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A window on Scotland’s musical diversity
Dec 15, 2018
Book Review: PARALLELS AND PARADOXES: Explorations in Music and Society
Oct 4, 2004
Muslim marriage and family law in England and Wales
Sep 20, 2011
FSA [FCA] requires action of the HSBC Group
Mar 8, 2013
UK warned against ‘knee-jerk’ response over Syria
Jun 14, 2013

Dec15

A window on Scotland’s musical diversity

Posted by Editor on 12-15-18 in Art & Culture News, NEWS

Scotland’s musical diversity is to be showcased in a London concert 18 December 2018 by an international ensemble that draws on the exemplary talents of artists from Scotland, Poland and Armenia. The group’s performance features Paul Livingston on viola, Ani Batikian on violin and Paulina Mikolajczky on cello. The one-hour concert takes place at the South Kensington centre’s familiar and famous marble fountain (pictured), scene of many a Music@One event of astounding beauty and verve. These afternoon events are a regular draw, not least for aficionadi literally straying off the street into this handsome oasis of calm. In unobtrusive harmony with the soothing trickle and flow of the water, artists fuse the instrumental and vocal music of myriad cultures and civilisations within the wider remit of this multipurpose space. Armenia is the farthest east of musical traditions represented by Batikian’s violin. It borders Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and some contentious territories in the southern Caucasus. It’s an area where a global network, AKDN, and its numerous charitable and voluntary activities regularly influence the lives of millions in numerous ways. A Music Initiative fusing innovation and tradition in far-flung communities is one of them. Mikolajczky, from Poland, in a sense, represents one...

Oct04

Book Review: PARALLELS AND PARADOXES: Explorations in Music and Society

Posted by Editor on 10-04-04 in Book News & Reviews

Few outside his immediate circle would have foreseen that soon after the publication of this highly original book on music, there will be requiems in mourning for Edward Said worldwide, writes Sajid Rizvi. The fighting philosopher died in New York in September 2003 after a long battle with leukaemia at the tender age of 67—tender in proportion to his intellectual rigour. The book’s seemingly innocuous title and its tentative subtitle immediately draw the reader to its substance. Unbeknownst to many, Argentina-born Israeli Daniel Barenboim and Said, a native of Jerusalem, were close friends. Also unknown to many, Said, in spite of (or perhaps parallel to) his fame as a campaigning academic and critic, was a passionate connoisseur of music, an accomplished pianist and a musical essayist. His friendship with Barenboim, director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and of the Berlin State Opera, baffled or intrigued some westerners but it was quite in step with tradition in Palestine, where Arabs and Jews had lived in relative harmony for hundreds of years right up to the end of the Second World War and the establishment of the state of Israel. The two shared something else: fearlessness in the face of adverse...

Sep20

Muslim marriage and family law in England and Wales

Posted by Editor on 9-20-11 in Communities & the Law

With the rise of Muslim couples living in England and Wales, many couples have both civil and Muslim weddings, which give rise to potential conflict, writes lawyer Marwa Hadi. Many couples have married in another jurisdiction and subsequently become resident in England and Wales. This can create conflict between the rules governing Islamic marriages and Civil marriages and the position is by no means clear, in particular when such marriages break down. Is my marriage recognised in England and Wales? Whether a marriage is recognised in England and Wales depends firstly on where the parties marry. If an individual marries overseas, in a country in the Middle East for example, then provided the individuals marry in accordance with the laws of the country, then the marriage will be regarded as valid in England and Wales. If an individual marries in England and Wales then the position is different. Many Muslims living in England and Wales marry in accordance with the Shari’a law and although any Nikah ceremony performed in England and Wales means they are married in the eyes of God, this does not constitute a valid marriage for the purposes of English law unless the marriage takes place...

Mar08

FSA [FCA] requires action of the HSBC Group

Posted by Editor on 3-08-13 in NEWS

The Financial Services Authority (FSA), as lead regulator for the HSBC Group globally, is taking action in relation to issues in respect of HSBC’s compliance with anti-money laundering rules and US sanctions requirements, the authority said. [Editor’s Note] FSA later split into FCA and another regulatory body, the Prudential Regulation Authority. On 1 April 2013, the FCA became responsible for the conduct supervision of all regulated financial firms and the prudential supervision of those not supervised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The FSA, as lead regulator [then] for the HSBC Group globally, said it is taking action in relation to issues in respect of HSBC’s compliance with anti-money laundering rules and US sanctions requirements. The FSA has worked closely with the relevant US authorities and this action is separate to, but coordinated with the actions taken by them, the regulatory body said. The FSA has made a number of requirements of HSBC Holdings plc which are designed to ensure that all parts of the HSBC Group are in compliance with the relevant legal and regulatory requirements across the Group to prevent similar failings occurring in the future. The FSA requires HSBC Holdings to: • Establish a committee of the...

UK warned against ‘knee-jerk’ response over Syria

Posted by Editor on 6-14-13 in NEWS

Britain should avoid copying the United States and a knee-jerk response that drags London deeper into the Syrian situation, parliamentarian John Baron warned (18 June 2013). In a statement issued in response to news that President Barack Obama has threatened to set in train the ‘enormous consequences’ announced in 2012, following the claim that chemical weapons have been used by President Bashar al-Assad, Conservative Party MP John Baron urged caution. He believes we do not need to follow the American lead, and that we should not arm or further help the Syrian rebels by way of military intervention, a statement issued by the parliamentarian’s office said. “Sometimes good friends tell each other when they are going wrong. We do not have to follow the American lead,” Baron said. “The Prime Minister has promised me and others that there will be a full debate and vote in the House of Commons before we step up our aid to the Syrian rebels.” Baron added, “We must guard against ‘mission creep’. The more we edge closer to direct involvement, the more we become responsible for events on the ground. And the more we would find it difficult to extricate ourselves.” “How...