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Bureau report
Manchester: The Press Club of Pakistan UK (PCP) organised a Hate Crime Workshop at Dhalia Coffee, Burnage, Manchester. The event was supported by Manchester City Council and Southway. Speakers included Nasrallah Khan Mughal, Mahmood Khan, Councillor Carl Austin Behan and Mahboob Elahi Butt. Councillor Muqddasah Bano, Mansur Ahmed Khan, while Gulzar Khan, Aqsa Bano, Samuel Jacob and many local community members also attended.
PCP President Mahmood Khan, speaking on hate crimes against the Muslim community, said hate crime remained a serious issue in the UK. He referred to a report published in March 2025 on hate crimes in England and Wales, which highlighted the targeting of Muslims. He said anti-Muslim hostility and online threats had increased during the period covered by the report. He added that hate crime had a wider impact on communities and called for effective policies, community engagement, education and awareness of racism. “Britain is a multicultural society, and we need to support each other,” he emphasised. Councillor Muqddasah Bano recommended organising anti-hate seminars in schools to raise awareness among young people. Mahboob Elahi Butt called for more seminars and a friendly atmosphere in communities. He said social media was a major factor in spreading hatred and stressed that education and open conversations could help tackle the problem. Senior journalist Tajammul Gurmani said greater harmony was needed between different religions. He suggested that religious leaders should encourage their followers to respect other faiths. He also expressed concern that some religious leaders promoted fear of other religions rather than understanding. Nasrallah Khan Mughal spoke about hate crimes against Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities. Referring to attacks on synagogues in Manchester and North London, as well as the burning of four ambulances donated by members of the community, he condemned hatred and violence. He stressed that children should learn at school that everyone deserved respect, regardless of faith or sexual orientation.
He concluded by calling for stronger relationships and alliances between communities to bring people together and promote mutual understanding.

Nisar Kallu
MISSISSAUGA, Canada: Alvin Tedjo has won Mississauga’s mayoral election, defeating incumbent Mayor Carolyn Parrish and former mayor Bonnie Crombie in the October 26 municipal vote.
Tedjo received 74,479 votes, followed by Parrish with 51,853 and Crombie with 43,191. He finished 22,626 votes ahead of his closest rival.
The victory marks a significant moment in Mississauga’s political history. Tedjo will become the city’s first male mayor since Ron Searle’s tenure ended in 1978. Women have led the city for the intervening 48 years, through the administrations of Hazel McCallion, Bonnie Crombie and Carolyn Parrish. McCallion alone served for 36 consecutive years, from 1978 to 2014.
Tedjo, who is of Chinese-Indonesian heritage, grew up in Mississauga after his parents settled in the city when he was four. His election is also a notable milestone for the representation of the city’s diverse population and immigrant families. Previously the councillor for Ward 2, Tedjo finished second in the 2024 mayoral by-election before winning this year’s contest.
Housing affordability, municipal spending, public safety and transit were prominent issues during the campaign. In his victory address, Tedjo described the result as a clear public demand for change at City Hall.
Mississauga’s City Clerk formally certified the election results on October 29. A total of 191,166 voters participated in the municipal election, representing a turnout of 33.9 per cent.
The mayor-elect and incoming councillors will take their oaths of office at the inaugural council meeting on November 16, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Living Arts Centre, formally beginning their term.

City reporter
Prince Harry is reportedly keen to rebuild his relationship with his father, King Charles III, following years of family tensions. The Duke of Sussex, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States with his wife, Meghan Markle, has faced a prolonged rift with the Royal Family.
In an interview with GQ magazine published on Tuesday, Harry said: “With everything else that’s going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile.” He also expressed hope of repairing his relationship with his elder brother, Prince William, while acknowledging that past disagreements had left lasting scars.
His remarks signal a willingness to move beyond the family dispute, although it remains unclear whether reconciliation will follow.

Zain Ali Khan
LONDON: New Mexico court delivers one of the largest financial penalties in US history as technology giant vows to appeal
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been ordered to pay a staggering $25 billion (£18.6 billion approximately) to the US state of New Mexico after a court found that the social media giant had misled users about the protection of their personal data.
The ruling, delivered by state court Judge Francis Mathew on Wednesday, follows a jury verdict in September that found Meta had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. The case centres on allegations that the company misrepresented how it handled users’ personal information and enforced its policies against hate speech and misinformation.
The legal action dates back to 2021, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a British political consulting firm improperly obtained personal data from millions of Facebook users. The controversy raised serious questions about Facebook’s privacy safeguards and the use of personal information for political advertising.
The jury found that 26 of 29 statements made by Meta and its leadership about data privacy and related policies were misleading. The court also concluded that Facebook’s privacy controls failed to provide users with meaningful control over their information and that the company did not consistently notify users when applications misused their data.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez welcomed the outcome, describing it as a significant step towards holding powerful technology companies accountable for their actions.
Meta, however, strongly rejected the ruling and confirmed that it would appeal. The company argued that the case threatened its ability to operate in the state and accused the authorities of using consumer protection laws to restrict online speech. Its chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, said the company was confident it would prevail on appeal.
The court had considered a potential penalty exceeding $219 billion under state law before reducing the amount to $25 billion. The final financial liability will depend on the outcome of any appeal and further legal proceedings.
The decision represents a major legal setback for Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It also sends a warning to other technology companies that claims about privacy, data security and online safety may carry substantial legal consequences if they are found to mislead consumers.
The case has renewed debate over whether existing laws are sufficient to protect personal information in an increasingly digital world, where social media platforms collect vast quantities of data from billions of users.