January 2018

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Prince Harry, Markle
to marry on May 19
London : Britain’s Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle
will marry on May 19 at
St George’s Chapel in
Windsor Castle near
London, Kensington
Palace said on Friday.
“His Royal Highness
Prince Henry of Wales
and Ms Meghan Markle
will marry on 19th May,
2018,” the couple’s official
residence said in a
statement.
Royal officials last
month announced 33-
year-old Harry’s engagement
to the 36-year-old
divorcee, who is best
known for her starring
role as a lawyer in the hit
television show Suits.
Markle is planning to get
baptised in the Church of England ahead of her marriage and will
apply for British citizenship. The couple are living in Harry’s cottage
on the grounds of Kensington Palace with Markle’s beagle
Guy. St George’s Chapel is where Harry was baptised and has been
the scene of numerous royal marriages, particularly in the 19th century.
Markle will also spend Christmas with the British royal family
at Queen Elizabeth II’s private Sandringham estate — the first
fiancee invited to Christmas by the royals.
Virendra Sharma MP attends parliamentary
reception for Cancer52
Virendra Sharma MP attended a parliamentary reception organised
by charity Cancer52, an alliance of nearly 100 charities united
by their vision of a better future for everyone affected by rare and
less common cancers. The reception[i] was hosted by Chairman of
the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cancer (APPGC)[ii] John
Baron MP. The reception's key objective was to raise awareness of
rare and less common cancers amongst MPs. These cancers together
account for more than half of all UK cancer deaths – more than
the ‘big four’ (breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer).[iii]
MPs met constituents affected by cancer and Cancer52 Chair
Jonathan Pearce, Chair of Cancer52.
Jane Lyons, CEO of Cancer52, said: "It was great that Virendra
Sharma MP managed to take time out of their busy schedule to join
us. I hope that, as a result, they will support our work by ensuring
decision makers remember the rare and less common cancers when
writing policies or allocating funds. "We’re enormously grateful to
John Baron MP for his work with cancer charities in parliament,
and to Steve Brine MP, the Minister responsible for cancer, who
sent a video message of support." Mr Sharma said, "It was a pleasure
to join Cancer52 at their reception and hear more about such an
important issue. The worrying increase in the number of people
dying from rare cancers cannot be ignored and it is important that
we do more to address that."
LONDON NRI HONOURED BY THE QUEEN
A London magistrate and councillor,
Ranjit Dheer has been honoured
earlier completed an M.A. degree
from the English department of
by the Queen with the pres-
Punjab University in 1963.
tigious award of an OBE in the
New Year Honours list for 2018.
The official government publication,
Subsequently, he also completed
an M.A. from London University
(Kings College, 1984 ). Councillor
The London Gazette
Ranjit Dheer is the son of Sri
announced today Councillor Ranjit
Dheer's appointment as an "Officer
of the Order of the British Empire"
(OBE ) for services to local government.
Councillor Ranjit Dheer
was first elected as a councillor in
Ealing in 1982; and, has won eight
local government elections in the
past 35 years. During this long
period, he has served the borough
as a chair of many committees,
elected to this post in 2005.
Currently, he is also Ealing's cabinet
portfolio holder for community
services and safety.
Councillor Ranjit Dheer has a
distinguished record of public
service in other areas also. He has
served as a Justice of the Peace (
Magistrate ) and as a member
Kishore Chand Dheer and Srimati
Isra Devi Dheer of Moga, although
the family originally belong to the
village of Bhagta Bhai Ka in
Bathinda district in Punjab.
Councillor Ranjit Dheer is a
well known Punjabi author and
ha’s written four books in
Punjabi. He was the President of
the first ever World Punjabi
Writers' Conference that was
school boards and public bodies as judge of the Employment organised in Britain in 1980.
well as a Deputy Mayor and
Mayor. He is the longest serving
Deputy Leader of the Council in
the whole of UK , having been first
Tribunals. He was a Lecturer in
English at Government college,
Muktsar, India, when he decided to
migrate to Britain in 1966. He had
Councillor Ranjit Dheer has
been invited to Buckingham
Palace to receive his OBE award
from the Queen.
UNITED KINGDOM
5
JANUARY 2018
Defence Secretary praises UK efforts as
RAF operations against Daesh continue
In a visit to Kuwait, Iraq and
Cyprus, Defence Secretary
Gavin Williamson commended
UK personnel deployed in the
fight against Daesh. In his first
visit to Iraq, Defence Secretary
Gavin Williamson praised UK
service personnel as British
airstrikes continue to wipe out
Daesh. Eliminating the threat
from terrorism is critical to our
security at home and abroad. Our
brave Armed Forces are working
tirelessly, day and night, to
defeat Daesh after helping to
recover significant territory in
Iraq. Only by defeating this evil
and barbaric group for good will
we reduce the deadly threat they
pose to us, which is why we
won’t stop until their global network
is destroyed. RAF aircraft
have carried out over 1,700
strikes against Daesh in Iraq and
Syria since 2014 and in his first
visit to Cyprus, Defence
Secretary Gavin Williamson also
met the crews who are playing a
vital role in the coalition campaign
to totally defeat Daesh.
