A civil servant who told fellow Tube passengers he was a Muslim suicide bomber during a drunken tirade has been jailed for 12 months.

George McFaul, a Ministry of Justice official, said commuters had one minute to live before his rucksack exploded, Southwark Crown Court heard. However, when the train arrived at King's Cross station staff found he was drunk.

Mr. McFaul, from east London, pleaded guilty to communicating false information in December 2007.

Shoaib Akhtar has lost his appeal against a five year ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board, but the fast bowler is still free to play overseas. The ban only applies to Pakistan, but organisers of the big money Twenty20 Indian Premier League are also upholding Pakistan's ban.

The 32-year-old was suspended over claims he had repeatedly breached the PCB's code of conduct and a three-man tribunal in Lahore upheld the decision. Shoaib's lawyer said if the IPL did not lift its ban then he would request that the appeal tribunal meet again.

The Kolkata Knight Riders signed Shoaib in February for £215,000.

An investigation has begun into the Australian government's handling of the case against former terrorist suspect Dr Mohammed Haneef. The Indian doctor was charged with supporting a terrorist group involved in bomb plots in the UK last year.

Although the case against him collapsed and the charges were dropped, he still had his visa withdrawn. The review into the case will be carried out by a former New South Wales Supreme Court justice.

A senior executive of a top US airline says Heathrow Airport is the worst in Europe.

Don Langford, head of European Customer Services for American Airlines, says it needs major investment. His comments come as Heathrow tries to fix its reputation after the opening of Terminal Five when thousands of bags were lost and dozens of flights cancelled.

BAA, which operates Heathrow, said it was investing £4billion in improvements over the next five years.

Campaigners are claiming hundreds of children are still being born with birth defects in Bhopal, 23 years after the world’s worst industrial disaster occurred there.

They are demanding that the Indian Government provide immediate medical care and research into the health impacts of the disaster.

More than two decades ago, toxic gas escaped from a pesticide plant. The gas killed 5,000 people that night and 15,000 more in the following weeks.

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif flew to Dubai yesterday for a meeting to decide if his party should stay in a month-old coalition with the party of the late Benazir Bhutto.

Sharif is expected to meet Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and leader of her Pakistan People's Party, on Wednesday to try to break a deadlock over reinstating judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf late last year.

The alliance between the PPP and PML-N marked the first time Pakistan's two mainstream parties have come together, and raised hopes they would assert civilian rule in place of the military rule Musharraf represents. The deadline to settle the matter over the judges is Wednesday.

A court has heard a Birmingham businessman tried to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife and her lover. Birmingham Crown Court was told the potential hired killer turned out to be a journalist working undercover who secretly filmed the meeting at a hotel where they discussed the killings.

Jasbinder Heer has denied soliciting Neville Thurlbeck to murder Monica Aheer and her lover Harsarup Mehmi on 25th July last year.

When interviewed, Mr. Heer admitted going to the hotel but claimed he was not to be taken seriously during the meeting as far as what he said while arranging the killings.

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne has suggested the Birmingham balti house recruitment crisis might be solved by training British people to become chefs.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he said the Government had to get the balance right between allowing firms to import staff from overseas and finding jobs for unemployed British people.

He was speaking in a debate on immigration following warnings that restaurants are facing ruin because new rules make it harder to recruit staff. Earlier this month, restaurant workers gathered in Trafalgar Square, London, to protest against the new points-based immigration system.

The bill for translating medical diagnoses to non-English speakers at doctors' surgeries and clinics has doubled since 2003. Kingston Primary Care Trust has spent £176,000 over the past five years and is set to spend another £50,000 next year.

The figures shed light on the numbers of people using the NHS locally who do not speak English as their first language. Rebecca Mear, director of Refugee Action Kingston, said the service was invaluable for her clients because Government cuts in English language learning courses had deprived them of a chance to learn.

Test captain Anil Kumble said today that Indian cricketers need professional help to cope with their fame and wealth. Mr. Kumble's comments come two days after fellow cricketer Harbhajan Singh was banned for 11 matches.

Mr. Singh was found guilty of slapping fellow national team player Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. India has the largest global cricket audience and players are often idolised like pop stars.

A teenager is due to appear in court charged with terrorist offences. Andrew Ibrahim is accused of possession of an explosive substance, intent to commit terrorism and possession of articles for terrorist purposes.

The student was arrested on 17th April and three controlled explosions were later carried out at his flat in Westbury-on-Trym.

His hearing will take place later at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, in central London.

India unveiled measures yesterday to tame inflation and guard food supplies, by controlling export taxes on basmati rice, steel products and tightening monetary policy.

