Gurinder Chadha wins Film, TV, Drama section
of GG2 awards

LONDON, Oct 16: Gurinder Chadha, Non-Resident Indian director of the run-away hit ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ has won film, tv and drama award instituted by a leading Asian marketing group for her outstanding work in cinema, tv and theatre in 2002.

The ‘Garavi Gujarat2 (GG2) leadership and diversity awards’ in different categories, considered a premier award for diversity in UK, were presented here last night by British Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon.

Along with Chadha, Britain’s Chief Secretary for Treasury Paul Boateng, a friend of India who will visit New Delhi next month, received the ‘Hammer Award’ for "Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling".

Dipesh Patel, designer of Manchester stadium, won the innovation award while England soccer star Rio Ferdinand was adjudged the sports personality of the year, 2002.

Gary Younge of the Guardian was named as the media personality of the year while William Atkinson, Principal of Hammersmith School, secured the teacher of the year award.

NRI industrialist Rajiv Wahi was chosen ‘Man of the Year’ while Hannana Siddique, a campaigner against race and communal conflicts was adjudged woman of the year.

Chief petty officer, Derek Litherland was chosen for the endeavour award. The music award went to Ms Dynamite.

The entrepreneur of the year award was given to Mayank Patel and the community award of the year to Pastor Nims.

David Michael, detective chief inspector, received the achievement through adversity award while the young achiever of the year award was bagged by short story writer Zadie Smith.

Expressing his best wishes for the awards, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "I am proud to be the Prime Minister of a country of many cultures and many faiths. Events like this recognise the many achievements of Britain’s ethnic community and help strengthen the role that its members are increasingly playing in a wide range of fields, including business, the arts and sciences."

"I appreciate the increasing involvement of the community in public life and look forward to building on this in the future," he said.

Geoff Hoon said the Government had removed "unnecessary barriers" that come in the way of recruitment of Hindus and Sikhs in the armed forces. He said the ethnic minorities currently constituted 4 per cent of the forces and they would be increased by one more per cent in 2003.

The aim of the GG2 leadership and diversity awards is to break down the walls that divide us, said award organiser Ramniklal Solanki, Obe, editor-in-chief of the leading English-Gujarati weeklies ‘Garavi Gujarat’ and ‘GG2’.

"We hope that by highlighting the achievements of members of the ethnic communities, our award winners can act as role models to the community as a whole," he said.

Solanki said racial intolerance and mistrust come in many guises. "At times, openly hostile; at others, lurking insidiously below the surface. Whether open or hidden, there is no doubting the effects."

"The diversity of modern Britain is something to be celebrated. Its rich foliage of cultures has its roots in the common seeds of mankind, its growth in the common bond of nationhood," Solanki said.

Diversity in workforce helped companies to show better results, said Indra Nooyi, president and chief financial officer of Pepsico Inc. USA who was the guest of honour. (PTI)

Blood test can also catches prostate cancer: Report

WASHINGTON, Oct 16: A test that can detect ovarian cancer using a single drop of blood can also catch prostate cancer, potentially saving many men the embarrassment and discomfort of a biopsy, researchers have said.

It found prostate cancer in 95 percent of men whose cancer was confirmed by more conventional means, and also screened out men suspected of having cancer, the researchers reported yesterday.

"This new technology has the potential to revolutionize how men are diagnosed with prostate cancer," Dr David Ovnstein, a Urologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

"It is likely that it will be possible to use a simple blood test to accurately identify men who are affected with a harmful prostate cancer but spare healthy men from undergoing unnecessary biopsies."

Prostate cancer is the second-biggest cancer killer of men in the United States. The American Cancer Society predicts that 189,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and 30,000 will die of it.

It is often found using a PSA test, which checks for levels of a protein called prostate specific antigen that is over-produced by cancerous prostate cells.

Men with intermediate scores of between 4 and 10 on the PSA test are usually advised to get a biopsy — which means having a piece of tissue taken out of this delicate area for testing. Up to 80 percent of men who undergo such a biopsy do not turn out to have prostate cancer.

Writing in the journal of the National Cancer Institute, a team including researchers at the food and drug administration and the NCI described using the blood test, made by Bethesda, Maryland-based Correlogic Systems, Inc.

They compared blood samples from 31 men known to have prostate cancer with those of 25 cancer-free men. They marked out a baseline pattern of proteins found only in the blood of men with cancer. They used this pattern to look for cancer in 266 new patients, many of whom had volunteered for a prostate screening program in chile. "The proteomic pattern correctly predicted 36 of 38 patients with prostate cancer, while 177 of 228 patients were correctly classified as having benign conditions," the researchers wrote.

