Pramod Thomas is a senior correspondent with Asian Media Group since 2020, bringing 19 years of journalism experience across business, politics, sports, communities, and international relations. His career spans both traditional and digital media platforms, with eight years specifically focused on digital journalism. This blend of experience positions him well to navigate the evolving media landscape and deliver content across various formats. He has worked with national and international media organisations, giving him a broad perspective on global news trends and reporting standards.
Leicestershire Police have arrested four men in connection with India v Pakistan cricket violence in Leicester.
A 21-year-old man was arrested on Friday (9) on suspicion of violent disorder in connection with the incident. He currently remains in custody, a statement said.
On Thursday (8), three men – aged 25, 29 and 30 – were arrested by the police. They have since been released on bail pending investigations. Police have not released identities of these men.
"These arrests followed an arrest on Thursday morning, when a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. He has also been released on police bail pending further enquiries," Police said.
"A 28-year-old man was arrested on 28 August on suspicion of assault and assaulting an emergency worker in connection with the incident. He has since been released under investigation."
Now, police appeal to speak to a fifth man in relation to the incident.
Detectives are investigating disorder which followed a cricket match between India and Pakistan in the area of Melton Road and Shaftesbury Avenue, in Belgrave, Leicester, on August 28.
Police were called to the area following a report of crowds in the locality who were celebrating after the conclusion of the India-Pakistan cricket match.
According to reports, racist chanting, was heard, while a police officer was assaulted during the violence which followed.
People can contact Leicestershire Police on 101, quoting incident 165 of 8 September, or online at www.leics.police.uk. Information can also be passed to officers anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
People click photographs beside an unmanned combat aerial vehicle on display at a military exhibition during Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations in Islamabad on August 14, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the United States wanted to explore areas of economic cooperation with Pakistan, including critical minerals and hydrocarbons, as the country marked its independence day on Thursday (14).
Rubio’s greetings came after Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s second visit to the US last week, where he met political and military leaders.
“We look forward to exploring new areas of economic cooperation, including critical minerals and hydrocarbons, and fostering dynamic business partnerships, which will promote a prosperous future for Americans and Pakistanis,” Rubio said in a statement.
“The United States deeply appreciates Pakistan’s engagement on counter-terrorism and trade,” he added.
Pakistan and the US have renewed their ties after several years of strained relations. Both countries resolved their differences over levies, and the US announced 19 per cent tariffs on Pakistani goods.
This week, the two sides held a counterterrorism dialogue in Islamabad and agreed to deepen cooperation against groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), ISIS-Khorasan, and the Taliban.
In Islamabad, president Asif Ali Zardari and prime minister Shehbaz Sharif called for unity as Pakistan celebrated its 79th Independence Day. Sharif raised the national flag at the Pakistan Monument, and special prayers were offered in mosques for peace, solidarity, and prosperity.
Buildings in Islamabad and other cities were decorated with national flags and lights.
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Fake blood stains a giant white fabric backdrop attached to the offshore platform. (Photo: Andrew McConnell / Greenpeace)
BRITISH Asian artist Anish Kapoor said his work, Butchered, attempts to "bring home the horrors” of fossil fuels to the planet after Greenpeace activists installed it at a gas rig in the North Sea.
Seven climbers boarded and scaled Shell's gas platform Skiff, 45 nautical miles off the Norfolk coast on Wednesday (13).
After securing a giant canvas to one side of the structure, the activists hoisted a high-pressure hose on top of the canvas at a height of 16 metres above the sea. They then pumped 1,000 litres of blood-red liquid that gushed into the fabric, creating a vast crimson stain.
“I wanted to make something visual, physical, visceral to reflect the butchery they are inflicting on our planet: a visual scream that gives voice to the calamitous cost of the climate crisis, often on the most marginalised communities across the globe,” Kapoor said.
Designed specifically for this artwork, the blood-like solution is composed of seawater, beetroot powder and non-toxic, food-based pond dye. Greenpeace claimed this is the world's first artwork at an active offshore gas site.
