Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

King Charles to inaugurate new gurdwara in eastern England

“We are delighted that King Charles will come to officially open our new gurdwara and recognise GNG's amazing work supporting local communities – Langar service, Soup Kitchen, COVID Vaccine Clinics.�

King Charles to inaugurate new gurdwara in eastern England

London, Nov 30 (PTI) Britain’s King Charles III is expected to officially open a new gurdwara and learn about its work within the local community during his first tour as monarch of the eastern England region of Bedfordshire.

According to local media reports, the 74-year-old will inaugurate the Guru Nanak Gurdwara (GNG) Luton next Tuesday, speak to local volunteers about its langar service, an associated soup kitchen for the needy and COVID vaccine clinics during the pandemic.


At the gurdwara, he will be greeted by Indian-origin Professor Gurch Randhawa, member of the local Sikh congregation and Director of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire.

“We are delighted that King Charles will come to officially open our new gurdwara and recognise GNG’s amazing work supporting local communities – Langar service, Soup Kitchen, COVID Vaccine Clinics,” the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Luton said in a Twitter statement.

The building work for the new gurdwara commenced in 2020 and is described as an impressive 37 by 32 metres wide, three storeys high construction, built with the support of local donations.

“The Gurdwara Sahib is an amalgamation of Sangat from Luton and the surrounding villages,” it notes.

The gurdwara langar serves around 500 meals a day and the local community also runs the Luton Sikh Soup Kitchen every Sunday outside the Town Hall, serving around 150 meals.

After meeting volunteers who run the Sikh School, King Charles will interact with children who are learning Punjabi and traditional music. He will then also meet local doctors who ran the Vaisakhi Vaccine Clinic during the pandemic, ‘Luton Today’ reported.

On his first visit as King to the area, he will also tour the Luton Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART) Parkway Station to find out about the new cable-drawn mass passenger transit system connecting Luton Airport Parkway railway station to London Luton Airport. He is then expected to take the short ride on the DART network.

The King is expected to unveil new plaques during the course of his visit, which will commence at the Luton Town Hall.

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less