The test results were not always entirely clear. The blood test suggested cancer in 51 men whose biopsies cleared them of cancer. "These may not all be false positives," the researchers wrote.

Some of the men could have cancer that was not detected by biopsy, they said, noting an earlier study that showed 20 percent of men who have cancer-free biopsies the first time are diagnosed with cancer on a second biopsy.

So the researchers kept an eye on 70 of the men cleared of having cancer, and found that seven developed prostate cancer within five years. All had been correctly diagnosed by the correlogic blood test.

Jamie Bearse, a spokesman for the prostate cancer coalition, said his group was optimistic about the test.

"If the test continues to prove its accuracy, its use along with the new complex psa test can significantly raise the accuracy of positively diagnosing prostate cancer — saving lives and eliminating the need for biopsies in many cases," he said.

Correlogic President Peter Levine said the finding helped validate his company’s approach, which was found earlier this year to also work in predicting ovarian cancer — which is usually not diagnosed until an advanced stage.

"The presence of cancer can be revealed through hidden protein patterns," Levine said in a statement. "This is truly the beginning of a revolution in early disease detection." (AGENCIES)

Vivekanada’s dream of temple universal to be fulfilled

NEW YORK, Oct 16: More than a century after Swami Vivekananda expressed a desire to build a "temple universal", to promote harmony among religions in America, the Ramakrishna Math and mission have drawn up an 6.5 million dollar plan to fulfill his dream.

"We are planning to build this historic temple, and monastery, as a sanctuary where people of all faiths can come together and worship, study, and pray," said Swami Chidananda, of the Vivekananda Vedanta society in Chicago, under whose direction the temple will be built. He added that the project would be completed in 2005.

Initially, an interfaith shrine, a large prayer hall and an Ashram would be built on a 15-acre site selected in a Chicago suburb. It will have an extensive garden and a lot of secluded spaces for meditation. A kitchen, a parking lot and other utilities are planned.

The entire project would be financed through donations. A concert by renowned singer Anup Jalota on November 9 will kick off the fund-raising drive.

"When I heard about the plan," said Jalota, "I felt it was a noble endeavor and I wanted to help out."

The Ashram would have guesthouses for visitors who would be given lessons in Yoga, meditation and religion in an effort to provide serene surrounding for meditation and Yoga.

"The purpose of fundraising is to bring Vivekananda’s vision of universal religion to reality", said Shyam Bhatia, a professor of economics at Indiana Iniversity, and one of the temple supporters.

Girish Parikh, one of Chicago’s best known Indian activists, said the temple, run by Swamis, "will be unique in Chicago, and will offer unparallel access to monks which will quicken the spiritual impulse of people. It is in the interest of Indians in this country to band together to support it."

Claiming that they were trying to follow Vivekananda’s teachings as faithfully as possible, the Swamis said when the Swami introduced Hinduism to America he effectually voiced the mission statement for this "temple universal".

"If there were to be a universal religion, it must be ... Infinite like the god it will preach. And whose sun will shine upon the followers of Krishna and of Christ, on saint and sinners alike , which will not be Brahminical or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan , but the sum total of all these, and still have infinite space for development ... It will be a religion which will have no place for persecution or intolerance in its polity... Offer such a religion and all the nations will follow you."

Vivekananda had then said the object of the temple universal is to help spiritual growth of man by aid of all forms of religions which are so many paths, leading to the same goal.

He knew that he would not live to see his dream fulfilled and often said he would seen his plans fulfilled "from above." (PTI)

Mohammed Chelali: an Arab hero

BEIRUT, LEBANON, Oct 16: Mohamed Chelali is a hero an Arab hero. His name might not be a household word in many parts of the world, but he is famous enough to warrant a private session with several heads of states this week, as the Francophone summit convenes in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Chelali, a modest 45 year-old Algerian, who also holds French and Canadian citizenship, saved the life of French President Jacques Chirac last summer — no minor feat.

Yet Chelali, an engineer by trade, who now teaches at an international school in Beirut, does not consider himself a hero. But his three children — and the French President, as well as the Canadian Prime Minister, certainly do.

Tarek, his 15 year-old son, signs his e-mail messages, Tarek, son of Moh, The Great. And the teenager’s instant messenger name identifies him as my dad is a hero.

Last July 14 — or Bastille day, as Americans insist on calling the French national holiday — Chelali and his family were vacationing in Paris before moving to Beirut, where he had just landed a job teaching.

