W O R L D

Kayani replaces Mush aide with own man
In a significant move, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has replaced President Pervez Musharraf’s key aide, Maj-Gen Mian Nadeem Ijaz Ahmed, director- general, Military Intelligence, with his own nominee. Major-Gen Muhammad Asif will soon take over as the new director- general, MI.

Sikh tourists asked to remove turbans
Sydney, February 26
In what can be called an unsparing security check at the Brisbane airport here, the authorities are demanding passengers to remove their turbans and other culturally and religiously sensitive headgears.

UK cop wins racial discrimination case
London, February 26
A Sikh policeman in Britain has won a racial discrimination case against the Greater Manchester Police that rejected 12 applications from him to join it.

Briton claims genetic links to Duleep Singh
London, February 26
A former white debt collector from the leading British housing society-cum-bank Halifax has traced his genetic links to the last Sikh Maharaja Duleep Singh, who once owned the famous Kohinoor diamond, a media report claimed here today.

Vehicles wait for their turn to refill at a petrol station in Kathmandu on Tuesday as the general strike called by the Madheshi people from south Terai demanding more autonomy entered its 13th day. — Reuters

NRI wins compensation worth $ 6 m
New York, February 26
An Indian American, who lost one of his legs more than four years ago in a ferry accident, will receive a compensation of more than $ 6 million from the city of New York.

Obama emerges favourite
Washington, February 26
In more bad news for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama has for the first time emerged as the favourite among Democratic voters in the White House race while the vitriolic campaign intensified with a fresh slanging match on a photograph of Obama in a traditional African dress.

July timeline on N-deal realistic: US
Washington, February 26
The Bush Administration has said “internal pressure” within India to swiftly move on the civilian nuclear deal is “good” and termed the July timeline for its approval as “realistic”.

Kayani replaces Mush aide with own man
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

In a significant move, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has replaced President Pervez Musharraf’s key aide, Maj-Gen Mian Nadeem Ijaz Ahmed, director- general, Military Intelligence (MI), with his own nominee. Major-Gen Muhammad Asif will soon take over as the new director- general, MI.

The MI along with the main spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is the country’s most influential instrument in the power structure, besides performing its professional assignment to preserve internal and external security. Under Musharraf, the two services have played a critical role in advancing his political agenda.

Technically, the MI is supposed to be directly under the Army chief while ISI operates under the civilian government led by the Prime Minister. Both organisations, however, were directly answerable to Musharraf for the past eight years. The ISI continues to follow that arrangement till date.

Nadeem Ijaz is also Muharraf’s near relative, as is ISI chief Lieut- Gen Nadeem Taj. Ijaz served as MI chief for more than a normal tenure of three years and performed a crucial role in putting Musharraf’s political agenda to practise.

Army sources said Ijaz was set to return to his Armoured Corps and proceed for a command assignment. He would qualify for promotion as Lieut- Gen on completion of the assignment.

Maj-Gen Muhammad Asif belongs to Infantry and was previously in Moscow as Pakistan’s defence attache’in Russia. He was concurrently accredited to Republic of Belarus and Ukraine.

General Kayani has steadily distanced the Army from politics since he took over in November last year. This neutrality is being cited by political circles and civil society activists as a significant contribution in conducting free and fair elections in Pakistan.

Sikh tourists asked to remove turbans

Sydney, February 26
In what can be called an unsparing security check at the Brisbane airport here, the authorities are demanding passengers to remove their turbans and other culturally and religiously sensitive headgears.

A federal investigation has been launched into a ruling by the company in charge of the airport’s security to demand passengers remove for security checks religious headwear, including turbans, veils and Jewish skull caps, the Daily Telegraph reported today.

It is standard airport practice around the world that religious headgear is only removed after conventional screening methods raise an alarm.

At least one international flight was delayed at the weekend when staff from the company, ISS Security, demanded 13 persons of the Sikh religion remove their turbans and asked a Muslim woman to take off her veil.

The department of infrastructure, transport and regional development is investigating whether the clampdown by the company breached the federal airport policy.

But, the staff yesterday said a directive was issued on Saturday demanding all passengers remove their religious headgear for security checks, regardless of whether there was any cause for suspicion.

“We were told you have to take them off, or you’ll be stood down,” one of the company employee said.

The edict, which was reversed late yesterday after inquiries by The Courier-Mail, follows revelations about weak screening and regular weapons breaches at the airport.

The concerns include two knives being found on passengers who had passed through security checkpoints and broad failures of screeners to monitor passengers and baggage.

If workers believed they had been ordered to remove headgear of all passengers there must have been a misunderstanding, a company spokesman said.

Australia has around 50,000 Sikhs among the 21 million population. Vijaypal Singh of the Australian Sikh Association said he had never heard of such a security measure at any airport in the world.

“The practice has always been not to remove headgear worn for cultural or religious reasons unless there is a security concern, such as the metal detector sounding,” he said.

However, airport spokesman Jim Carden said security measures requiring the removal of headgear after a security alarm had been in place for a decade. — UNI

UK cop wins racial discrimination case

London, February 26
A Sikh policeman in Britain has won a racial discrimination case against the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) that rejected 12 applications from him to join it.

