Where next?

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 Mushtaq Ilyas writes his views on the recent riots and makes comments to possible solutions.
 Oldham, Burnley and now Bradford. Where next I ask myself. Well frankly the answer is wherever we want it - yes that's right anywhere we want it!
 I've seen this all before. In the 80s the Toxteth riots followed by riots in other areas with high black population. The only difference now is that now it's the areas with high Asian population.

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  I'll tell you what, these scenes are just perfect for the white media.   Scenes of Asian youth attacking the police with petrol bombs, stolen cars, bricks, bottles and whatever they can get their hands on. Scenes of gangs of Asians youths chasing a white man through town centre and beating him senseless. Yes I can see the majority of the white people showing sympathy for Asians after watching such scenes. It's so foolish its frightening!! The white extremists must be watching these scenes with glee because they know better than anyone that this can only help their cause and thus increase their share of the vote.
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  Incredibly we as a community are still pointing fingers at the BNP, the NF and the police for the way our youth have reacted. As always we are still arrogantly pointing fingers everywhere apart from ourselves - that's Asian tradition isn't it.
  I accept that the BNP and NF are responsible for causing racial tensions and the riot police do go in heavy handed sometimes. In my life I have experienced blatant racial discrimination on three separate occasions and on all three occasions it was at the hands of the riot police so I know they are not saints. However it does not give me the right to go and beat up innocent white people or burn their properties and loot their businesses.
 Do the Asian youth realise that the majority of damage they cause is in the areas they live in? They riot in their own neighbourhood. I haven't seen any white people rioting in Manningham (Bradford), Stoneyholme (Burnley) or Glodwick (Oldham) -  just Asians.
 I think that the white extremists have figured it out. Go into an Asian area beat up an Asian kid, get out of the area, sit back and enjoy the ensuing riots.
 The average white non-racist is terrified and intimidated by what he sees and at the elections he will vote for the BNP. The BNP them come into power, close down Asian organisations and mosques, refuse planning permissions for Islamic schools, Asian centres and so on. On top of all of this if the riots carry on I wouldn't be surprised if water cannons are introduced and then we'll all complain of the police being even heavier handed.
  Now lets look at solutions. Firstly as soon as the media arrives, we have number of community leaders all saying the similar kind of thing. Who are these guys and who elected them community leaders?
  Most often can’t even speak proper English and these guys do not have the respect of the Asian youth - not that they deserve it. You have people who consider themselves community leaders who couldn't even argue a point in their mother language never mind English, which for most would be a second language. They go on TV and say things like 'well it has been waiting to happen'. Well if these guys were that clever that they knew it was going to happen why on earth didn't they do something about. 
 We need to educate our white decision-makers that 'community leader' is a pre historic term. What we need is community representatives and Asian youth workers who are actually in touch with the younger generation and their needs. We need people who understand the frustrations of the Asian youths through knowledge not community leaders making assumptions as to what the problems are. 
 We also know that every time events such as the riots take place, the government will throw money into the affected areas through grants and initiatives to build bridges the government says. But £5 000 spent on a kabbadi match isn't my idea of building bridges if you know what I mean. So lets ask the right people the right questions in the hope of getting some right answers. We second and third generation British Asians do not need community leaders. We can argue our points far better than they can and our communication skills are superior. What we need to do is to stand up and make our voices heard.
 Our frustration comes from a lack of communication with the authorities. That is because the authorities communicate with the wrong people as these are the only people available to them.
 I think that the riots are a wake up call for everyone especially the youth. We have to get involved with what is happening in our communities. We have to open up communication channels and we have to shape up the future for our communities.
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Rioting in our own backyards, assaulting innocent white people, burning businesses and fighting the police is not going to help our cause. We can’t blame the BNP and NF for all our problems and frustration - they are just doing what they need to do to get some media attention and we're playing right into their hands.
 Finally, we all know our youth is a little 'jazbati' but at this moment we all need to calm down and use our heads to combat this problem and help create a truly multi cultural society. 
  Remember that although racism  exists in this country the majority of white people are very happy to live in a multi cultural society and welcome us Asians with open arms. These are the very people that our youth are intimidating by their actions. So come on guys think about it!!