He took his two children, aged 15 and 13 to see the traditional military parade on the Champs Elysies, when a gunman tried to assassinate the French president. As the gunman — a Frenchman, and a member of an extreme right-wing group — pulled a rifle out of a guitar case and took aim, Chelali, who was standing only feet away, instantly jumped him. He struggled with the gunman, trying to grab the rifle away. Unable to loosen the man’s grip on the rifle, Chelali instead removed the magazine from the weapon, forcing the would-be killer to miss his mark.

Alerted by the scuffle, another man grabbed the front of the gun’s barrel, raising it above the crowds. Together, they forced the gunman to the ground. Meanwhile, both men were shouting police, police, hoping that among the hundreds of additional security agents deployed that day, someone would react and help stop the gunman. I have to say that I did not think, I just reacted, Chelali told United Press International, recalling that fateful day in July. It was only days later that he realized the dangers associated in saving Chirac’s life.

Indeed, given the post-sept. 11 atmosphere prevailing in the West, an Arab, and especially a Muslim, with a gun in his hands could have easily been mistaken for the perpetrator, rather than the savior.

It was only later that I said to myself, ‘imagine if you had succeeded in grabbing the rifle away from the man, and the police snipers positioned on rooftops saw an Arab with a gun. Imagine what would have happened. They could have shot me, and then people would have easily believed that an arab tried to assassinate the French President.’

Heroic as his actions might be, Chelali does not consider himself a hero. But Chirac, just as Chelali’s children do, does indeed consider him one. Besides calling to thank him, Chirac will meet with him on Thursday in Beirut, when the French leader arrives to participate in a meeting that will bring together leaders of 55 French-speaking nations. And later this year, at a special ceremony in Paris, Chirac will name him a knight in the order of merit.

The day after the attack, Chirac personally called him on his cellular telephone to express his gratitude.

My cell phone rang, and someone said, ‘is this Mohamed Chelali? this is Jacques Chirac,’ relates Chelali, with a grin. Thinking it was a joke, he replied, come on, before recognizing the French President’s voice.

Permit me to express my profound gratitude for what you have done, said Chirac.

I replied that I was only doing my duty, said Chelali.

No, no, no, said the French President. Not everybody would do this.

Asked what he will tell chirac when he comes face to face with him for the first time on Thursday, Chelali replies without hesitation, I will tell him that he is the real hero. He is a hero for having won the elections and defeated the extreme right. By doing so, he maintains france’s position as the land of human rights.

Chelali hopes that his actions will help project a more positive image of Arabs around the world. Asked if he had a message for President George W Bush, what would it be?

I would tell Mr Bush that Arabs are not terrorists. We have good people and we have bad people, like everyone else. (UPI)

‘Indian law changed to make increased use of mediation’

WASHINGTON, Oct 16: Visiting Chief Justice B N Kirpal has said Indian law has been changed to make increased use of mediation and soon the country will catch up with US where about 90 per cent of cases are settled through mediation, as against the paltry one to two per cent in India.

Indian law had been changed from July 1 to make increased use of mediation possible, said Kirpal, noting the American method of settling most court cases through mediation instead of letting the lawyers slug it out.

"The US took 20 years to reach where it is today on mediation. It won’t take that long in India. India could catch up with the US may be within 5 or 10 years," Kirpal, who is leading an Indian judicial delegation to US at the invitation of US Chief Justice William H Rehnnquist told reporters here yesterday.

The US Supreme Court receives about 7,000 petitions yearly, out of which they choose about 100 cases to decide while the Supreme Court of India receives 25,000 petitions and it decides many more cases than does the US Supreme Court, he said enumerating the differences.

There is a difference in the method of appointment and tenure of justices also, he said.

In India, the retirement age is 65, and the Chief Justice is always appointed according to seniority. In the US, anyone can be appointed Chief Justice by the President subject to Senate confirmation, and there is no retirement age for federal court or Supreme Court judges, he said.

Under the Indian system of seniority, there is no possibility of favouritism because politics does not play any role in the appointment of Chief Justice, Kirpal said.

On the internships or clerkship for students which is a feature in the US Supreme Court, Kirpal said that a couple of months ago, the Indian Supreme Court decided to have a similar system for students from law schools.

"They receive an honorarium of Rs 7,000, which is inadequate for city accommodation. However, it should be possible to bring over students from England or America too under the system," he said adding "to what extent it will be beneficial to them, I do not know because the case law and procedures are not identical."