In its second move this month to drain liquidity from the banking system, the Reserve Bank of India is raising the cash reserve ratio by 25 basis points to 8.25%, its highest level in seven years, with effect from 24th May.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram put various measures before parliament, including the export taxes on basmati rice and steel products and a duty cut on imports related to steel production. India has already banned non-basmati rice exports.

On Thursday 1st May Londoners go to the polls to elect a new mayor and 25 London Assembly members to scrutinise his or her work.

There are ten candidates standing in total. On Monday we broadcast an interview with Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick, and yesterday we heard from Labour’s Ken Livingstone. Today we’re broadcasting an interview with Conservative candidate Boris Johnson; to hear it, tune into Kejal's Drive show from 4-7pm.

The seven other candidates are Richard Barnbrook (British National Party), Alan Craig (Christian Choice), Lindsey German (Left List), Winston Mackenzie (Independent), Matt O’Connor (English Democrats), Sian Berry (Green Party) and Gerard Batten (UK Independence Party).

Three men arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences last week have been released without charge, Scotland Yard has said.

The trio were questioned for seven days by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. The three men were arrested in east London last Wednesday and detained under the Terrorism Act.

Those released are a 24-year-old from Walthamstow, a 25-year-old from Bethnal Green and a 23-year-old from Stepney.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has met Indian leaders on a stopover at the end of his tour of South Asia. The two sides were due to discuss a long-delayed $7.5billion pipeline plan to transport gas to Pakistan and India.

The 2,600km pipeline is seen as crucial for energy-hungry India. Pakistan says it has cleared the way with Iran to finalise an agreement.

Analysts say the deal could contribute to security as Iran, Pakistan and India benefit more by mutual co-operation.

The authorities in Bangladesh have asked farmers to speed up their rice harvest because of fears a powerful cyclone may soon hit the country.

Tropical cyclone Nargis is currently about 1,200km off the southern coast of Bangladesh and weather forecasters say it could move north. Bangladesh has faced food shortages following floods and storms last year.

Officials are urging farmers to try to save as much of this year's rice crop as possible.

Police looking for supporters of a terrorist group raided a property in Harrow yesterday morning.

The raid was part of a wider operation, aimed at finding those who raise funds for the Tamil Tigers, an organisation fighting for an independent state in Sri Lanka.

No one was arrested at the Harrow address but police detained three people after similar raids in Wales, and Mitcham in Surrey.

Amnesty International has called on the new Pakistan government to immediately reinstate around 60 judges removed by President Pervez Musharraf during emergency rule back in November.

The urgency follows the decision of the ruling coalition to set a deadline for today to decide on the issue.

Amnesty International Spokesman, Niall Couper says the restoration of the judges is a necessary step towards ensuring an independent judiciary.

MP George Galloway has officially protested to the British and Bangladeshi governments about an assault on a British Citizen at the Airport in Dhaka.

Rizwan Hussain suffered serious injures at the hands of officials at the International Airport.

Mr. Galloway has requested a meeting with Foreign Secretary David Milliband to discuss the situation, saying he is willing to do whatever it takes to get justice for Mr Hussain.

A jury in the case of a doctor accused of molesting a 13-year-old patient after telling her she was pregnant has retired to consider its verdict.

Rashid Sandhu, from London, who denies sexual assault, worked at James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk. Norwich Crown Court heard he massaged the girl's breasts with gel claiming to be carrying out an abortion, in June.

The 30-year-old has admitted making indecent photos of young girls on his laptop and possessing indecent images.

At around 1pm this afternoon, Ken Livingstone dropped by the Southall Train Station to give his support to Southall’s Asian Community. At the same time, rival mayoral candidates Brian Paddick and Boris Johnston were meeting locals in Peckham and Surbiton respectively.

The current Mayor of London walked down South Road towards Southall’s Broadway meeting representatives from the local community, commenting that diverse communities like those of Southall illustrate the positive impact of immigration on London.

Yesterday we broadcast an interview with Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick. You can hear the interview with Mr. Livingstone on Drive from 4-7pm today, and tune in tomorrow when we speak to Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.

A major event investigating the impact of climate change on mass migration will bring together key environment and population experts today, to discuss how climate change will affect migration patterns.

Recent research by the European Commission has found that although the immediate effects of global warming will be most painfully felt by the poor in south Asia, the Middle East, and Africa will not escape the consequences.

Jean Lambert, Green Party Member of the European Parliament says the UK has the greatest responsibility for creating climate change.

Nepal has issued a bird flu alert and is testing poultry along the border with India, where the virus is rampant despite tens of thousands of chickens being culled since 2006.

Nepal, which has not reported any bird flu cases, banned the import of poultry from India in January. The nation shares an open border with West Bengal, which has reported repeated outbreaks of bird flu.

Since the virus resurfaced in Asia in late 2003, at least 240 people have died from bird flu in a dozen countries, the World Health Organisation says.

