Contending that large volumes of liquid cash are a big source of corruption and black money Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (2) appealed to the people to “lead the change” towards cashless transactions to lay the strong foundations of an India where there is no place for such malaise.
“In 21st century India, there is no place for corruption. Corruption slows down growth and takes a toll on the dreams of the poor, neo-middle class and middle class,” said Modi.
“Large volumes of liquid cash are a big source of corruption and black money,” he said while referring to his “historic” decision on November 8 to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes with an aim of ending corruption and black money.
Asserting that in 21st century India, there is no place for corruption, Modi said, “Corruption slows down growth and takes a toll on the dreams of the poor, neo-middle class and middle class.”
In this context, he referred to his pitch for cashless transactions. “I urge all of you, particularly my young friends to lead the change and inspire others to turn towards cashless transactions. This will set the strong foundations of an India where there is no place for corruption and black money,” the Prime Minister said.
“Today we live in an era of mobile banking and mobile wallets. Ordering food, buying and selling furniture, ordering a taxi…all of this and lot more is possible through your mobiles. Technology has brought speed and convenience in our lives,” he added.
Modi said the November 8 decision offered “a unique opportunity” for small traders, who have a central role in the economic transformation of India.
“Today, our trading community has a historic chance to upgrade themselves and embrace more technology, which will bring greater prosperity,” he said.
He said when he made the announcement, he was aware that the people of India “will face inconvenience but I had requested the people of India to bear this short term pain for long term gain. I am happy to see that the people of India are bearing temporary difficulties for the long term gain of the nation.”
The Prime Minister said over the last few days, he had opportunities to travel to rural as well as urban areas in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and Punjab. “Wherever I went, I asked the people - should corruption and black money be
eliminated? Should the poor, neo-middle and middle class get their due? The answer I got everywhere was a resounding yes!”
PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer said the government was taking its first steps along the path to “renew Britain” as he called for supporters to join forces to “fight for the soul of our country” at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Tuesday (30)
Amid rising support for Reform UK, Starmer criticised its leader Nigel Farage of being only interested in fomenting division and called on voters to be patient.
It has been a tough first year for the prime minister since Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 July general election.
At the conference on Tuesday, Starmer defended a multicultural Britain and committed to raising living standards and putting money in the pockets of voters.
He said, “We can all see our country faces a choice, a defining choice. Britain stands at a fork in the road. We can choose decency, or we can choose division. Renewal or decline.
“No matter how many people tell me it can’t be done, I believe Britain can come together.”
The prime minister warned that the “politics of grievance” is the biggest threat facing Britain, greater than any global danger.
Starmer said there are “limits to what the state can do on its own” and stressed that renewal would only be possible if “everyone is in it together”.
According to him, the challenges ahead would be as big as “rebuilding Britain after the war”.
He argued the path to renewal would be “long” and “difficult”, but said Labour could deliver a “fairer country” where people felt “seen” and “valued”.
“These are decisions that are not cost free or easy,” Starmer said, noting that some choices could create divisions within Labour. But he insisted they were necessary to build a “new and fairer” Britain.
build a “new and fairer” Britain. He stressed renewal would require patience and unity, adding: “We cannot shy away from the hard road. But if we take it together, we can shape a country where opportunity is shared and no one is left behind.”
Starmer appealed directly to working class voters, calling on Labour’s traditional supporters to reject the “snake oil” peddled by the Reform party and back his vision of “a Britain built for all”.
There have been anti-immigrant protests in London in recent weeks as well as controversy over displaying the England flag. Starmer asserted on Tuesday that Labour was a patriotic party, as officials handed out flags to wave during several standing ovations.
“For me, patriotism is about love and pride, about serving an interest that is more than yourself, a common good,” the prime minister said.
“And the question I ask seriously of Farage and Reform is, do they love our country ... or do they just want to stir the pot of division, because that’s worked in their interests.”
He reiterated that the government will tackle the high rates of illegal immigration into the country, but said Labour will fight racism and those who “say or imply the people cannot be English or British because of the colour of their skin”.
tank British Future, said Starmer’s speech “set out a balanced vision: defending the principle of asylum as well as secure borders, challenging racism while addressing those concerns that are legitimate.
lance, Starmer is able to speak from his own sense of patriotism, bridging values and audiences in a way that this government has often struggled to do this summer and in its white paper.”
Labour, beset by missteps and U-turns since it returned to power in July last year for the first time since 2010, lags 12 points behind Reform, according to the Ipsos poll published last weekend.