Asked why the US judicial system has been more successful than India in prosecuting people in high places, Kirpal said that courts act only when a person is brought to trial.

He said the topics covered at this year’s fourth forum meeting — held every two years alternately in India and US — included issues such as affirmative action, compensation for crime victims, mediation and other topics of mutual interest. (PTI)

‘Clash of civilizations’ condemned

TEHERAN, Oct 16: Speakers at a conference of the International Forum of News Agencies-Coalition for Peace (IFNA-CP) have condemned Samuel Huntington’s ‘clash of civilizations’ theory as a framework for expansion of warmongering at the global level.

" Imagining different civilizations as disintegrated phenomena is simple-mindedness and oversimplification of universal matters," said Eyman Jalili of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting College.

The people of Iran and Nigeria, for instance, belong to two different cultures and civilizations, that are integrated in each other within the larger Islamic civilization, and therefore it is impossible to talk about total disintegration between the cultures of these two people, he said.

He said with the widespread development of technology, the nations of the world had come closer to each other than ever before. When the initiator of the ‘clash of civilizations’ theory devised his idea two decades ago, he never thought his scientific work would serve as the framework for "warmongering by politicians", he said.

Allameh Tabatabaie University Professor Dr Rahaman Sa’idi, said the idea of making war to safeguard global security was misconceived.

In his lecture titled ‘News Agencies, public opinion, global peace, and international understanding’, Dr Sa’idi said the Western media often tended to highlight poverty and other problems in the third world.

Dr Mohammad-Reza Dehshiri from the International University of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said taking full advantage of the potential of the modern mass media was the only way to achieve success in an international coalition for peace.

He called the modern world "the arena of the global mass media and close communications among the world nations’’, arguing that even the contacts among the world leaders are made possible through mass media today unlike in the past, and under such circumstances, news agencies can play a most essential role in promoting and strengthening the foundations of peace at the global level.

Deputy head of China’s Xinhua news agency Kim Piong Ho spoke about the history of wars during the past century, particularly during the cold war era.

He said that 182 wars were fought during the cold war era, which proved that "armed peace" could not guarantee global stability and international security.

Mr Kim said the September 11 terror attacks in the United States threatened global peace, but any effective campaign against international terrorism needs to be conducted under the leadership of the united nations, and not the United States.

"Mutual respect, respecting the independence of other nations, refraining form interfering in their affairs, and peaceful coexistence are the only ways to guarantee global peace and stability," he said.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director General Koichiro Matsuura, in a message to the conference, stressed that media had a key role to play in helping people to learn to think and act differently in order to attain peace.

"In this era of globalization, the power of the media is enormous and with that power goes the media’s responsibility to ensure that they do not foment hatred, violence or discrimination in any form,’’ he said.

He said through the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the media can play an active role in the pursuit of peace, including through contributing to conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building.

In these troubled times, the need for peace is greater than ever before, and UNESCO stands committed to fostering the values, attitudes and behaviours of a culture of peace, Mr Matsuura said, adding that without dialogue, which has the potential to promote respect for all human rights, peace and harmony cannot be attained within and between societies.

"Through dialogue and the exchange of information, we should seek to promote tolerance, solidarity and understanding, and participate in the enriching process of learning from our differences.’’

He said UNESCO has long been committed to helping member States, especially developing countries, to strengthen their communication capacities, the message said, stressing that the organization believes that freedom of the press is vital for democracy and for creating the condition in which processes of reconciliation can flourish and social harmony can be enhanced.

Over 100 heads and representatives of world news agencies and mass media are taking part in the two-day conference aimed to channel media potential towards promoting peace in the world. The conference ends today. (UNI)

Queen Elizabeth II leaves Canada, monarchy
questions unanswered

OTTAWA, Oct 16: Queen Elizabeth II has left Canada, ending a 12-day golden jubilee tour that had all the traditional tree plantings and gala dinners but retained as an undercurrent the question of the future of the monarchy.

Children shouted "We love you" and offered countless bouquets of flowers at the Ottawa Airport before her departure yesterday.

But escorting her right to the aircraft stairs was Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, who had dominated the news when she arrived on Oct. 4, by reiterating his view that canada should abolish the monarchy once Queen Elizabeth’s reign comes to an end.

Elizabeth herself, formally queen of Canada, did not show any sign of being disturbed by Manley’s remarks, and in her last speech in canada she said that whatever happened she would hold the country dear to heart.