The Bangladesh Awami League has collected 2.5million signatures calling on the head of the interim government to release former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Awami officials say they collected the signatures over the last few weeks to pressure the army-backed authority to set her free. Sheikh Hasina has been detained inside the parliament compound in Dhaka since July 2007 on charges of alleged corruption.

She denies the charges, saying they are designed to destroy her political career.

Today Scottish Lawyer Aamer Anwar is on trial at Edinburgh High Court. He was charged with contempt for reading a statement criticising the conviction of his client Mohammed Atif Siddique in 2006 for internet-based terrorism offences.

A campaign has been organised on his behalf, with leading figures calling for the charges to be dropped, such as George Galloway, Gareth Peirce (the lawyer who defended the Birmingham Six) and Imran Khan, the lawyer for Stephen Lawrence's family.

An Asian mother and her new born baby have contracted MRSA following the birth at Bradford Royal Infirmary. Razvana Ali, 19, was diagnosed with the hospital superbug following the delivery of her daughter by Caesarean section.

It took several trips to the GP and two hospital visits before MRSA was eventually confirmed and the baby was admitted to hospital for treatment.

Now Razvana and her husband Mohammed are demanding to know why it took more than two months for the diagnosis of MRSA to be made for their baby who was born on 5th February.

An Asian shop assistant was subjected to racist abuse three times in three days by racists who threatened to set fire to his shop.

The victim, who worked at the Welcome Store on Broom Lane and is of Pakistani origin, Levenshulme, was targeted by a man and two friends on 15th, 17th & 18th March.

Police Constable Annabel Neilson at Hate Crime Unit at Longsight Police Station said, “the shop assistant was subjected to abuse due to his ethnicity".

Three brothers who tied a man to his bed during a robbery and left him to die have been jailed for life. Mohamed Raheem, 28, was found dead at his home in West Norwood, in south London last June.

Cyprian and Sorin Abuclesei, both from north London, were convicted of murder and robbery and must serve 30 and 28 years respectively.

Savu Abuclesei, also admitted a charge of murder and was ordered to serve a minimum of 23 years.

A murder trial jury have heard how a long-running dispute at a mosque in Milton Keynes led to an 18-year-old man being "clubbed senseless".

Atiq Rehman was attacked with a snooker cue, causing severe head injuries, and died two days later on 17th May 2007. Luton Crown Court heard Bilal Zaman and Usman Ali of Wolverton plead guilty to murder. They are currently awaiting sentence.

Ghur Rehman and Haroon Awan, also of Wolverton, deny murder. The prosecution has not implicated the men as main players in the incident, nor that they were armed.

It is alleged, however, that Ghur Rehman was involved inside the shop from which Atiq Rehman was dragged and then attacked, and Mr. Awan is alleged to have acted as a look out. The trial continues.

A 20-year-old man was sexually assaulted by an Asian man in Oxford in the early hours of Sunday morning, after getting into a car he thought was a cab.

Instead of taking him home, the driver took him to car park and sexually assaulted him. He eventually escaped and hid in some bushes before flagging down a passing car.

Thames Valley Police are appealing for the occupants of the car, a woman and her son, to come forward, as they may be able to help the investigation. They are also trying to trace a taxi driver who drove the victim home.

Australian authorities have named an British Asian doctor killed in an accident whilst on holiday on Australia’s Gold Coast. Dr. Sridhar Shekar was killed when he was thrown from a sea scooter after it hit a moored boat near the resort of Labrador.

Queensland Police said Dr. Shekar was 31 years old and from Leeds. The Foreign Office said his 32-year-old wife, who was treated in hospital for minor injuries after the crash, has been offered consular assistance.

Vandals have sprayed racist and Nazi graffiti throughout a block of council flats in Birmingham. Nine of the ten floors at Tintern House in Quinton had several messages and images painted on walls, doors, lifts and stairwells. CCTV cameras were also sprayed to prevent any images being recorded.

Birmingham City Council said it would not tolerate such behaviour. It will take staff 24 hours to remove.

Girls attending state-run schools in Mumbai are ending the school year a little richer than they started it. For each day a girl shows up in classes, city authorities are paying her 1 rupee (about £1.50). Boys on the other hand receive nothing to take home with them but their homework.

The scheme has two aims; one is to improve unimpressive school attendance rates. The other is a goal by the Government to help empower girls and women.

A 33-year-old Asian man was assaulted when he had an unknown substance sprayed in his face in Shropshire. The victim was walking along Kingfisher Way in Leegomery, Telford, when a vehicle pulled up alongside him in the early hours of Sunday.

The passenger leaned out and sprayed a substance into the man's face and eyes before the vehicle left the scene.

The offender is described as Asian, aged between 16 and 18 years old and wearing a black hooded top. The victim, who was shocked but did not need hospital treatment, described the vehicle as a small red car.

