LONDON: A legal and branding dispute has surfaced between once viral sensation Arshad Khan — popularly known as blue-eyed Arshad Khan Chaiwala — and Nadir Durrani, the London-based businessman who helped introduce the Café Chaiwala brand to Britain.

The disagreement centres on the use of the Chaiwala name, payments and claims of independent brand development.

Arshad Khan first became a household name in 2016 after a photo of him making tea at an Islamabad stall went viral. Riding that wave of fame, he launched his original Chaiwala Café in October 2020. In March 2021, UK master franchise rights were granted to Nadir Durrani and Yawar Akbar Durrani under a 10-outlet master franchise agreement.

The first branch under this arrangement opened in East London, Ilford Lane, in 2023, followed by a sub-franchise in Tooting, South London, in early 2025 — both doing good business.

The case hinges on intellectual property rights and contract interpretation. Arshad says the UK partners have terminated him.

Speaking to Geo News, Nadir confirmed the UK operation has terminated its contract with the brand represented by Arshad. “We have parted our ways amicably. We will soon rebrand under a new name — to be revealed very soon. We are opening another outlet in Slough, West London, soon.”

He contends that what was originally presented as a franchise turned into a “self-built enterprise” as the UK team received “no operational, material, or marketing support from the franchise owner Kazim Hasan, and we had to design everything independently — from the logo and interior design to recipes and customer experience”.

He added that despite paying royalties faithfully, the UK business was left without the resources typically provided in a legitimate franchise system. “Everything that defines our cafés — the visuals, menu, and feel – was created here, not imported. We received no support from Arshad Khan’s team. He couldn’t come to the UK over his Afghan nationality matter. Every promise his team made turned out to be false.”

Nadir said, “Arshad Khan’s team played no part in our success. The café’s identity, menu, operations, and branding were not inherited from the franchiser but conceived and built entirely through my own creativity, experimentation and perseverance. I bore the financial burden, took all the risks, and did the foundational work typically done by a brand’s headquarters. Our success is based on our sheer personal dedication.”

Arshad claims that since early 2025, he has faced ongoing contractual and payment issues with his UK partners. He told this reporter he had not received royalty payments for over 10 months despite the cafés continuing to operate and “making good money”.

“They sent me a termination notice and stopped my payments,” Arshad claimed. “But they are still running the business under my brand name ‘Café Chaiwala’ — only removing ‘Arshad Khan’ from the branding. “This is my name, my identity, and my hard work. I just want justice.”

Nadir said: “Arshad Khan was not the franchisor but instead was managed by Kazim who was the actual franchisor who signed the agreement with us. When we signed the deal with Kazim, they had one flagship unit in Blue Area and more opening in Pakistan but they lost all their units due to poor performance. We sued them in Pakistan and have a favourable judgement with us. Arshad Khan’s troubles were never mentioned to us prior to signing the contract. We offered to buy the franchise outright but the franchisor didn’t cooperate.”

Arshad also said that he has now hired solicitors to pursue legal action and intends to travel to London following the unblocking of his CNIC — over the Afghan nationality issue, which was resolved last month.

In a statement, Kazim said: “The brand and its ownership remain solely under our franchise rights.”

• Mamdani leads by 14.7 points in RCP average.
• 734,317 early ballots cast, quadruple 2021 count.
• Trump, Musk endorse Cuomo on election eve.

Voters in New York City will choose their next mayor on Tuesday, closing out an eventful campaign featuring Democrat Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa 

Early voting has ended, with 734,317 ballots cast over the past nine days, more than four times the 2021 tally, Al Jazeera reported, citing the New York City Board of Elections. As of the latest RealClearPolitics average, Mamdani leads on 45.8%, a 14.7-point advantage over Cuomo (31.1%) and a 28.5-point lead over Sliwa (17.3%). 

Late on Monday, Donald Trump and Elon Musk endorsed Cuomo; it is unclear whether the last-minute backing will shift votes.

The race follows the withdrawal of incumbent Democrat Eric Adams, who left the contest on September 29 after poor polling. Adams, in office since January 2022, had faced controversies, including a federal criminal indictment on bribery and conspiracy charges that was later dismissed by a judge in April. 