Sangram Singh-Bhacker (40), is likely to be awarded a five-figure compensation by the tribunal which noted that he was a qualified, physically fit officer who had been accepted by the Wiltshire, Merseyside, West Yorkshire and Cheshire forces, as well as British Transport Police, his current employer.

Yet Manchester police had blocked his applications despite a white officer of similar age and experience being allowed to transfer into the force.

Singh-Bhacker, who comes from an Indian family in Manchester, had been trying to join the police in his home city since 1990 but was repeatedly refused.

In February last year Andrew Marston, its head of personnel, told him in a letter: “I am not prepared to consider you as a potential transferee with the GMP now or in the future.”

Singh-Bhacker told The Times: “I had had my suspicions over the years and that letter confirmed it. I thought it was personal and racial. I decided to go to an employment tribunal because that was the only way I was going to get any answers.” — PTI

Briton claims genetic links to Duleep Singh

London, February 26
A former white debt collector from the leading British housing society-cum-bank Halifax has traced his genetic links to the last Sikh Maharaja Duleep Singh, who once owned the famous Kohinoor diamond, a media report claimed here today.

Goddard said: “A doctor telephoned me and told me my blood group was very unusual with factors not seen in white northern Europeans. I was subsequently talking to a cousin researching the family tree who told me that there’s a bit of a mystery about who our grandfather’s parents were.”

Goddard said he discovered that his grandfather, Charlie Goddard, who was born in 1888, was the illegitimate son of an unmarried serving maid at Breckles Hall in Norfolk.

The story of Goddard’s bloodline begins with Duleep Singh, who was born in 1838 and lost his kingdom at the age of 11 to the British. He was also forced to surrender the ownership of the Kohinoor diamond, one of the world’s most famous gems, which was given to Queen Victoria and eventually set in the late Queen Mother’s crown.

The Maharaja set up residence in Elveden Hall in Suffolk and in 1864 married the daughter of a German missionary. She bore him three sons and three daughters - none of whom officially had children.

According to the report, although Goddard said it was not impossible Duleep Singh is his great-grandfather, the evidence points to his second son Frederick. Like his father, Freddy was a bachelor and a renowned ladies’ man, who lived at Breckles Hall when Charlie was born.

From then on, the Goddard family tree has continued in less colourful fashion. Goddard was born in Harrow in 1944 and is now a father-of-two. — PTI

NRI wins compensation worth $ 6 m

New York, February 26
An Indian American, who lost one of his legs more than four years ago in a ferry accident, will receive a compensation of more than $ 6 million from the city of New York.

The ferry slammed into a concrete pier at Staten Island after returning from Manhattan resulting in the death of 11 persons and injuring scores of commuters.

Shriram Agni lost his right leg in the ferry crash that took place on October 15, 2003 when it slammed into a concrete pier.

“I have never taken the ferry since”, the Daily News quoted Agni as saying.

According to the city government officials, 123 of the 186 lawsuits filed by the crash victims were settled for a total amount of $ 34 million. Of them, the sum allotted to Agni was the third largest. Two persons, who lost both legs, got $ 9 million and $ 8.9 million, respectively. Agni will receive $ 6.5 million.

Agni, who is 61 now, and the city government arrived at the compensation settlement, which was confirmed by the legal department.

Agni, who was born in Goa, is an engineer with the New York State Housing Department for about 25 years. He arrived in the US in 1970. Agni’s wife Arun is a doctor and his son lives in neighbouring Connecticut with his wife and daughter.

“We believe this was a fair and reasonable settlement in all parties’ best interest. We hope it will bring a measure of solace to Agni”, the department said in a statement. — UNI

Obama emerges favourite

Washington, February 26
In more bad news for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama has for the first time emerged as the favourite among Democratic voters in the White House race while the vitriolic campaign intensified with a fresh slanging match on a photograph of Obama in a traditional African dress.

A CBS News/New York Times Poll has found that Obama, who is leading in the delegate race, had 54 per cent backing of Democratic primary voters as opposed to 38 per cent of Clinton, who faces a do-or-die battle in the March 4 contests in Ohio and Texas.

The fresh setback came as the poll indicated that the 60-year-old former first lady was fast losing her turf in the two states to the African American.

In January, Clinton was leading by a 15 point margin nationally. Today/Gallup Poll released yesterday showed 51 per cent for Obama to 39 per cent for Clinton.

With a tough battle ahead, the vitriolic campaign was fuelled again by a photograph of Obama wearing a white turban and a robe during a 2006 visit to Kenya which appeared on the internet.

The photo was first circulated by internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge in The Drudge Report which said it purportedly came from a Clinton staffer through an e-mail but the New York Democrat dismissed the allegation as "laughable".

The Obama camp was not amused with manager David Plouffe accusing Clinton's campaign of "the most shameful." — PTI

July timeline on N-deal realistic: US

Washington, February 26
The Bush Administration has said “internal pressure” within India to swiftly move on the civilian nuclear deal is “good” and termed the July timeline for its approval as “realistic”.

“... that is our appreciation of the timeline as well,” undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns said when asked to comment on Senator Joseph Biden’s statement during his recent New Delhi visit that the nuclear deal has to be approved so that it is taken up in Congress by June and ratified by July.

The July timeline put forth by Biden “is realistic” as the initiative will have to get to Congress before the summer recess, he said. — PTI