Eight men wanted over
cricket chaos

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 Detectives have now examined television footage from after the match on June 23 and are keen to trace eight men in connection with public order offences. Photographs of eight men thought to have been involved in scenes which marred the final of the triangular one-day cricket series at Lord’s have been issued.
 During a presentation ceremony at the end of the NatWest Series final between Australia and Pakistan last month missiles were thrown from the crowd at Australian batsman Michael Bevan who was hit in the face with a beer can which was thrown on to the players’ balcony.
The ceremony had to be temporarily abandoned and moved to the relative safety of the Long Room in the pavilion.
 ‘Police are keen to speak to anyone who may know these men or who has any information about the incident itself.’
 The trouble at Lord’s was the last in a series of crowd-related incidents which marred the series.



 In an earlier match a steward was injured during a pitch invasion by hundreds of Pakistan fans. Stephen Speight, from Bradford, suffered two broken ribs and a damaged spleen as supporters swarmed onto the pitch at Headingley during a match against England.
 Those disturbances came just 10 days after the England and Wales Cricket Board had stepped up security following a pitch invasion during the match between Pakistan and England at Edgbaston. The chaotic scenes during the series prompted Australian captain Steve Waugh to warn: ‘Someone will get killed’.
 During one match against Pakistan at Trent Bridge Waugh led his team off the pitch when fireworks were let off in the crowd.
 A new joint review group has been set up to examine crowd control at major matches in England. It will look at crowd management, legislation and ground regulations and will report to ministers.

Two heroin smugglers jailed 18 years each

  Two men who attempted to smuggle £4 million worth of heroin hidden in individual almond nuts into Britain were jailed for 18 years each.
  Muhammad Ameen, 27, and Muhammad Iqbal, 36, concealed tiny bags of the drug in thousands of nuts in a freight container that had been shipped from Sri Lanka.
32 kilos of high purity heroin was discovered in the consignment after a customs officer at Southampton Docks noticed that one of the almonds looked odd.
  The men, both of Plashet Grove, Upton Park, east London, were arrested in October last year when undercover customs officials delivered a consignment of replacement nuts to a different address nearby.
A search of the house in Woodhouse Grove, East Ham, revealed a further 800 grammes of heroin with a street value of more than £70,000.
  A third man charged in connection with the haul, Sartbal Jhu, 38, also of Plashet Grove, Upton Park, was acquitted.

Schoolboy develops train protection system

 The day that Transport Secretary Stephen Byers called for an improvement in rail safety, it seems a 16-year-old schoolboy could have an answer to one of the industry's problems.
 Teenager Armaj Ali has developed a sophisticated computer system aimed at averting head-on crashes through the use of satellite technology.
 Armaj designed the system after watching a television programme on the Paddington rail crash. When two trains fitted with a Global Positioning System are on a collision course, a computer system is alerted via a satellite and receivers are activated in both trains, stopping them instantly. The judging panel felt his invention had great potential for answering a real need in the commercial world.

Conspiracy to murder

 Five men are due to appear before Preston Crown Court in August charged with conspiracy to murder. Mohammed Yaqub, 49, of Halifax faces charges for events alleged to have followed his daugthers marriage to a 22-year old man from Halifax. Mahboob Hussain, 46, of Snow Street, Blackburn, Imran Khalil, 26, of Leamington Avenue, Mohammed Hanif, 34, of Richmond Street, Nazar Hussain, 48 of Pear street, all from Halifax face identical charges for events alleged to have taken place between January 1 and May 22. 

Killed for going into a pub

 A strictly religious dad killed his 23-year-old daughter for going into a pub, the old bailey heard.
 Munir Hussain, 51, wound rope round Shenaz's neck and throttled her before wrapping her body in plastic bags and putting it in the boot of a car.
Then Hussain drove to a nearby police station and told officers: "I have murdered my daughter".
Hussain of Walthamstow, East London, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.
He will be detained under the mental health act.

