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Australia apologises to Aborigines for past sufferings
Malaysian PM dissolves Parliament
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UK Indian wins racism case against Honda
Curbs on Employing Cooks Many teams were
tasked to kill Benazir: Suspects
Pakistan test-fires Ghaznavi
Indo-Canadian denies liability
for accident
Roses make Gulf groups see red
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Australia apologises to Aborigines for past sufferings
Melbourne, February 13 “We apologise for the laws and policies of the successive parliaments and the governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said today in Parliament. There were emotional scenes in Parliament, where Rudd delivered his long-awaited apology. Rudd turned and applauded members of the Stolen Generations in the public gallery after delivering the emotional address to the House of Representatives. The House rose as one to applaud Rudd’s speech. “We, the Parliament of Australia, respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation,” he said. Rudd said: “For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written. We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all. ... A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country Australia,” Rudd said, adding the apology is being made to remove a great stain on the soul of the nation. Rudd said he hoped today’s apology would open a new era in Australian history. — PTI
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Malaysian PM dissolves Parliament
Kuala Lumpur, February 13 Abdullah said the Malaysian King has given his approval for dissolving Parliament so that the elections could be held early. The states have also been advised to dissolve their assemblies, effective from today, he told reporters, adding the date for the polls would be decided by the Election Commission. Elections must be conducted within 60 days after Parliament is dissolved and the Malaysians are expected to go to poll in early March. Malaysian opposition leader and former Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, meanwhile, described as "shameful" the government's decision to hold snap elections before he is eligible to contest because of a ban. Anwar, the leader of Kedilan party who is currently in Hong Kong, was jailed in 1998 on corruption charges. He is also barred from politics until April. "The so-called elections are certainly not fair or free. There is no access to the media in Malaysia, the list of voters is still being challenged,” he was quoted as saying.
— PTI
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UK Indian wins racism case against Honda
London, February 13 Kalmesh Shah (30), moved to the UK from Gujarat in April 2004, and joined Honda in October that year. Shah, who worked at the factory for nearly two years, was allegedly moved randomly between production line jobs without training, bullied and refused toilet breaks by his supervisor. His poor treatment led to a deterioration in his physical and mental health following which he quit. Shah took Honda to a tribunal that finally ruled in his favour despite an attempt by managers to falsify documents and training records in a bid to dispute his claims. “This was never about the money, it was about standing up to a company that treated me like a third-class citizen because of my race. I was persecuted for speaking out and blowing the whistle,” Shah told reporters. He was awarded £15,000 for injury to his feelings, including £10,000 for psychiatric damage, £18,496.21 for loss of earnings since he resigned, two and half years future loss of earnings of 28,356 plus interest, totalling around £64,000. A Honda spokeswoman said: “We have accepted the findings of the employment tribunal, some nine months ago, and consider this case to be a very unfortunate ‘one-off’ and deeply regret the offence to Shah caused by an individual associate”. The tribunal hearing, held in Bristol in June last year, gave its final ruling in October but has only recently awarded the financial settlement. The tribunal ruled: “We consider that there is evidence of a ‘cover-up’ on the shop floor, of the fact that untrained employees were being used to avoid having to stop the line.” — PTI
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Curbs on Employing Cooks
London, February 13 The one billion pound Indian food industry is facing an acute shortage of chefs due to restrictions on employing cooks from the Indian subcontinent. Concerned over the situation, the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS), UK's largest charity providing representation and advice in immigration and asylum law, has asked the Home Office to ease restrictions on migrant workers entering Britain. In a letter to the Immigration minister Liam Byrne, the IAS said the restrictions on lower-skilled workers from outside the EU were causing a severe labour shortage that it could cause "irreparable damage" to the Indian food industry. The industry employs over 50,000 people in nearly 10,000, restaurants and are largely owned by people of Bangladesh origin. Earlier requests by the industry to ease restrictions were met through by roping in east Europeans there. The IAS said attempts to get east Europeans to work in Indian restaurants had failed because they did not have the "cultural sensitivity" required. It also asked for the rules to be relaxed for catering workers from Bangladesh. In 2005, the British government ended a short-term visa scheme for people working in Indian restaurants in the wake of an illegal immigration scam involving Bangladeshi nationals. — PTI
