News

It was nearly 75 years ago when Oswald Mosley's British Union of Facists march against the immigrant communities in Whitechapel were countered by anti-fascist demonstrators in the famous "Battle of Cable Street".

The defeat of the Blackshirts showed the spirit of the community in the East End and that will be on show again on Saturday with the impending demonstration by the English Defence League (EDL) in Tower Hamlets.

Buried amidst the rubble in the aftermath of London’s troubled week is news about the spot inspection at Wandsworth prison being “demeaning” and “unsafe”. The BBC report outlines a number of alarming failings: the unacceptably high levels of self-harm and self-inflicted deaths; prisoners being locked in their cells from anything between 16.5 hours to 22 hours per day; the poor provision for Foreign Nationals; and the conclusion that Black and Minority Ethnic prisoners were disadvantaged in significant areas of the prison.

It is a rare sight indeed to see a Muslim woman on a bike and I endeavour to make it not so! In 2008 the first Muslim women's riding club was set up in Jagonari Centre in Whitechapel where they trained local Muslim women to ride bikes.

The recent riots earlier this month seemed to influence a reaction that young people, in particular, are rebellious, futureless and simply out to ruin their streets. However, OBV’s Lewisham Civic Leadership participants, Juney Muhammad and Daniel Pink have been working with young people between the ages of 11-19 and encouraging them to take up leadership roles, not giving in to this stereotypical view, but instead prove that they are able to do something constructive in the community and in their lives.

Hollywood is a place where dreams are created for the public to enjoy, but the film industry has been accused of racism by one of its own.

Rising actress Zoe Saldana believes she has been the victim of discrimination and overlooked for film roles because she doesn't fit the picture.

The 33-year-old, who has played leading roles in films such as Avatar, Star Trek and The Losers, said she had witnessed racism throughout her life and that when it came to Hollywood, she was still judged on her skin colour rather than her acting abilities.

As Eid-ul-Fitr arrives, marking the end of Ramadan and a month long commitment to abstinence, temperance and contemplation, OBV would like to extend our warmest greetings and blessings to our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Muslim calendar, is spent by fasting from sun up to sun down and has proved a particularly assiduous challenge for Britain’s Muslim community this year with long summer days lasting for up to 18 hours.

All the hype and hysteria for the 2012 Olympic Games in London have been overshadowed by an equally important sporting event also taking place next summer.

This week marks exactly a year to the day when the capital hosts the Paralympics, and hundreds of athletes are psyching themselves to put in the extra hours on the track, in the gym and battling against the odds to be ready to represent Britain and bring home the medals.

Just weeks after riots which breached the peace in London and other cities in England, there were calls for the Notting Hill Carnival to be called off this year.

But having become a permanent fixture on the calendar on the last Bank holiday of the summer, the two-day festival livened up the streets of west London with a riot of colour, music, food and multicultural camaraderie.