"Wherever the future may take us my admiration and affection for Canada and Canadians everywhere is and will always remain clear, strong and sure," she said in a speech on Sunday night across the river from Ottawa in Gatineau, Quebec.

"That..., ladies and gentlemen, is for me a constant, an enduring reference point in times of change."

She did not elaborate, but her words displayed a clear awareness of the unending debate about whether a British monarch should be the head of state of a modern democracy thousands of miles away.

In Canada’s parliamentary system, the elected Prime Minister runs the Government, but the queen remains the head of state, a largely ceremonial position but one in which she or her Governor-general can intervene in a constitutional crisis. Manley’s views that Prince Charles should not succeed his mother to become king of canada do not represent the position of the liberal Government.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien has often quipped that the perennial question of whether mainly French-speaking Quebec should separate from canada was enough of a constitutional question for him.

The queen’s remarks had clear echoes of a statement she made in Australia, which voted 55 per cent to 45 per cent in favor of keeping the monarchy in a referendum in 1999.

At the time, she said she had always made it clear that such an issue was for the people of the country to decide democratically and constitutionally.

"My family and I would, of course, have retained our deep affection for Australia and Australians everywhere whatever the outcome," she said.

Eighty-four per cent of Canadians polled just before her visit said she had done a good job as queen. But only by a narrow majority, 51 per cent to 48 per cent, did those polled want the monarchy to continue beyond her reign.

Manley, who sought to play down the controversy over his remarks as the tour continued, was polite and smiling as he and his wife saw the queen and Prince Philip off yesterday morning.

Her tour of Canada began in the new arctic territory of Nunavut. In British Columbia, she may have done most for her popularity by dropping the puck to ceremonially start a hockey game, a sport that Canadians are passionate about.

She also visited the Prairie province of Manitoba, the Atlantic province of new Brunswick, as well as the Ontario cities of Toronto and Ottawa. (AGENCIES)

Iraq declares 100 % vote for Saddam, Baghdad celebrates

BAGHDAD, Oct 16: Iraq declared Saddam Hussein winner of 100 percent of the votes in a state-orchestrated referendum perpetuating his two-decade reign, and automatic gunfire crackled on Baghdad’s streets in celebration.

Saddam’s regime said the vote, widely dismissed outside Iraq, showed Iraq’s people standing with their leader against any U.S attack and said Iraqis were ready for one.

"If there is aggression, the Americans will face these people who said ‘yes’ to Saddam Hussein," Izzat Ibrahim, vice chairman of Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council and Saddam’s right-hand man, told reporters at Parliament.

Bursts of gunfire exploded in downtown Baghdad as he spoke, as Saddam supporters fired in the air and danced on street corners.

"If the U.S. Administration makes a mistake and attacks Iraq, we will fight them," Ibrahim said. "If they come, we will fight them in every village, and every house. Every house will be a front, and every Iraqi will have a role in the war.

"All Iraqis are armed now, and by god’s will we will triumph."

The vote was rejected by the Iraqi opposition in exile, by the United States, and others outside Iraq. Many in yesterday’s referendum cast multiple ballots representing votes of entire families, stuffing fistfuls of votes into boxes at a time.

The Government offered no explanation for how it tabulated paper ballots from remote regions across the country of 22 million overnight.

The referendum was a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on keeping Saddam in power another seven years.

All 11,445,638 eligible voters cast ballots, Ibrahim said. Iraqi officials said popular outrage at American threats to Saddam’s regime made the turnout and percentage even higher than the last vote, in 1995, when Saddam received a 99.96 "yes" vote.

In a sharply worded news conference broadcast live on Iraqi TV, Ibrahim dismissed a question terming the 100-percent affirmation for Saddam "absurd."

"Someone who does not know the Iraqi people, he will not believe this percentage, but it is real," Ibrahim said. "whether it looks that way to someone or not. We don’t have opposition in Iraq."

Parliament members were expected to go to Saddam sometime today to administer the oath of office immediately. Saddam has not appeared in public since December 2001.

The Government already had declared the day a national holiday, in advance of the results.

Many Iraqis stayed indoors in the first hours after announcement of the results, fearing stray bullets.

Some men took to the streets amid the gunfire, hopping up and down on street corners with linked arms or hanging out of cars plowing through the streets honking horns.

"This referendum and the 100 percent shows that all Iraqis are ready to defend their country and leader," said Khaled Yusef, one of those dancing.

The White House had dismissed the one-man race in advance. "obviously, it’s not a very serious day, not a very serious vote and nobody places any credibility on it," Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said in Washington yesterday.(AP)

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