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Gulam Noon seeks withdrawal of peerage nomination |
| Amid allegations that Britain’s governing Labour was trading honours for cash, NRI curry tycoon Sir Gulam Noon, who lent a loan of 250,000 pounds to the party, today announced that he was asking for his nomination for a seat in the House of Lords to be withdrawn. His announcement came as another NRI Chai Patel, founder of the chain of Priory Clinics and also a donor of labour before the last general elections, said there were no strings attached to the loan and at no point did he discuss about anything in return. The Labour party has published a list of 12 wealthy donors, including Noon and Patel, who had bankrolled its election campaign to the extent of 13.95 million pounds last year.
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Swaraj Paul fails England loyalty test!
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| NRI industrialist Lord Swaraj Paul says he was delighted when Monty Panesar, the first Sikh to play for Britain, claimed Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket on debut but admits candidly that he supports India when it plays cricket against England. The amiable peer, who is the vice-president of Cricket Foundation, said Panesar’s rise up the cricketing ranks would inspire many other British Asians to make their mark on the international stage. “Knowing Sachin Tendulkar, I am sure that in spite of losing his wicket, he would have admired Panesar. But cricket fans everywhere were disappointed and would have liked to see him carry on batting because he is always such a pleasure to watch. Sachin is the finest batsman in the world; he has a long career ahead of him and I wish him all the best,” he said. Lord Paul also said he would definitely not pass the ‘Lord Tebbitt test’ when it came to sport.
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NRI consultant physician Ajit Lalvani wins science award |
Non-Resident Indian Ajit Lalvani, who is Consultant Physician in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford, has won an award for excellence in science instituted by London-based India International Foundation. The Deputy Indian High Commissioner in London, Ranjan Mathai, presented the award, which was received by Ajit’s father Kartar Lalvani as the doctor was on a lecture tour of Switzerland. Dr. Ajit, a pioneer in Tuberculosis research, had also won the Scientific Prize of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease last year.
The Delhi born doctor leads a research group funded by the Wellcome Trust to investigate the immunology of TB infection and is also a grant recipient from the World Health Organisation.
He is also the founding inventor behind Oxford Immunity and has pioneered T cell based diagnosis of TB infection since 1996. He is the author of over 30 papers in infectious diseases and cellular immunology, and has been awarded several prizes for his landmark contributions to infectious disease research. |
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Syal supports outlawing of forced unions |
| The Kumars at No. 42” star Meera Syal says she supports a British proposal to criminalize forced marriages. However, Syal said, people must understand there is a “vast” difference between forced marriages and arranged marriages, Sky News reported. The British government is launching a series of public service announcements letting people know they should ask for help if they are being forced into marriages against their wills. “This is an extremely important campaign,” Syal said. “For young people, they need to know that there is help out there and that it is OK to ask for help. “And we want the older generations to know that we respect their culture, tradition and we understand that arranged marriages have a place in society,” she said. “But there is a vast difference between arranged and forced marriage consent.” A government decision is expected within weeks on whether to make forced marriages a criminal offense. |
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