An Asian man has denied murdering his girlfriend. Zahir Ahmed, 32, appeared before Luton Crown Court accused of murdering Klara Prokopcova, in November last year.

Ms. Prokopcova was found by paramedics at a house in Luton. She was taken to hospital but died a short time after being admitted. She had suffered head injuries.

Mr. Ahmed from Luton was remanded in custody until his trial which has been fixed for 15th September.

Spinner Harbhajan Singh has been handed an 11 match ban in the Indian Premier League after being found guilty of slapping fellow India star Sree Santh. The suspension will end his involvement in the competition unless his team, Mumbai Indians, reach the semi-finals.

Harbhajan, will also lose his match fees for the whole tournament after the incident in a game last Friday between Mumbai and Santh's Kings XI Punjab.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has confirmed it will take separate action against Harbhajan because he is a centrally-contracted player.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg says immigration is undermining standards in schools. He claims teachers are struggling to cope with pupils with poor English, and has accused the Government of failing to plan adequately for current levels of migration.

This is Mr Clegg's strongest criticism of the Government, and may indicate a swing to the right on policy issues.

Today he will address the 4children Conference in London, where he will reveal figures showing nearly 12% of pupils are registered as having a language other than English as their native tongue.

Three Asian money launderers helped to steal the bank accounts of wealthy customers in the south of England. They were part of a scam to cream off £800,000 from Abbey clients after a Bradford bank worker accessed high-value accounts.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Amar Manir, 24, who worked in the banking support section in Bradford, admitted conspiracy to defraud.

Mr. Manir who accessed customer accounts to check the progress of the fraud, was jailed for 18 months. Two others also admitted conspiracy.

India has successfully launched a rocket carrying a cluster of 10 satellites into space. The rocket lifted from Sriharikota Island in southern Andhra Pradesh state, carrying two Indian and eight foreign satellites.

The satellites are expected to provide data to enable India to plan rural and urban development, and were in orbit within minutes of each other.

The entire operation lasted about 20 minutes. This is the first time that 10 satellites have been launched in a single mission.

A top Taliban commander in Pakistan has halted peace talks with the government, his spokesman says. Last week Baitullah Mehsud ordered a ceasefire amid reports that he was close to reaching a peace deal with the new government.

Mr. Mehsud’s spokesman says talks have broken down because the government refuses to order troops out of the tribal areas by the Afghan border. He also said that they did not plan to start fighting again at this stage; however if the government launched any action, his fighters would retaliate.

Baitullah Mehsud's stronghold is in south Waziristan, an area that has seen many of the heaviest clashes between militants and the security forces in recent years.

Pakistan's Sindh provincial government has ordered a probe into the recent killing of a Hindu man by his Muslim colleagues in a Karachi factory. Jagdish Kumar was beaten to death on 8th April for allegedly making blasphemous remarks about Prophet Mohammed.

The Chief Minister of Qaim Ali Shah ordered minority legislator Petambar Sehwani, from the Pakistan People's Party, to visit Mr. Kumar’s family at his home in Mirpurkhas to find out more about his death.

The Kumar family and several campaign groups have organised protests and called for an inquiry into his murder. Last night Mr. Sehwani met Mr. Kumar’s parents and local Human Rights activists.

Soaring prices will send the cost of school dinners above £2 for the first time, a heavy strain on disadvantaged families is set to occur due to the rise in school meals.

The continual rise in food prices means that parents now face a £390 yearly bill on school dinners. A spokesman for Scolarest, Britain’s biggest school meal provider states that, “they are trying to do everything to reduce food prices. In around half of areas, school meals are already subsidised by an average of 43p.”

Food prices, fuel and wages are all expected to rise, which places pressure on the system and deprived families.

A chance discovery of almost 400 artificial limbs in a cellar has brought a major boost for victims of an Asian earthquake. The prosthetic limbs were found by plumbers in the hidden basement of a Dorset bungalow.

The owners of the bungalow contacted Dr Mohammed Nasir of the Luton & Dunstable Hospital, founder of a charity which help South Asia victims of natural disasters.

The limbs were donated to the charity and will be sent to Pakistan for use in special clinics set up by Dr Nasir.

Three men have appeared in court in Ghaziabad, a suburb of India's capital Delhi, in connection with the killing of their mother, police say. The woman, 55, was allegedly beaten to death by her sons who thought she was possessed by an evil spirit.

Senior Superintendent of Police in Ghaziabad, Deepak Ratan, has said "A case has been filed under a law relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder." He said four people, including three sons of the woman, were arrested on Sunday.

The incident took place during a family gathering when, according to eyewitnesses, the mother started behaving strangely, knocking her head against the wall in front of the guests. The sons said they started beating their mother in order to rid her of the evil spirit of a relative who died a few months ago, Mr Ratan said.

