News

There will be a special screening of powerful documentary Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 on Saturday 29th October.

The Genesis Cinema in Mile End will be the venue where Urban Screen will show the award-winning documentary followed by a Question and Answer session with a panel which includes political activist Lee Jasper and filmmaker Ishmahil Blagrove.

Today is a special day for StopWatch which marks its first anniversary since being launched by Reverend Jesse Jackson last October.

The action group was launched in response to tackling the disproportionately high number of Black and Asian people being stopped and searched in the UK.

History was made in South Africa after the main opposition party elected a Black woman as its leader in parliament in a bid to challenge the governing African National Congress (ANC).

Lindiwe Mazibuko, who was only elected to parliament around two years ago, has been chosen to lead the Democratic Alliance as the party looks to shed its liberal white image. Mazibuko ousted Athol Trollip, who had held the position since 2009, after beating him in the race for leadership earlier this week.

BBC1 bosses have decided to commission their first Asian sitcom created by presenter and journalist Adil Ray.

Citizen Khan will be a six-part series set in Sparkhill, Birmingham and follows self-appointed "Muslim community leader" and businessman Mr Khan and his British-Pakistani family.

This is supposed to be the time of the year when the football family in the UK stands together and embrace Kick It Out's "One Game, One Community".

Eighteen people have died in this year in police custody so far. Over the past five years (up to the end of 2010) there have been a total of 117 deaths in police custody, according to INQUEST. It is clear from these statistics that custody deaths remains an important issue that the public should take note of in the UK today.

The Asian News marked the 10th anniversary of the Oldham riots earlier this year with a series of insightful articles around the disturbances. Happening before 9/11, those disturbances were to transform the way Britain viewed its Muslim communities, and also the way many Muslims viewed themselves.

Prominent church leaders from the community have spoken out against the disturbing spate of black deaths in custody in the latest edition of Black Mental Health UK’s The Solution magazine.

Their comments come ahead of a public meeting on black deaths in custody at the London School of Economics Student Union (LSESU) tonight from 6.30 – 9pm organised by Black Mental Health UK and the LSESU.

The Hindu festival of Diwali is commonly referred to as the festival of lights, however, the word itself means ‘rows of lights’, this is because homes and shops are decorated with divas.

The meaning of Diwali varies in different regions of India but I believe that the festival celebrates the return of Ram and Sita to Ayodhya. Ram was exiled for fourteen years following a disagreement over who should be the next king. Whilst in exile, Ravan, the demon king kidnaps Ram’s wife, Sita.