This year’s contest has drawn clear lines between progressive, establishment and conservative camps in the country’s largest city.

How the voting works

Unlike the city’s primaries, which used ranked-choice voting, the general election is first-past-the-post: the candidate with the most votes wins. 

As of February, New York City had 5.1 million registered voters, about 65% Democrats, 11% Republicans and roughly 1.1 million unaffiliated. 

Registration closed on October 25 for the November 4 vote. In the last mayoral election, just over 1.1 million ballots were cast (about 21% turnout).

To be eligible to vote, residents must be US citizens, 18 or older on election day (pre-registration at 16–17 permitted), New York City residents for at least 30 days, not in prison for a felony conviction, not adjudged mentally incompetent by a court, and not registered elsewhere. 

Polling places are scheduled to open from 6am to 9pm on November 4; some local schedules vary, with openings from 8 to 10am and closings from 4 to 9pm. Early voting ran from October 25 to November 2; locations were listed by the city’s Board of Elections.

Who’s on the ballot

Zohran Mamdani, 34, the Democratic nominee and a New York State Assembly member for Astoria, has rallied liberal voters with proposals for universal free childcare, free buses and a rent freeze for roughly one million rent-regulated apartments. 

His platform also includes higher taxes on the city’s wealthiest, raising corporation tax and expanding affordable housing.

Andrew Cuomo, 67, is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani. The former governor, who resigned four years ago amid sexual harassment allegations, has centred his campaign on public safety, pledging 5,000 additional New York Police Department (NYPD) officers and a crackdown on nuisance and quality-of-life offences. 

Trump, who has labelled Mamdani a “communist”, effectively endorsed Cuomo in an interview on Sunday, and billionaire backers have urged Sliwa to step aside to consolidate the anti-Mamdani vote. Elon Musk also endorsed Cuomo on Monday.

Curtis Sliwa, 71, is the Republican candidate. His law-and-order message, vows to cut bureaucracy, and plans to boost investment outside affluent Manhattan have struggled to gain traction in polling.

Al Jazeera notes that some five million registered voters are set to cast ballots on November 4 to choose the city’s next leader. 

One person was killed when Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the central Philippines on Tuesday, the national disaster agency said, as torrential rains, strong winds and storm surges forced tens of thousands to evacuate from their homes.

With sustained winds of 150 kph and gusts of up to 205 kph when it made landfall early on Tuesday, Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, is forecast to move across the Visayas islands region and out over the South China Sea by Wednesday.

Tens of thousands of residents were evacuated across the Visayas region, including parts of southern Luzon and northern Mindanao, and one person had died, the national disaster agency reported.

A video on DZRH radio’s Facebook page showed homes in Talisay City completely submerged, with only rooftops visible. Similar scenes in parts of Cebu City, where vehicles and streets were underwater, circulated on social media.

State weather agency PAGASA said the combination of Kalmaegi and a shear line had brought heavy rains and strong winds across the Visayas and nearby areas.

“Due to interaction with the terrain, Tino may slightly weaken while crossing Visayas. However, it is expected to remain at typhoon intensity throughout its passage over the country,” PAGASA said in a morning bulletin.

More than 160 flights to and from affected areas have been cancelled, while those at sea were advised to head to the nearest safe harbour immediately and to stay in port.

PAGASA warned of a high risk of “life-threatening and damaging storm surges” that could reach over 3 metres high along coastal and low-lying communities in the central Philippines, including parts of Mindanao.

The Vietnamese government also said on Tuesday that it was preparing for the worst-case scenario as it braced for the impact of Kalmaegi.

The typhoon is forecast to make landfall Thursday night in Vietnam’s central regions, which have already suffered heavy floods that killed at least 40 people and left 6 others missing over the past week.

“This is a very strong typhoon, which continues to strengthen after entering the East Sea,” the government said in a statement, referring to the South China Sea.

Kalmaegi comes as the Philippines, which is hit by an average of 20 tropical storms each year, recovers from a run of disasters including earthquakes and severe weather events in recent months.

In September, Super Typhoon Ragasa swept across northern Luzon, forcing government work and classes to shut down as it brought fierce winds and torrential rain.