Though similar incidents are sometimes reported from rural India, such a crime being allegedly committed by well-educated city people is rare.

Hopes have risen for 436 Indian fishermen held in Pakistani jails - Islamabad has granted India consular access. Officials informed New Delhi of the decision on Saturday; the process will begin today and last for about a week.

This is an important first step towards gaining early release – consular officials must prove the fishermen are Indian nationals. India has pressuring Pakistan for access to the prisoners.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is due to visit Pakistan in May to reinvigorate the peace process between the two neighbours; this is a key issue.

A cook from an Indian restaurant says he feared for his life after a gang of masked men broke in, tied him up, and threatened to beat him with a crowbar.

The four men, wearing balaclavas, forced their way into The India Palace in Kent on Monday morning. The gang bound the legs and hands of Abdul Latif, and after ransacking the restaurant, forced their way into the till.

No money had been left over night and the group fled empty handed.

Britons are ruder now than they were a decade ago, according to a survey published today. Almost 90% of people questioned believe the nation is now less polite and say they would prefer to receive a ‘please or thank you’ than £1 from a stranger.

More than 56% said bad manners constitute the biggest problem in the country today, with 67% saying they are at the root of the anti-social behaviour plaguing society.

About 4,000 Pakistani women protested in Karachi on Sunday against a film critical of Islam and over the reprinting of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad.

The film, by anti-immigration Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders suggests the Koran incites violence.

It has drawn condemnation from many Muslim countries. The protesting women chanted anti-Dutch and Danish slogans and called for a boycott of their goods.

Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh is to appear before a disciplinary committee in Delhi after claims he assaulted another national team member.

The incident is said to have occurred after a recent Indian Premiere League match between his Mumbai side and the Punjab, where he allegedly lost his temper, pushed Indian cricket star Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, and then hit him in the face.

Harbhajan has denied this, but the game's governing body says it has video evidence of the incident. The player has already been suspended from Indian's new cricket league and he faces a hearing in Delhi today that will decide his cricketing future.

The Prime Minister is preparing to tone down plans to increase the number of days terror suspects can be detained for without being charged.

Last week he said he would not give in to Labour rebels – but Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has apparently drawn up a list of concessions.

A leaked document has revealed proposals to tag terror suspects with electronic tracking devices or orders to put them under house arrests for the final two weeks of the detention period.

The Government hopes these changes will satisfy rebel MPs, who say detaining suspects for 48 days is a breach of civil liberties.

On Thursday 1st May Londoners go to the polls to elect a new mayor and 25 London Assembly members to scrutinise his or her work.

Over the next 3 days we will be broadcasting interviews with the 3 main candidates – Lib Dem Brian Paddick, Conservative Boris Johnson and Labour’s Ken Livingstone. Ten candidates are standing in total.

Kismat Radio's Siobhan Wornell spoke to Liberal Democrat and former Deputy Assistant Met Police Commissioner Brian Paddick.

We talk to Ken Livingstone tomorrow, and to Boris Johnson on Wednesday.

Dozens of councils are using anti-terror laws to fight minor crimes like littering, vandalism and parking offences. The Home Office says the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act is meant to help prevent crime, including terrorism.

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council has used the legislation to authorise surveillance of those suspected of abusing disabled parking badges.

The information was obtained from 46 councils surveyed by the Press Association. Seven councils admitted spying on people suspected of allowing their dogs to foul in public.

A poll has announced that in ten years, India will have more billionaires than any other country in the world.

According to the latest list of world billionaires, India is the fourth largest in terms of number of billionaires, while the US continues to top the rankings.

Only 17% of poll respondents believe that the US will have the most billionaires in 2017. In comparison, 53% believe it will be India at the top. The second highest number of votes has gone in favour of China at 20%.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit India and Pakistan this week for talks on issues including longstanding plans for a pipeline to supply Iranian gas to the two Asian states.

The three countries have discussed the pipeline for years and have agreed on a pricing formula, but India dropped out of talks in mid-2007, saying it first wanted to resolve issues with Pakistan.

India and Pakistan said on Friday they were just days or weeks away from finalising terms on the cross-border pipeline.

The $7.6billion project has been dubbed the "Pipeline for Peace and Progress" because of the mutual benefits it will bring to India and Pakistan, two countries that have fought three wars since they were divided by the Partition of India in 1947.

Plans for a mosque which have sparked thousands of protests will be cancelled unless the building has been “substantially” built by the end of the year. A deal struck between Dudley Council and Dudley Muslim Association means the multi-million pound scheme to build both a mosque and community centre must be nearing completion by the end of 2008.

If not, the council which originally owned the land and sold it to the Muslim Association in 2001, will legally be able to buy back the site.

