User talk:Shamlalpuri

YOU ARE INVITED TO READ MY LATEST NOVEL, AXIS OF EVIL: BLOOD MONEY, AN INTERNATIONAL THRILLER ON THE WAR ON TERRORISM (www.crownbirdpublishers.co.uk)

SHAMLAL PURI, London-based journalist, author, broadcaster, press photographer and humourist, was born on 4 July.

Shamlal is the author of several books. His latest work is Axis of Evil: Blood Money, an international thriller set in the UK, Africa and the Middle East (Crownbird Publishers, London 462 pages. ISBN 978-0-9552627-1-5 www.crownbirdpublishers.co.uk). This book has out-scooped journalists and the international community by unearthing how poaching in Africa is being used to raise money for Jihad in the Middle East.

His other work is That's Life: Michael Matatu At Large (288 pages, Crownbird Publishers). This book is a collection of magazine articles that Shamlal wrote in a humour column in Drum and True Love magazines, Africa's best selling mass circulation magazines, for over 20 years. Shamlal is considered an old Drum hand having been involved with this magazine for over quarter of a century.

Shamlal spent his childhood in Tanzania. Even as boy he knew his vocation was to work in journalism. His first article appeared in a magazine when he was only 13. Since completing his tertiary education with a specialisation in African affairs, he began to work as a professional journalist, a field that he has occupied ever since. His work has been published in more than 250 magazines, newspapers and journals around the world. He has worked full time with the media in Africa, India and the United Kingdom. He started his full time journalistic career with the Daily News in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, under the paper's Managing Editor Benjamin William Mkapa. Mr Mkapa was elected the President of the United Republic of Tanzania for two consecutive terms 1995-2005.

In The UK, Shamlal has been variously Publisher and Editor of Newslink Africa, a pioneering African affairs news syndication service in London. He has also been the Senior Editor of World Times Magazine published in the Fleet Street of London; editor of Harambee African News Service. He also worked as an assistant editor of India Weekly published in London. His voice was first heard on the international air waves on Radio Sangam, a Christian radio station, when he was only 16. He has also broadcast on BBC World Service, BBC TV, Britain's Channel 4 TV and BBC Local Radio. He has also appeared on numerous channels and stations as far away as Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Turkey and Canada.

Shamlal also worked as a sub-editor on the Observer series of newspapers in West London. He was part of the launch team of The Leader series of newspapers in Brent, West London. He was, for a while, the executive editor of AfroFun magazine.

Shamlal is an acknolwedge authority on press freedom in Africa. For some 24 years he was the Africa Press Freedom consultant for the International Press Institute producing their annual African Press Freedom Report. He is the co-author of Article 19's book on Press Freedom. He has also been a consultant on African press freedom for Unesco. He is the co-author of the annual Africa South of the Sahara (1995 and 2001 editions). He also wrote a working paper for Transperancy International entitled, Self Censorship and the Africa Media' which he presented at a conference in Brussels.

Shamlal has also been a professional news photographer, and compiled a picture library of 250,000 images. His photographs have been widely published globally, including the British national press.

Shamlal has travelled to more than 90 countries and now lives and works in the United Kingdom.