RCB cricketer Luke Pomersbach who was arrested for allegedly molesting American NRI Zohail Hameed and beating up her fiance Sahil Peerzada, has been granted bail on a surety of Rs.30,000. He will have to surrender his passport and has been directed not to approach the complainant Zohail.

Zohail Hameed has also issued a notice to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) owner Sidhartha Mallya, demanding an apology for his tweets questioning her character.

The arrogant millionaire Mallya sent tweets in which he said 'Zohail flirted and was all over him one night, behaviour that wasn't exactly like that of a future wife!"

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The California Assembly has passed a resolution declaring November 2012 Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month.

The declaration was made by Assemblyman Dan Logue who said every year on the first Sunday of November Sikh Americans celebrate the coronation of their scriptures with parades the largest of which is in Yuba City, and is famous worldwide. Californians of Sikh heritage deserve to be recognised for their significant contributions to the state. They came to California some 100 years ago and have made their mark in agriculture, trucking, medicine and technology.

Some prominent Sikh community members were present in the Assembly when the resolution was passed without opposition. They included Pashaura Singh Dhillon who initiated the move; Gurjatinder S Randhawa (chairman NRI Front USA); Charanjit Singh Bath; Gurdip S Najhjar; Nirmal Singh and Dr Onkar Singh Bindra.

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Bristol's Hindu community may in the near future be permitted to scatter the ashes of their loved ones in the River Avon rather than travelling to the River Ganges in India which was difficult for the families or elderly relatives.

The city's new Lord Mayor Peter Main said providing a consecrated site was one of his priorities as these people are Bristolians, most were born and bred in Bristol, and the Environment Agency and Bristol City Council are trying to identify a site.

According to Parag Bhatt from the Bristol Hindu Temple there are around 10,000 Hindus in Bristol and the surrounding area and not just the Hindus, but the Sikhs too will benefit.

Scattering ashes in British rivers is not new. The River Soar in Leicestershire and the River Thames in London are already used

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US NRI Kunal Saha's wife Anuradha Saha, died during a social visit to Kolkata around 12 years ago, from a rare and deadly skin condition. Dr Kunal is an HIV/AIDs researcher and his late wife was a child psychologist.

After the Supreme Court found three doctors and the AMRI hospital guilty for Anuradha's death and remitted the case to the National Consumer Forum (NCDRC) for the determination of the quantum of compensation, the NCDRC awarded Rs.1.7 crore including Rs.40.40 lakh each against Dr Sukumar Mukherjee and the AMRI Hospital, while Rs.29.93 lakhs each was awarded against Dr. Baidyanath Halder and Dr.Balaram Prasad.

Almost five months after the NCDRC awarded the highest compensation in Indian medico-legal history, the accused hospital and doctors of Kolkata, recently paid up.

The bereaved Dr Saha stated that the medical community in West Bengal, especially the West Bengal Medical Council had tried to protect the guilty doctors. In the course of his fight against the doctors and AMRI, Saha set up People for Better Treatment, India's largest patients' body against medical negligence and medical malaise. He is also fighting corruption in the health sector and in the medical community across India.

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Britain has stepped up action against landlords, many of them of Indian origin, who construct illegal extensions to their homes and rent them to illegal immigrants at extortionate rates.

The extensions - called 'beds in sheds' - are considered hazardous, with slum-like conditions and are occupied by illegal immigrants particularly in areas such as Brent, Ealing, Hounslow Southwark and Slough.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has allocated 1.8 million pounds to councils where the illegal renting takes place, and has formed a task force that includes officials of the UK Border Agency to deal with the situation in which criminal landlords trap vulnerable people. The fund will help tackle the problem head-on and end the growing practice. Councils who have turned a blind eye to the illegal practice in the past have been asked to use the funding and range of powers at their disposal to remedy the situation and flush out those who exploit illegal migrants.

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