W O R L D

Lord Hameed is Asian of the Year
London, October 30
Lord Khalid Hameed, who was honoured by India with a Padma Shri in 1992 for his contribution to medicine, was presented the Asian of the Year award on Monday night at a glittering ceremony that celebrated the many contributions of Asians to British life.

President Poll
SC verdict on Friday
The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on President Gen Musharraf's eligibility on Friday, presiding judge of the 11-member bench hearing the case, Justice Javed Iqbal said asking counsels from both sides to conclude their arguments by then on Tuesday.

US House recognises Diwali
Washington, October 30
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution recognising the "religious and historical significance" of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights when good wins over evil.

$5.5 m for Indian techie in race case
Silicon Valley, October 30
An Indian engineer, who was fired by her company after she complained of her senior's racist conduct, has been awarded $5.5 million by a San Francisco federal jury.

Rahul gets exposure to diplomacy
Beijing, October 30
The first overseas visit by Rahul Gandhi after being appointed as the general secretary of the Congress has offered him the necessary exposure to delicate diplomacy with China and pragmatic macro economic policies of the Communist country, according to analysts.

World’s oldest animal found
London, October 30
British scientists have found a 400-year-old clam, the world’s longest-living animal, off the coast of Iceland, which may reveal the secret of longevity. The scientists said the discovery of the quahog clam, a bivalve mollusc, aged between 405 and 410 years old, might allow them to get a better understanding of the ageing process, as well as revealing the secrets of a long life.

Indian workers freed
Lagos, October 30
Six foreign oil workers, including Indians, who were kidnapped from an offshore oil field in the Niger Delta, were released today after three days in captivity, officials said. The Indian and Polish workers are in good health, Italian energy giant Eni SpA said.

Ex-B’desh minister gets 17-year jail
Dhaka, October 30
A special tribunal here on Tuesday sentenced former Bangladesh state home minister Lutfozzaman Babar to 17 years in jail for possessing illegal firearms and ammunition. But, the judge for the case said he had softened the sentence in consideration for Babar's poor health.

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Lord Hameed is Asian of the Year

London, October 30
Lord Khalid Hameed, who was honoured by India with a Padma Shri in 1992 for his contribution to medicine, was presented the Asian of the Year award on Monday night at a glittering ceremony that celebrated the many contributions of Asians to British life.

Lord Hameed, who hails from Lucknow, said it was a great honour and he considered himself extremely privileged to be selected as the Asian of the Year.

He said, “We British Asians have contributed to British life to the best of our ability.I have worked here for the past 30 years.A lot has changed for us, it is changing. We are progressing well”.

The publishers of the Asian Who’s Who International Directory -- now in its 32nd year - have instituted the award. It was established in 1975 amidst the negative press associated with the perceived high levels of immigration at the time. Its mission was to highlight the contribution made by Asians to the fabric of Britain.

Monday evening’s event in Central London was attended by over 400 leading lights of the British Asian community, including celebrities from the worlds of business, politics and the arts.

Cherie Blair, wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Baroness Warsi (Conservative) and Lord Ahmed (Labour) were among those present.

In February this year, it was announced by the House of Lords Appointments Commission that Khalid Hameed would be made a life peer and would sit in the House as a crossbencher (non-party political peer).

His peerage was gazetted on March 27 as Baron Hameed of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. He is a hospital management expert and leader in the promotion of international understanding and the development of young people.

Lord Hameed had been the chairman of the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council since 1997. He is also the High Sheriff of Greater London and chairman of Alpha Hospitals.Earlier, he was executive director and chief executive of the Cromwell Hospital. He currently heads the London International Hospitals (LIH).

Lord Hameed is involved in a number of organisations and charities that help develop harmony between diverse faiths and cultures in Britain. He was given the Sternberg Award for 2005 for his contribution to further Christian-Muslim-Jewish relations. — IANS

President Poll
SC verdict on Friday
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on President Gen Musharraf's eligibility on Friday, presiding judge of the 11-member bench hearing the case, Justice Javed Iqbal said asking counsels from both sides to conclude their arguments by then on Tuesday.

Iqbal said some members of the judge might not be available after Friday, which would delay the judgment if the hearing went beyond that date.

The court had allowed presidential election to proceed on October 6 but withheld notification of the results till its verdict on the eligibility petitions.

Attorney General Qayyum Malik deferred his submission till Wednesday after the court allowed another counsel for Lawyers' Forum, A.K. Dogar, to argue his case. He said president Musharraf's lead counsel Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada will argue after he concludes and will be followed by another senior government lawyer Waseem Sajjad.

