Amid a string of violent attacks on Indians in Ireland, a 51-year-old Indian-origin man was brutally assaulted and robbed on his way to work earlier this week.

According to an Irish Mirror report, the victim, Laxman Das, has lived in Ireland for 22 years and is an Irish citizen. Das, a father of two, is a sous chef at the Anantara The Marker hotel in Dublin.

He was reportedly travelling to work on his e-bike on Wednesday, August 6, morning when he was targeted by a gang of three men, who allegedly wrestled him off his bike.

The gang, Das told Dublin Live, were “relentless” and started beating him, causing his helmet to break. He said that his phone, credit card, cash and electric bike were also stolen during the incident.

Laxman Das was taken to the hospital following the assault with injuries to his legs, eye socket, shoulder and arm. He was discharged later in the evening.

He is currently on sick leave to recover from the attack.

Racial attacks on a rise in Ireland

Earlier in the week, Anupa Achuthan, originally from Kerala and now an Irish citizen, spoke about her Ireland-born six-year-old daughter Nia Naveen being assaulted outside her home in the city of Waterford, south-east Ireland, and told to “go back to India”.

Violent assaults involving Lakhvir Singh, a taxi driver in his 40s, and entrepreneur and AI expert Dr Santosh Yadav followed an Indian Embassy advisory urging Indian citizens to take “safety precautions and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours”.

The advisory followed a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.

“The people of Ireland stand with the Indian community and will continue to stand firmly against racism in all its forms,” the Irish Embassy in New Delhi said in a social media statement this week.

The Irish India Council welcomed the “strong statement”, adding: “Racism and xenophobia have no place in our society. The Indian community’s contributions continue to enrich Ireland, and our shared bonds remain strong.”

On Saturday, the diversity unit of Ireland’s police force, the Garda National Diversity Unit, said investigations into reports of assault on people of Indian heritage remain ongoing. (Livemint)

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Led by Harshitha Samarawickrama’s unbeaten 45-ball 86, Sri Lanka kicked off their Ireland tour with a comfortable seven-wicket win against Ireland. Despite the absence of their skipper Chamari Athapaththu, the visitors chased down the 146-run target with 20 balls to spare at the Pembroke Cricket Club in Dublin.

Put into bat, Ireland made a steady start to the innings. A 59-run stand in 49 balls between Gaby Lewis and Orla Prendergast laid the foundation for a reasonably strong total. Laura Delany and Rebecca Stockell then took advantage in the death overs with a couple of handy boundaries each even as Sri Lanka chipped away with regular wickets.

However, they couldn’t control that momentum with the ball as Sri Lanka blazed away to a strong start. Vimshi Gunaratne took the attack to Ava Cunning in the second over, hammering her for a boundary and a six in a 15-run over, and keeping that attack going against Predergast and Arelene Kelly. Soon after Vimshi slowed down at the end of the powerplay, Samarawickrama went after the Irish bowlers.

By the time Ireland could strike a few blows, the contest had slipped out of their grasp courtesy of the 83-run opening stand. Samarawickrama powered away to her personal best to help Sri Lanka go one-up in the series.

Brief Scores: Ireland 145/6 in 20 overs (Gaby Lewis 39, Laura Delany 25; Inoshi Praiyadharshani 2-35) lost to Sri Lanka 149/3 in 16.4 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 86, Vimshi Gunaratne 30; Laura Delany 1-16) by 7 wickets (Cricbuzz – TOI)

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Cabinet approval has been granted to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland for cooperation in the Maritime States Partnership Programme. 

According to the Sri Lankan Government, the Governments of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are leading global initiatives on ocean health today. 

Special attention has been focused on providing necessary funds to partnership countries by protecting at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 and by establishing the Blue Planet Fund worth 500 million euros to achieve marine conservation and a sustainable blue economy. 

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has designed a range of programs at both bilateral and multilateral levels to achieve the Fund’s ambitions. 

Sri Lanka has been identified as a country eligible for support under one of those programs, the “Maritime States Partnership Program”. 

Accordingly, it has been proposed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Sri Lanka, and the Governments of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland for cooperation for the Maritime States Partnership Programme. 

The comments of the Department of Foreign Resources and other relevant Ministries have been sought on the draft MoU. 

Accordingly, the Proposal presented by the Minister of Environment to sign the relevant Memorandum of Understanding was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. (NewsWire)

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