It was revealed today the Muslim association had asked the council to extend the deadline but this was refused.

Race crime in Britain has soared by up to 300% over the past four years, leading to concerns that efforts to calm tensions are failing.

According to official figures obtained from the Home Office by the Conservatives, there was a 39% rise in the number of race crime offences in England and Wales between 2003 and 2007.

Offences, including wounding, harassment, assault without injury and criminal damage, rose in number from over 30,000 in 2003 to nearly 45,000 in 2007.

Almost all police forces recorded large increases in racially motivated incidents – The Metropolitan Police was an exception.

A Tory councillor accused in a report of trying to divide his ward into patches has said the document containing the allegations was rejected by the party.

Councillor Gurcharan Singh was heavily criticised in a report by outgoing chairman of the Ealing Southall Conservative Association, Anita Kapoor. In her report, Ms. Kapoor claimed he demanded his Dormer's Wells ward be split into patches, and heavily criticised local Conservatives for their handling of the Ealing Southall by-election.

Councillor Singh said: "That report was thrown out and not accepted by members. In a vote it was thrown out by a huge majority”.

A Sikh businessman will undertake an 800km walk to raise £1m for charity. Balwant Singh Grewal, chairman of the India Association of London, will walk from Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to Parliament House in London to raise money for research in bowel cancer and other bowel diseases.

He will set off on 4th June, and the trek will take 5 weeks.

Last year, Mr. Grewal completed a 4,096km charity walk from Amritsar to Kanyakumari in India, raising £100k for institutes pursuing research in the fields of cancer and HIV AIDS.

A woman, who was allegedly raped and then set on fire by a civic body chief in Bihar, died after battling for her life for six days, a police official said on Saturday.

Asha Devi was admitted in a critical condition after she was set on fire by Navin Yadav, an official in Kishanganj district, about 350km from the state capital.

She had suffered nearly 80% burns and died at a care facility in Siliguri in neighbouring West Bengal.

Tamil Tiger rebels have bombed military targets in the north-east of Sri Lanka using light aircraft, officials say. A security source was quoted as saying two military installations were hit by the rebels in the Welioya region, though no damage was caused.

This is the fifth rebel aerial strike since the Tigers created an air force a year ago.

It came as police arrested nine people over a suspected rebel bomb blast that killed 26 people on a bus near the capital, Colombo, on Friday.

Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh could be disciplined following reports he slapped fellow player Shanthakumaran Sreesanth at an Indian Premier League game.

Niranjan Shah, Secretary of the board of control for cricket in India, said the spinner will be expected to explain his actions in a meeting on Monday.

Harbhajan was banned from three test matches during the recent Australian tour, for making racist remarks to Aussie player Andrew Symonds. He was let off with a fine on a lesser charge following an appeal.

A suspect terrorist who scored a legal victory against the Government this week is a senior al-Qaeda operative living openly in the UK, security agencies say.

The suspect is one of five people who challenged the Treasury’s powers to freeze terrorist suspects’ bank accounts in a successful High Court action.

Yesterday security sources described him as “a key player” who acts as a conduit between British-based extremists and the al-Qaeda leadership hiding out in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been in detention since last year, was released from hospital in Dhaka yesterday. She received a week of treatment for fluctuating blood pressure, and has been shifted back to a special prison, officials said.

Ms. Hasina has been held in a building inside the parliament compound since her arrest last July on charges of graft, abuse of power and extortion.

The former leader, who ruled Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, has denied any wrongdoing and says the charges are politically motivated.

The founder of the Barsana Dham Hindu temple in the American state of Texas has been arrested and charged with 20 counts of indecency with a child.

Prakashanand Saraswati was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday. Sheriff's office spokesman, Leroy Opiela, said "he's waived extradition, and arrangements are being made to bring him back to Texas".

According to his indictment, Mr. Saraswati is accused of groping two girls who were under age of 17 at the time on several occasions between 1993 and 1996.

Two men from Glodwick face trial after allegedly sexually harassing four 13-year-old girls on a rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Asad Mahmood and Haqnawez Razzaq will appear at Preston Crown Court on 7th August.

Both are charged with five counts of causing or inciting a girl under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, and Razzaq is also charged with obstructing a police officer.

It is understood the four girls were on a school trip when they encountered Mahmood and Razzaq in the queue for the amusement park ride last year.

An Asian mother and her newborn baby girl contracted the superbug MRSA, a hospital trust has confirmed. Razvana Ali was diagnosed with the superbug after undergoing a caesarean section at Bradford Royal Infirmary in February.

Mrs. Ali, of Little Horton, suspected baby Marwha had caught the same bug when she developed a rash on her body.

Mrs. Ali and her husband Mohammed want to know why it took more than two months for the diagnosis of MRSA to be made for their baby who was born on 5th February.