The survey found Starmer had the lowest net approval rating for a prime minister since Ipsos started asking the question in 1977. It found that he was even more unpopular than former prime minister Rishi Sunak just before he led the Conservatives to their worst defeat in history at the 2024 vote. The next election is not expected until 2029, but speculation is growing that a bad result in local elections next May, including in Scotland and Wales, could trigger a leadership challenge.
Responding to Starmer’s speech, Farage said the accusations of racism had put Reform supporters in danger.
“To accuse countless millions of being racist is a very, very low blow,” he said. “It directly threatens the safety of our elected officials and our campaigners.”
Starmer faces some difficult decisions. After saying that last year’s tax rises - the biggest in more than 30 years – were a one-off in terms of scale, the government might be forced to again raise tens of billions of pounds in taxes to cover a forecast fiscal shortfall.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her speech on Monday (29) at conference to warn those in the party who want her to ease her fiscal rules to spend more on the nation’s ailing economy that they were “wrong, dangerously so”, keeping the door open to tax rises.
Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch MP said, “Keir Starmer has all but confirmed that tax rises are coming. The prime minister could have used his speech to own up to the mistakes he’s made on the economy, admit the country was living beyond its means, and set out a plan to avoid further punishing tax hikes this autumn, but he did not.
“In Labour’s first year, inflation has doubled, economic growth has halved and unemployment has risen almost every single month. Everyone in Britain will now pay the price for Starmer’s weakness with a smaller economy and higher taxes.
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Britain's new Archbishop of Canterbury-designate, Sarah Mullally, poses for a photograph in The Corona Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral, south east England on October 3, 2025. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
SARAH MULLALLY was on Friday (3) named the new Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the Church of England -- which can trace its origins to the Roman empire -- and the global Anglican community.
Her nomination by a committee tasked with finding a successor to Justin Welby, who stepped down earlier this year over an abuse scandal, has been approved by King Charles III, the UK government said.
The Church of England is the mother church of global Anglicanism. Mullally, 63, becomes the church's 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first having been appointed in the late sixth century.
In a statement, the former nurse acknowledged the "huge responsibility" of her new role, but said she feels a sense of "peace and trust in God to carry me".
Prime minister Keir Starmer welcomed the appointment of the first woman to hold the role.
"The Church of England is of profound importance to this country. Its churches, cathedrals, schools, and charities are part of the fabric of our communities," he said in a statement, adding the new archbishop would "play a key role in our national life."
Welby resigned after a report found the Church of England had covered up a 1970s serial abuse case and that he failed to report the abuses to authorities when they came to his attention in 2013.
According to the independent probe, John Smyth, a lawyer who organised evangelical summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for the abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men.
Smyth died aged 75 in South Africa in 2018 while under investigation by British police. He never faced any criminal charges.
The scandal shocked the UK and prompted widespread calls for reform in the Church of England, whose supreme governor is the British monarch.
The Church of England has some 20 million baptised members, but the number of regular churchgoers is estimated at just under one million, according to figures for 2022.
Mullally was appointed by King Charles following a lengthy selection process under a former head of the MI5 domestic security service.
The Anglican Church became the established state church following King Henry VIII's split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s.
Mullally was ordained a priest in 2002 and became the first female Bishop of London in 2018.
The church only began allowing women bishops in 2014 after years of bitter factional wrangling.
Some churches around the Anglican world -- which collectively boasts some 85 million followers in more than 165 countries -- had long permitted women bishops, with the first appointed in the US in 1989.
More than 40 of England's 108 bishops are now women, with a similar proportion among priests, after women clergy were first permitted in the early 1990s.
(AFP)
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Singh had earlier said that five Pakistani fighter jets and another military aircraft were shot down in the conflict. (Photo: Getty Images)
India says five Pakistani F-16 and JF-17 jets were downed in May fighting
Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh specifies aircraft classes for first time
Pakistan claims it downed six Indian jets, including a Rafale
Conflict followed deadly attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir
INDIA downed five Pakistani fighter jets of the F-16 and JF-17 class during fighting in May, Indian Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh said on Friday.
Singh had earlier said that five Pakistani fighter jets and another military aircraft were shot down in the conflict. This is the first time India has specified the class of jets.
"As far as air defence part is concerned, we have evidence of one long range strike... along with that five fighters, high-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class, our system tells us," Singh told reporters at the Indian Air Force annual day press conference.
The F-16 is US-made while the JF-17 is of Chinese origin.
Pakistan’s military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Islamabad has said it shot down six Indian fighter jets during the fighting, including the French-made Rafale. India has acknowledged some losses but denied losing six aircraft.
On Friday, Singh declined to respond to questions on Pakistan’s claim.