The court has also promised Justice Wajihuddin's counsel Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan to respond to Malik's contention that the petition is not maintainable. Under the circumstances, some lawyers feared that the court might not be able to meet Friday's deadline.

Dogar contended that the constitution couldn’t be held in abeyance at the point of a gun as Musharraf had done. He said the Supreme Court did not give a carte blanche to Gen Musharraf to amend the constitution but he changes its basic structure.

Dogar said Musharraf is not qualified to contest election under the constitution and the Army Act. The chief election commissioner had no authority to amend the rules exempting Musharraf from Article 63 of the constitution that provides for disqualifications.

He said Musharraf was not elected by the people but imposed himself through a fraudulent referendum. He has now further deceived people by getting himself elected by an outgoing Assembly, he added.

Responding to a senior judge's observation that the Assembly can elect a president twice in case of death or resignation, Dogar said, is done only to complete the remaining term and not for fresh mandate.

US House recognises Diwali

Washington, October 30
The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution recognising the "religious and historical significance" of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights when good wins over evil.

Passed by an overwhelming vote of 358 to 0 on Monday, the resolution said, "it shows our support for the strong and growing partnership and dialogue in international efforts between the US and India", said one of the sponsors.

It "acknowledges the international, religious, and historical importance of the festival of Diwali as well as the religious diversity in India, the US, and throughout the world", said Joe Wilson, the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Lastly, it recognises the importance of Indian Americans, a strong and vibrant immigrant community, he said, noting that it was the first time the US Congress had ever passed a resolution in honour of Diwali.

"I am pleased that this legislation recognising the religious and historical significance of the festival of Diwali, has been brought to the floor today for consideration," said Wilson, the Republican from South Carolina.

"Celebrated by the people of India, the Indian diaspora and the nearly two million Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains in the US, Diwali is a five-day festival held in the fall that celebrates the values of kinship, knowledge, and goodness," Wilson said.

The festival, signifying the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness, is celebrated by lighting oil lamps outside homes. — IANS

$5.5 m for Indian techie in race case

Silicon Valley, October 30
An Indian engineer, who was fired by her company after she complained of her senior's racist conduct, has been awarded $5.5 million by a San Francisco federal jury.

The jury found Kiran Pande's former employer Chevron liable for wrongful termination and retaliation and ruled that she be given roughly $3 million for past and future economic losses, and $2.5 million in punitive damages.

Pande, who is India-born and holds a Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Stanford University, was fired by Chevron in late 2003 after 15 years with the company.

After a three-week trial stemming from incidents that occurred between September 2000 and December 2003, the jury found that Chevron retaliated against Pande after she complained about discrimination and fired her for reasons that violated a public policy.

Chevron first hired Pande as a research engineer in 1988.

But in 2001 Pande began to suffer racist remarks and discrimination at the hand of her senior Rex Mitchell, who is now the company's chief compliance officer, according to her complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. — PTI

Rahul gets exposure to diplomacy

World’s oldest animal found

London, October 30
British scientists have found a 400-year-old clam, the world’s longest-living animal, off the coast of Iceland, which may reveal the secret of longevity.

The scientists said the discovery of the quahog clam, a bivalve mollusc, aged between 405 and 410 years old, might allow them to get a better understanding of the ageing process, as well as revealing the secrets of a long life.

The creature was nicknamed Ming, after the dynasty which ruled China at the beginning of its life.

“When this animal was a juvenile, King James I replaced Queen Elizabeth I as English monarch, Shakespeare was writing his greatest plays -- Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth -- and Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for espousing the view that the sun rather than the earth was the centre of the universe,'' Bangor University said in a release.

The scientists calculated the age of the animal by counting the annual growth rings on the shell, a technology similar to that of estimating a tree’s age. — UNI

Indian workers freed

Lagos, October 30
Six foreign oil workers, including Indians, who were kidnapped from an offshore oil field in the Niger Delta, were released today after three days in captivity, officials said.

The Indian and Polish workers are in good health, Italian energy giant Eni SpA said.

Gunmen in speedboats kidnapped the workers at dawn last Friday from the Mystras, some 50 miles offshore. Another Nigerian worker was reported to have been wounded in the leg in the attack.

Militants have kidnapped more than 150 foreigners this year to press their demands for local control of oil revenues. — AP

Ex-B’desh minister gets 17-year jail
Tribune News Service

Dhaka, October 30
A special tribunal here on Tuesday sentenced former Bangladesh state home minister Lutfozzaman Babar to 17 years in jail for possessing illegal firearms and ammunition.

But, the judge for the case said he had softened the sentence in consideration for Babar's poor health.

Babar is currently in jail on corruption charges, as part of the caretaker government's broader anti-corruption crackdown.