A Scottish pilot with British Airways has complained of a culture of racism among pilots which he claims has been ignored by senior managers. Captain Doug Maughan, who has 28 years' flying experience, says that derogatory remarks about race are so common they are treated as normal.

BA has rejected the accusations, and claims it takes charges of racism among staff "very seriously".

A Southall man accused of terror charges alongside Muslim activist Abu Izzadeen walked free from court after hearing he will not face a retrial.

A jury had failed to reach a verdict on fundraising for terrorism, following a trial at Kingston Crown Court. Mr Khan was tried with Rajib Khan, 29, of Luton, who was also found not guilty.

At least 23 people have been killed and about 50 wounded by a bombing on a bus in the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

The blast happened during rush hour while the bus stopped to pick up passengers in the city's southern suburb of Piliyandala. A government spokesman has blamed the Tamil Tiger rebel group.

Violence in Sri Lanka has intensified since January, when the government pulled out of a ceasefire agreement.

An Asian teenager was sexually assaulted during a taxi journey in Manchester. The 17-year-old girl had been out with friends in Oldham on Saturday 1st March when she got into a taxi on Oldham Road.

She got into the taxi with two men and they were taken to Sascha's nightclub in Manchester city centre. The two men went to the club, leaving the 17-year-old in the taxi.

After a short while, the driver sexually assaulted the teenager. The taxi driver is described as Asian and aged between 25 and 32 years old, with short black hair, a slim face and large eyes.

The mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling is due to return to India on Saturday. Fiona MacKeown wants to find out whether India's intelligence agency, the CBI, is going to take up her daughter's case.

The semi-naked body of Scarlett, 15, from Devon, was found on 19th February after she had been raped and murdered in Goa.

Earlier this month a third post-mortem examination revealed that some of her organs had been removed.

Bangladesh deployed troops at a dumping site near the country's main Chittagong port today to stop people from collecting rotten rice, officials said. Hundreds of hungry people flooded the dumping site as the Food Department started discarding some 500 tonnes of damaged rice on Friday.

The dumped rice had been donated for the victims of Cyclone Sidr by Pakistan but was ruined during shipment in January. Bangladesh faces food shortages after the country lost around 3million tonnes of rice and wheat in a series of floods and a devastating cyclone last year.

A police constable has been sacked in the Indian capital, Delhi, after being arrested following the daytime rape of a 12-year -old girl. Rajan Bhagat, spokesperson for the Delhi police, said the constable was arrested after a case was registered by the parents of the girl.

A friend of the constable has also been arrested. Both have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. The officer lived in the same neighbourhood as the minor and was known to her family.

This is the fourth rape of a child in Delhi this month. The city has become known as the rape capital of India.

The case of a former Asian councillor accused of falsely claiming benefit has been delayed until May. Joginder Saroe, a former Labour councillor for Dormer's Wells, was due to appear at Isleworth Crown Court yesterday morning to answer eight charges of falsely claiming incapacity benefit.

It is claimed he was caught using a gym and was running his own business whilst claiming the benefits.

A counter terrorism scheme developed for the City of London is to be used to train staff at Gatwick Airport. Workers at the airport in West Sussex will be given training by police that aims to give them a better knowledge of possible terrorist behaviour.

The scheme, called Project Griffin, is also designed to put a structure in place so staff and police work together in the event of a major incident. Sussex Police and BAA said Gatwick was the first airport to introduce it.

Fifteen former inmates have won a legal battle over claims they were mistreated and discriminated against on racial and religious grounds at Leeds prison. The claims against the Ministry of Justice included complaints by Muslim prisoners who said they had been given contaminated halal food.

Thirteen of the prisoners claimed they had been discriminated against on the grounds of race and religion, with some claiming they had been racially harassed and victimised.

Of the thirteen, seven claimed they had been assaulted by prison staff and two accused staff of negligently failing to protect them from alleged assaults by other prisoners.

A settlement was reached on Thursday in a trial at Leeds County Court.

A man has been charged with a racist offence after an outburst in a post office, police said. Rodney Buckley of Ipswich was arrested at the town's Carr Street branch after a racially offensive remark was made to staff. He was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated harassment.

Mr. Buckley was charged with racially aggravated disorderly conduct and bailed to appear at South East Suffolk Magistrates Court later this month.

A police force has changed the way it deals with ethnic minority applicants after concerns were raised that some could be unfairly rejected.

In January, Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Sara Thornton ordered a review of new applications that fail. This followed claims that Muslims had been turned down from the Met Police for visiting countries like Pakistan.

At least three people in a car bomb explosion outside a police station in Mardan in northwest Pakistan today, according to a senior police officer. It is reported a police officer was among the dead. 15 people were injured.

This is the first attack since the new coalition government took power at the end of March.