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Many teams were tasked to kill Benazir: Suspects The two suspects in the Benazir Bhutto murder case have confessed to the crime when they appeared before a magistrate in Rawalpindi today, police sources said. Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat arrested recently from different areas of Rawalpindi on a tip-off during the interrogation of another 15-year-old suspect Aitzaz Shah. An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi had remanded them in police custody for eight days on Tuesday. They were produced before a city magistrate today to record confessional statements after which they were sent to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Sources said Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat revealed that more than one teams had been formed to kill Bhutto. One of them comprising Akram Shah and Bilal was taken to the Liaquat Bagh venue of the public rally addressed by Bhutto on December 27. They further disclosed that while Bilal, alias Saeed, fired gunshots on Bhutto when she popped up from the sunroof of her vehicle to wave to a crowd while she was leaving the Liaquat Bagh after addressing the rally, Akram Shah exploded a bomb. Bilal was reportedly killed in the blast but Shah survived and escaped to Waziristan tribal area the next day. Interior ministry spokesman Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema in his weekly press briefing here claimed a breakthrough in the probe into Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, but did not refer to confessional statements. He said the chief investigator would meet the press soon. “Pakistani investigators have got important leads from some arrested suspects and the findings would be made public shortly”, Cheema said. He said there was a whole chain of perpetrators involved in the crime, including masterminds, financiers, motivators and facilitators. While referring to the Scotland Yard detectors, the spokesman said their findings had vindicated the government position despite slight difference on the number of culprits involved in the gun and bomb attack. “We think there have been more people involved in the incident than one as claimed by the Scotland Yard team that had concluded that the same person who fired gunshot also detonated the bomb", he said adding that the British detectives had not ruled out presence of other accomplices.
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Pakistan test-fires Ghaznavi
A strategic missile group (SMG) of Pakistan Army's Strategic Force Command on Wednesday successfully conducted a training launch of Ghaznavi (Hatf-III) short-range ballistic missile.
The launch was conducted at the conclusion of an annual field-training exercise of a Ghaznavi missile group, said an ISPR news release. With this launch of the missile, the command also concluded its highly successful winter collective training, wherein, various missile groups conducted firing of live ballistic missiles under realistic operational environment. This was the third consecutive test by command troops in recent weeks. Earlier, two other SMGs had conducted successful launches of Shaheen-I and Ghauri ballistic missiles. The Ghaznavi missile has a range of 290 km. The field launch exercise was witnessed by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, senior military officers and scientists. Addressing troops in the exercise area, Soomro said the nation was proud of its strategic forces and scientific organisations for having developed and operationalised a strong nuclear deterrence capability. He reiterated that Pakistan stood for peace in the region. Peace comes from strength whereas weakness invites aggression.
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Indo-Canadian denies liability
for accident
Toronto, February 13 Bachittar Singh Brar’s lawyer has filed a statement of defence putting the blame on members of the traditional Sikh wedding parade who were mowed down on the night of August 24 last year. Besides the six persons killed, 17 others were injured when Brar drove through the large, candle-lit group as it paraded up a dimly lit country road east of Vancouver. Victims and families of the dead have filed a series of lawsuits against Brar, his son Kulwant Singh Brar and the city of Abbotsford, which is responsible for the road.
— PTI
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Roses make Gulf groups see red
Dubai, February 13 Islamic groups in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been conducting raids at flower and gift shops since last week, issuing warnings to shop owners to remove all red items. In Saudi Arabia, the agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice visited flower and gift shops in Riyadh on Saturday to instruct them to remove all red items, ranging from red roses and wrapping paper to boxes and teddy bears, from their shelves, shop owners said. "They visited us last night and gave us warnings. We have packed up all the red items and displays," one florist told the Saudi Gazette on Sunday. Sunday was the last day people could buy red roses in Riyadh until Valentine's Day passes. Every year, Commission agents visit flower shops a couple of days before February 14 to issue warnings. On the eve of Valentine's Day, they start their raids and confiscate any red item that symbolises love, florists told the daily. "Sometimes, we deliver the bouquets in the middle of the night or early morning to avoid suspicion," the florist said. However, the black market for buying red roses in the Saudi capital is thriving with a single rose which used to cost around SR5-7, now costing SR10 and the price is likely to go up to SR20-30 by tomorrow. — PTI
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