Fresh fruit benefits

 Eating fresh fruit can cut a person's risk of dying from cancer by 22%, scientists said. 
The finding emerged from a diet and lifestyle study of 11,000 Britons who were monitored during the 1980s and 1990s.  Imperial Cancer Research Fund diet expert Dr Tim Key, who helped carry out the study, said:
 "Our study has shown that eating fresh fruit every day really does make a significant contribution to cutting deaths from cancer.”

Girl knifed by father in law

 A close friend of the former Speaker of the House of Commons was detained under the Mental Health Act for battering his heavily pregnant daughter-in-law to death.
  Mohammad Yousaf, 64, beat Aneela Malik, 30, over the head with a piece of wood and knifed her after returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. Mrs Malik was five months pregnant at the time.
Yousaf, a respected leader in the Islamic community, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after doctors found he suffered from a paranoid psychosis.
"He believed his daughter-in-law was trying to poison him with weedkiller."

 On the day of the killing, on February 17 last year, Yousaf's son Asif had taken the children to school. Just after 10am Yousaf rang the emergency services and told them: "We have a problem. We had a quarrel. We have had a fight here." The police arrived to find Yousaf covered in blood, the court heard. Aneela was lying in a back room with severe head injuries. 
A blood stained lump of wood was nearby and a large knife. 
Yousaf told police: 
"I did hit her but she was evil. She turned my son and daughter against me." 

Aneela was take to hospital with a fractured skull and several knife wounds.
She died several weeks later on March 4.
 Yousaf was defended by another MP and peer of the realm Lord Alex Carlile, QC. He said his client "deeply deeply" regretted the tragedy. 
 Yousaf was detained under Section 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act without limit of time.

Twelve in court after weekend disturbances

  Eleven men and one 16-year-old youth appeared in court after being arrested during a weekend of disturbances sparked by false rumours of a British National Party march. 
   The adult defendants, four white men and seven Asians, were all remanded in custody at Stoke-on-Trent Magistrates Court. 
  They are charged with a variety of offences, including conspiracy to commit violent disorder, possession of an  offensive weapon and racially-aggravated threatening behaviour. 
  Those arrested were detained in various areas of Stoke-on-Trent after disturbances centred on Waterloo Street, Cobridge, where dozens of Asian youths clashed with police. 
  District Judge Graham Richards, who granted the 16-year-old Asian youth conditional bail, adjourned all but one of the 12 cases until Monday, July 23 at the same court. 
 None of the accused, all from the Stoke-on-Trent area, entered pleas to any of the charges against them. 
  Imran Khan, 23, of Rushton Road, Cobridge; Nadeem Mohammed, 20, of Park Terrace, Tunstall; Shafiq Mohammed,  19, of Robert Street, Tunstall; Shazad Younis, 19, of Nashpeake Street, Tunstall;  Farooq Hussain, 21, and Mazar Hussain, both of Stanley Street, Tunstall; and a  16-year-old Tunstall youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are each charged with conspiracy to commit violent disorder in the Burslem area yesterday.
 Younis is further charged with obstructing police in Burslem and Farooq Hussain is also charged with dangerous driving. 
 Jamil Mohammed, 24, of Scott Road, Tunstall, was remanded in custody charged with violent disorder and will reappear before the same court tomorrow after his solicitor asked for an Urdu interpreter to be present. 
 Jason Malpass, 20, of Fairfield Avenue, Dresden, was charged with causing racially-aggravated criminal damage at a take-away near his home on Saturday evening. 
Martin Whitehurst, 21, of Withington Road, Fegg Hayes, was charged with racially-aggravated threatening behaviour. 
 Stuart Finney, 20, of Sandwick Crescent, Birches Head, was charged with possessing an offensive weapon in Greyhound Way, Cobridge. 
 Mr Richards refused a bail application on behalf of David Brockley, of High Street, Halmerend. 
  The 27-year-old is accused of causing criminal damage to a Vauxhall car belonging to an Asian man in Stoke, affray, and an alternative charge of racially aggravated criminal damage.