There has been a reduction in Islamist militant attacks on security forces, as the new government has opened talks with militants to try and stem violence that has killed over 1,000 since mid 1997.

Pakistan's foreign ministry has said it has lodged a strong protest with Nato and the Afghan military after a border dispute left a Pakistani soldier dead.

At least eight Taleban militants were also killed during the clashes which began when an Afghan border post was attacked before dawn on Wednesday.

During the battle, Nato forces fired shells and carried out an incursion into the Bajaur tribal region. Nato has not been granted permission to pursue militants over the frontier.

Pakistan said yesterday it was actively considering an Indian plea for mercy for Sarabjit Singh, an Indian man condemned to death for spying, as his family met him for the first time in 18 years in a Pakistani jail.

President Pervez Musharraf last month rejected a mercy plea from Singh, but deferred his execution until 30th April after a request from the Indian government.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq has said “the issue is under active consideration -we have received a request from the Indian government ... and a decision will be taken in due course."

Police in Manchester arrested eleven people whilst trying to move on a group of around 40 people racially abusing passers-by at two pubs in the city centre.

The incident happened at around 4 pm on Wednesday, after a lunchtime St George’s Parade through the city.

Nine men and two women were arrested for failing to disperse when ordered to by the police.

Authorities battling an outbreak of bird flu in poultry in the north-eastern state of Tripura blamed Bangladesh for the spread on Thursday, but many experts said India itself was not doing enough to contain the virus.

More than 25,000 chickens and ducks have already been slaughtered in Tripura this month after it was hit by the H5N1 strain, and at least 15,000 more birds will be culled to control the virus in two new areas. On Thursday, authorities chose to blame neighbouring Bangladesh after they received reports of new bird flu cases in the state, but many including experts from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, say this is foolish.

"The government is going too slow, and blaming Bangladesh will not solve this problem, as it is time we should take strong action," said Ratan Lal Nath, a lawmaker from Mohanpur town, worst-hit by the recent outbreak.

An Asian multi-millionaire’s son who caused a crash which left a toddler permanently brain damaged has escaped the maximum prison term for dangerous driving.

Antonio Singh Boparan was sentenced to 21 months after causing a crash while driving at 72mph in a 30mph zone in November 2006, which left one-year-old Cerys Edwards fighting for her life with horrific injuries. The toddler, now 2, has been left paralysed, permanently brain damaged and needing a ventilator just to stay alive.

Mr Boparan had pleaded not guilty to one count of dangerous driving but was found unanimously guilty by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court earlier this month.

On May 1st 2008, almost 5.5million registered voters will decide who will be the next mayor of London. But what does it take to a good leader in London?

A report suggests that one quality the next mayor must have is the ability to articulate a compelling vision for London - particularly in the build up to the 2012 Olympics.

Dominic Mahony, Director at International performance development consultancy at Lane4 comments, says Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone face some challenges to be a good leader.

Amnesty International is releasing a campaign film in UK cinemas illustrating the reality of the practice of ‘water-boarding’ prisoners.

Water-boarding involves strapping a detainee down on their back onto a board and pouring water over their nose and mouth to simulate drowning – the film shows this happening for a few seconds.

The CIA has admitted using the technique whilst interrogating terror suspects.

Sara Mac Neice from Amnesty International says the use of this technique is unacceptable.

A former councillor is due to appear in court today charged with trying to falsely claim benefits. Joginder Saroe, who represented the Dormer's Wells ward in Southall for Labour until 2006, will appear at Isleworth Crown Court, charged with eight counts of benefit fraud.

He is accused of claiming incapacity benefit, despite allegedly owning a business. He is also alleged to have been seen exercising at a gym.

An Asian Councillor arrested over allegations of money laundering has been cleared after a year long investigation.

Police detained Fida Hussain, 45, in March 2007 and took away documents from his home in Oldham. At the time he said he was stunned and shocked and put his council duties to one side to fight to clear his name.

Now the Crown Prosecution Service has decided the father of five has no case to answer – Councillor Hussain got a letter last weekend telling him the case had been dropped.

A top Taliban commander in Pakistan has ordered his followers to stop all attacks in the country. Pamphlets containing Baitullah Mehsud’s order appeared in tribal areas along the Afghan border. Mr Mehsud, who has been linked with al-Qaeda, said anyone found violating the order would be punished.

Pakistan's new government has said it will deal with Islamic militancy through dialogue and development, although critics say deals only give militants the opportunity to re-group and intensify their attacks in Afghanistan. On Monday night the authorities set free Maulana Sufi Mohammad, the founder of an outlawed Islamist group that has fought in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He was released under an agreement to renounce violence and help restore peace in the north west valley of Swat. The release has been welcomed by Pakistani Taliban. Mr. Mehsud is the man the Pakistani authorities say ordered the killing of Benazir Bhutto.