The May conflict, the worst between the two countries in decades, followed an attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir. New Delhi said Pakistan backed the attack.
Fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones were used during the four-day fighting, which killed dozens of people before both sides agreed to a ceasefire.
Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, which killed 26 men and was the deadliest assault on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
India said in July that three “terrorists” involved in the attack were killed and that there was “lot of proof” they were Pakistanis.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry questioned India’s version of events, calling it “replete with fabrications.”
Relations between the two neighbours, who have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, have since worsened. India has suspended a water-sharing treaty, which Pakistan described as an “act of war.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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Members of a forensic team work at the scene outside the Manchester synagogue after the attack. (Photo: Reuters)
Police name victims as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66
Attacker Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, shot dead by police within minutes
Three others remain in hospital with serious injuries
Prime minister Keir Starmer chairs emergency meeting, vows stronger security
POLICE have named the two men killed in the attack on a synagogue in Manchester as 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz.
Three others remain in hospital with serious injuries after a man drove a car into people before stabbing them outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Thursday morning, as worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Police confirmed the attacker, who was shot dead at the scene within minutes, was 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said three other people – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
GMP chief constable Stephen Watson said: "Two members of our Jewish community have sadly died." He added that officers shot dead the attacker within seven minutes of the first emergency call. "The driver of the car was seen then to attack people with a knife" while wearing a vest that appeared to be an explosive device, but police later confirmed it was not functional.
A witness told BBC Radio he saw police shooting a man after a car crash. "They give him a couple of warnings, he didn't listen until they opened fire," the witness said. Police praised the swift action of people who reported the attack, saying it prevented the suspect from entering the synagogue.
Aryeh Ehrentreu, 56, who was praying in a nearby synagogue, said: "Then the security asked us to close all our doors in the synagogue, so we knew the attack took place." He called the incident "extremely worrying."
A neighbour of Al-Shamie told the BBC: "To have somebody like that living on my estate, it's scary."
Prime minister Keir Starmer left a European summit in Denmark early to chair an emergency response meeting in London. He later addressed the Jewish community in a televised statement, saying: "I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve." He added: "We must be clear it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again."
UK’s Chief Rabbi said the attack was the "tragic result" of an "unrelenting wave of Jew hatred". King Charles III and Queen Camilla said they were "deeply shocked and saddened".
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "barbaric attack", adding: "Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK." Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar accused UK authorities of failing to curb "rampant antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement".
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "Houses of worship are sacred places where people can go to find peace. Targeting a synagogue on Yom Kippur is particularly heinous."
Manchester is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK, with more than 28,000 people recorded in 2021, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
The city has previously witnessed deadly terror attacks, including in 2017 when a suicide bomber killed 22 people at Manchester Arena.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Muslim worshippers are seen in Burgess Park during the Eid al-Fitr morning prayer to mark the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, on March 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images)
REPORTS of anti-Muslim hate have risen sharply in the UK over the summer, with mosques targeted and individuals abused on the streets, new figures from a charity revealed last week.
Tell MAMA, which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said last Friday (26) it recorded 913 cases between June and September this year. Seventeen mosques and Islamic institutions were also targeted in attacks that, the charity warned, spread fear across communities who use them.
Victims frequently reported being told to “leave the UK” or “go back to your country” – language that Tell MAMA linked to political debates about migration. The group said such abuse echoed the hostility directed at minorities after the Brexit vote and was fuelling mistrust and division.
More than 100,000 people attended the event in Parliament Square, while about 5,000 joined a counter-demonstration. In the seven days after the rally, Tell MAMA received 157 reports of anti-Muslim hate.
Iman Atta, director of the charity, described the figures as “shocking” and warned that the full year’s total could exceed 6,000 cases, a record high. “We are looking at a serious problem of anti-Muslim hatred that is pervasive in parts of our country,” Atta said. “This comes at a time when real political leadership on this matter is missing.”
Tell MAMA has been documenting anti-Muslim hate for more than a decade and said it had seen consistent year-on-year rises. It accused ministers of failing to act decisively, arguing that long-running debates over definitions of Islamophobia had distracted from the urgent need to enforce existing laws.
Earlier this year, the charity announced it would no longer apply for government funding after a dispute over the handling of a new scheme. In July, the government said money from its Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund would instead go to the British Muslim Trust, which brings together the Aziz Foundation and Randeree Charitable Trust.
The charity said that while community groups can play a role, the scale of the problem requires stronger national leadership.
“Attacks on mosques and faith institutions send a much wider message to those who worship there – that they are not safe,” Atta added. “This is toxic to community relations and to social cohesion going forward.”