an inspiration and were the first artists within British-Asian music to market themselves as…
By George Willoughby AN INVESTIGATION by Eastern Eye can reveal that police stop and search an Asian person every 10 minutes in England and Wales. The latest Home Office figures show officers stopped more than 57,800 Asians in the year ending March 2020. That is nearly up 46…
THE UK on Friday(5) launched the first phase of the prime minister’s ten-year school rebuilding programme to level up opportunities for all. Under the project, 50 schools, concentrated in the North and Midlands, will benefit from new, modern, energy efficient buildings, a statement said. Projects will range from replacing or…
Former captain David Gower has warned England risk scuppering their chances of winning an "immense, box-office" Test series in India by sticking rigidly to a player-rotation policy. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler is heading home after the first Test at Chennai starting on Friday, while Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Sam Curran…
Exclusive By Barnie Choudhury MPs and experts have called for an overhaul of the Home Office’s strategy to tackle drug-related crime after an Eastern Eye investigation revealed a steep increase in the number of south Asians being arrested for drug offences. After an 11-month investigation, we can disclose that in…
Captain Tom Moore, who won British hearts with a Covid-19 fund raising drive last year, on Tuesday (2) died from the disease aged 100, his family said. He died on Tuesday morning at Bedford Hospital. He had tested positive for Covid-19 on January 22 and was fighting pneumonia. The family…
By Sarwar Alam & Pramod Thomas With being in lockdown, on and off for almost a year, the one thing everyone is dreaming of is being able to go on adventures again. That feeling of your heart thumping faster, the adrenaline pulsing through your veins, the instant impact of a…
A NEW study published on Thursday(28) revealed that black and Asian ethnicity people in England from large, deprived neighbourhoods were more likely to test positive for Covid-19 compared to smaller, less deprived neighbourhoods and other ethnicities. It added that the coronavirus infections remained very high in England in the first…
A LITERARY ROUND-UP OF WORK FROM GREAT BRITISH AUTHORS AND THE INTERNATIONAL NOVEL EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT GLOBALLY by MITA MISTRY READING has rocketed in popularity during lockdown and there have been plenty of great books by talented writers to choose from in 2020. Fabulous fiction has been providing an…
INDIAN-ORIGIN British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta owned Liberty Steel has committed around £60 million as part of the UK’s 'Build Back Better' plan at its production hub in England. The plan aims at a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic crisis in the country. The investment plans to remove production bottlenecks…
AROUND 500 workers at the Optare bus manufacturing plant in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire, are striking for pay increase. Optare is a subsidiary of the Indian vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland, run by the Hinduja group. The workers said that there was no pay hike at the plant for the last two years.…
ENGLAND and Yorkshire cricketer Adil Rashid, his uncle and community ambassador Javed Bashir have received honorary doctorates from the University of Bradford. Rashid was born in Bradford in 1988 and is only the third Yorkshire-born Asian to play first-team cricket for Yorkshire and the first of Pakistani-origin. He is being recognised…
A STUDY has found out that some of England’s most ethnically diverse areas have suffered up to four times more coronavirus infections than mostly white neighbourhoods. There has been huge disparities in the effect of Covid-19 on residents living alongside one another, with densely packed black, Asian and minority ethnic…
FORMER Pakistani cricketer Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan has said that he agreed with 'each and every statement of Azeem Rafiq' and that 'many Asian players were affected' by Yorkshire County's 'bad attitude'. Rafiq accused Yorkshire of institutional racism and gave evidence last month alleging he had been subjected to racist language. He…
US president-elect Joe Biden has named Indian-American Dr Vivek Murthy as the next surgeon general, reports said. UK-born Dr Murthy held that post during the Obama administration, but had to leave abruptly during the Trump administration. Dr Murthy,43, is one of the three co-chairs of the Biden's Covid-19 advisory board.…
By NADEEM BADSHAH GPs will see patients and also administer Covid vaccine LEADING GPs have called for support to help them deal with “workload pressures” during the upcoming rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. Family doctors are set for a hectic few months with a Covid-19 jab expected to be unveiled…
By Amit Roy LORD MICHAEL ASHCROFT, a former treasurer and deputy chairman of the Conservative party, has revealed why he decided to write the first-ever biography of the chancellor, Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak. “At the beginning of the year, hardly anyone outside Westminster and Yorkshire had…
Moeen Ali has insisted "hand on heart" he has not experienced any racism during his time in English cricket following a welter of allegations. The England and Wales Cricket Board have been accused of "institutional racism" by former international umpire John Holder and aspiring official Ismail Dawood, who both feel…