Kapoor, 71, said, “The carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels is invisible, but we are witnessing the devastation that its extraction wreaks on our world.”
He added, “Butchered attempts to bring home the horror, giving voice to the moral and physical destruction caused by ruthless profiteers. [It] is also a tribute to the heroic work done in opposition to this destruction, and to the tireless activists who choose to disrupt, disagree and disobey.”
Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said, “Extreme weather is hitting close to home, but the extraction of fossil fuels driving the climate crisis is often out of sight.
“This artwork is a visual gut-punch that makes visible the suffering and damage caused by the oil and gas industry right at the place where the harm begins. While the fossil fuel sector makes billions from climate destruction, ordinary people are left to pick up the rising costs of flood damage, droughts and wildfires.
“Governments need to start holding oil giants like Shell to account and make them pay for the enormous damage they are causing.”
Shell UK said safety at sea was its priority and expressed concern over Greenpeace entering a "restricted safety zone" around the platform without permission, which it said is established under UK law to protect people and prevent collisions.
“Their actions were extremely dangerous, involved illegally trespassing and put their own and others' lives at risk. We respect the right of individuals and organisations to protest, but it must be done safely and lawfully,” a spokesperson said.
THERE are more speakers of Malayalam and Tamil living outside India than within the country but outside their respective home states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, according to a study by an Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) faculty member.
Based on Census 2011 data, the research shows that Punjabi speakers are the most dispersed linguistic group in the country, while the Bengali diaspora – both internal and international – is the least dispersed. The findings are part of a paper by IIMA’s Chinmay Tumbe, recently published in the journal Sociological Bulletin.
The study mapped India’s internal and international diasporas along linguistic lines. In 2010, more than 60 million people belonged to an internal diaspora – almost three times the size of the international diaspora. Internal diaspora refers to those living in India outside their core language state, while international diaspora covers those living abroad.
“The internal diaspora is larger than the international counterpart for all major linguistic groups except Malayalam and Tamil. A third of the internal diaspora is concentrated in the ten largest Indian cities,” the study noted.
Of 4.6 million Malayali diaspora members, around three million live outside India and 1.6 million in other Indian states – making the overseas community about 1.8 times larger. The Tamil diaspora totals over 8.4 million, with 4.5 million abroad and 3.9 million within India, making the international group about 1.2 times larger.
In all other major language groups, the internal diaspora is bigger. Hindi speakers form the largest diaspora overall, at about 40 million, followed by Tamil. Punjabi speakers are the most widely dispersed, with 12.4 per cent living outside Punjab or abroad. Malayalam follows at 12.2 per cent, then Tamil at 11.5 per cent, Telugu (9.7 per cent), Gujarati (8.7 per cent), Hindi (7.5 per cent), Marathi (6.6 per cent), Kannada (4.6 per cent) and Bengali (3.7 per cent).
The Bengali diaspora was the least dispersed in 2010. Out of 97 million Bengali speakers, only 3.6 million – 3.7 per cent – lived outside West Bengal or abroad. The Telugu diaspora, linked with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, totals eight million, seven million of whom are internal migrants. As a ratio, Telugu’s international diaspora is among the smallest.
Nearly one million Tamil internal migrants live in India’s nine largest cities, with Mumbai having the biggest share. In Madhya Pradesh in 2001, there were about 10,000 Tamil speakers in Bhopal, 6,000 in Jabalpur and 3,000 in Indore.
According to the study, Tamil migration abroad, particularly to Southeast Asia and southern Africa, began in the 19th century, while movement to north India became more common in the 20th century.
ASIAN patients in the UK face longer waits for kidney transplants due to a shortage of donors from the same ethnic background, new figures revealed.
Around 1,400 people of Asian heritage are currently on the organ transplant waiting list, the highest figure in a decade, data from NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)showed.