Fast jets flying out of RAF
Akrotiri in Cyprus and remotely
piloted Reaper aircraft continue
to provide support to the SDF on
the ground who are clearing the
last remaining pockets of Daesh
Top Buckinghamshire Property
Developer win Five-Star accolade
at The UK Property Awards, leading to award
for UK Best Residential Development
Landmark Group have won a Five-
Star award within the Residential
Development category for the project
Fulmer Drive at theUK Property
Awards 2017-2018, one of the most
prestigious industry events in the
region.
Presented at Royal Lancaster Hotel
London on 27th October, companies
received awards for categories ranging
across property development, real
estate, interior design and architecture
categories. Chosen from over 200
entries spread across the UK
regionsLandmark Grouphave proved
themselves to be the very best in the
residential development sector. The
PARLIAMENTARY PUB CHEF OF THE
YEAR FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Local pub chef Ben Morgan of The Plough Inn,
Ealing, has been shortlisted as one of just four
national finalists in the Parliamentary Pub Chef of
the Year competition, in the under 30’s Young
Chef category. The prestigious award, in its second
year, sought nominations from MPs across
the country in the search for the most skilled and
talented pub chefs. Chef Ben was nominated by
his MP Virendra Sharma of Ealing and Southall
and shortlisted after a rigorous judging panel
selected the best entries from more than 130 nominations.
The competition is run by the British Beer &
Pub Association and the All Party Parliamentary
Beer Group’s in partnership with Nestlé
Professional. Eight finalists, four from the
Parliamentary Pub chef and four from the Young
Parliamentary Pub Chef categories, will go on to
battle it out for the title of Parliamentary (Pub
Chef or Young Pub Chef of 2018) at a cook-off
event in Hospitality House, a bespoke training
venue in London, on 24th January. They will cook
terrorists in Eastern Syria.
Typhoons, Tornados and
Reapers worked closely with
coalition partners, offering vital
intelligence and close air support
throughout December, destroying
Daesh targets near Abu
Kamal, Abu Hardub and Abu
Hammam. He also visited UK
personnel in Taji and Baghdad,
as well as Kuwait, praising their
efforts as part of the UK’s contribution
to the global coalition
fight Daesh. In Kuwait, he met
with US Lieutenant General Paul
Funk the Commanding General
of the global coalition as well as
Major General Felix Gedney,
Deputy Commander-Strategy
and Support and the most senior
UK officer in the military campaign
against Daesh. He also visited
UK troops stationed in Taji
who, along with over 600 British
soldiers on the ground in Iraq,
are helping to train that country’s
forces. UK troops have so far
helped train around 60,000 Iraqi
Security Forces in battle-winning
infantry, counter-IED, engineering
and combat medical skills. In
addition to personnel on the
ground in Iraq, the UK has provided
over 1,400 military personnel
from all three Services as part
of its three year involvement.
UK Awards are part of the
International Property Awards that
include the regions of Asia Pacific,
Africa & Arabia, The Americas and
Europe. The awards celebrate the very
best projects and professionals in the
industry. The top winners in the UK
region were automatically entered into
the overall international awards, culminating
in a glittering awards ceremony,
held at the Savoy Hotel, London
on the 4th December. An International
Property Award is a world-renowned
mark of excellence. Landmark Group
were awarded the top accolade within
the categories for "Best Residential
Development in the UK".
for judges before winners are announced at an
award ceremony in the House of Commons on
Wednesday 7th February 2018. Chef Ben said: ”I
am very excited to be put through to the final four
of the competition and it’s a privilege to represent
The Plough Inn and Fuller’s as a pub company
and what Fuller’s food stands for.”
Virendra Sharma MP said: “The Plough is a
fantastic pub and I am not in the least bit surprised
that Ben has been chosen to participate in the Big
Cook Off in January. Myself, his team and the
local community are behind him 100%, wishing
him all the very best of luck.” Brigid Simmonds,
BBPA Chief Executive, commented: “Last year’s
nominees were of a high standard but this year
really has seen a step up in quality. The entries
showed the breadth of talent on display in our
pubs and I am excited to see what our finalists
produce in the cook off.” Judge Andrej Prokes,
Executive Chef at Nestlé Professional commented:
"The standard of entries for this year's competition
was extremely high.