Of these, more than 1,200 are waiting for a kidney. People from south Asian backgrounds are at greater risk of developing kidney failure than other ethnic groups, according to a statement.
Because the best organ matches usually come from donors with the same ethnic background, the health authority is calling on more people from Asian communities to register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register and talk to their families about it. The appeal comes during the ongoing South Asian Heritage Month, which runs from July 18 to August 17.
Anthony Clarkson, NHSBT’s director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, said there had been a positive increase in registrations from Asian people in recent years, but more are needed. “Of those that reported their ethnicity, just over 8,000 Asian people registered their decision to donate in 2023/24. However, we need this trend to continue to help save more lives,” he said.
Four out of five organs transplanted into Asian heritage patients currently come from white donors. While these can still be successful, the wait for a well-matched organ is usually longer without donors from the same background.
Living kidney donation is another option. A family member, friend or even an unrelated volunteer can give one of their kidneys to someone in need. People can live a healthy life with one kidney, and transplants from living donors generally have better long-term outcomes.
NHSBT informed that patient survival after 10 years is around 90 per cent with a kidney from a living donor, compared to 75 per cent for a kidney from a deceased donor.
Kidney donor Azeem Ahmad, 39, from Newcastle, donated to a patient he did not know in 2019. “I knew there was a massive underrepresentation of Asian transplant donors, so when I heard about an appeal for kidney donors it triggered something in me to go for it,” he said. “I would never do anything that would put me at risk and the more I researched, the more sense it made. It was a logical decision to save someone’s life.”
He said it was important for families to talk openly about organ donation. “I know my parents’ wishes about organ donation when they pass away, and they know mine, and that’s comforting to me.”
Jasvir Singh CBE, co-founder of the South Asian Heritage Trust, said: “Far too many lives are lost waiting for a suitable match, and that can change if more people come forward. By becoming organ donors, we create new routes to hope, healing and life for others.”
NHSBT is encouraging anyone planning to donate to register their decision and make sure their families are aware of it.
THE UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has reported a rise in travel-related Chikungunya cases in England during the first half of 2025. Seventy-three cases were confirmed between January and June, compared with 27 in the same period last year.
This is the highest number for this time of year on record. Most cases involved travel to Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius, linked to outbreaks in the Indian Ocean region, a statement said on Thursday (14). All cases were reported in England, with most in London.
Chikungunya is spread by two species of mosquito that are not present in the UK. Symptoms include sudden fever, joint pain, muscle aches, headaches, sensitivity to light and skin rashes.
While most people recover within one to two weeks, joint pain can persist for months or even years, and in rare cases the illness can be fatal, especially for infants, older people and those with existing health problems.
Two vaccines have been approved for use in the UK - IXCHIQ for people aged 18 to 59 and Vimkunya for those aged 12 and over. Both are available privately through travel clinics after assessment.
Dr Philip Veal, consultant in Public Health at UKHSA, said Chikungunya can cause severe joint and muscle pain and that while it is rarely fatal, symptoms may persist for months.
He urged travellers to take precautions against mosquito bites, such as using insect repellent, covering skin and sleeping under treated nets. He added that a vaccine may also be considered for those travelling to higher-risk areas.
The latest UKHSA Travel-associated Infections Report also confirmed the first three UK cases of Oropouche virus, all in travellers returning from Brazil.
The illness is spread mainly by midge bites, with the type responsible not found in the UK. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, joint pain and muscle aches. Pregnant travellers are advised to take particular care following concerns about infection during pregnancy.
The report also noted an increase in cholera cases to eight, up from one last year, mostly linked to travel to India and Ethiopia.
Dengue cases fell to 161 from 490 during the same period in 2024, and Zika cases decreased to four from nine last year. There have also been cases of meningococcal serogroup W disease linked to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah, with health officials advising vaccination before travel.
UKHSA also advised travellers to consult the Travel Health Pro website at least four to six weeks before departure for up-to-date health advice.