Indian-origin billionaire brothers, academic, Skipping Sikh on Queen's honours list
London: A pair of Indian-origin billionaire brothers, a leading Oxford University academic and a septuagenarian fundraiser fondly referred to as the Skipping Sikh, lead the "most ethnically diverse" Queen's Birthday Honours List released on Saturday.
Zuber and Mohsin Issa, who recently hit the headlines with their multi-million-pound acquisition of the UK's supermarket chain Asda, have both been honoured with CBEs for services to business and charity.
The brothers from Blackburn, whose parents moved to the UK from Gujarat in the 1970s, own the Euro Garages chain of petrol stations as part of their EG Group business.
They are joined by Yadvinder Singh Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford, who receives a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services to ecosystem science. Malhi had been appointed Trustee of the Natural History Museum in London earlier this year.
British Indians honoured with an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) include Nilay Shah, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London for services to the decarbonisation of the UK economy, and Dr Sanjiv Nichani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Healing Little Hearts for services to medicine and charity.
The list, which had been deferred from its usual early June release to consider nominations of people playing crucial roles during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, includes numerous British Indians under this category led by Rajinder Singh Harzall.
The 74-year-old Skipping Sikh receives an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his inspirational health and fitness videos during lockdown. Harzall, who has raised nearly 14,000 pounds for the National Health Service (NHS), is joined by Lavina Mehta, who also receives an MBE for services to health and fitness during COVID-19 for her work encouraging people to stay active during the lockdown.
"The hard work and dedication of these local, often unsung heroes has helped carry us through," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Among other community heroes celebrated for their work during lockdown is Sandeep Singh Daheley, who receives his MBE for taking the initiative to create an online portal for prayers whilst gurdwaras were closed, to keep the community spirit alive for British Sikhs.
Among MBE recipients recognised for their wider community work are Manjit Kaur Gill, founder of Binti, for services to the provision of menstrual products to women in developing countries, the UK and the US; dance teacher Pushkala Gopal for services to South Asian dance; Vasant Patel, Senior Policy Officer at the Department for Education, for services to adopted children and their families; and Baljeet Kaur Sandhu, founder of the Centre for Knowledge Equity, for services to equality and civil society.
The honours list, which is traditionally published to coincide with the 94-year-old British monarch's official birthday celebrations in early June, showcases 414 exceptional contributions of unsung heroes in all four nations of the United Kingdom in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These recipients include Sir Captain Tom Moore, the World War II veteran who also served in India and became a hero earlier this year with his achievement of raising millions of pounds for the NHS by doing laps around his own garden using a walking frame.
However, the majority of the list, dubbed a "bumper list" this year for making up 1,495 honours, was compiled before the ongoing pandemic and 72 per cent go to those who have worked tirelessly for their local community.
The UK Cabinet Office, in charge of compiling the list, said it reflects the huge voluntary effort across the country in response to COVID-19, with recipients cumulatively supplying millions of free meals and clocking up countless voluntary hours to support those at risk.
It described it as the most ethnically diverse list to date , with 13 per cent of recipients from a minority ethnic background.
Sir Philip Barton, former British High Commissioner to India and now the Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, said: I congratulate everyone receiving an honour and thank them for their hard work and years of service.
"The UK's impact around the world depends on exceptional people like those recognised in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours. We are grateful for their outstanding contribution .
Well-known British broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough receives the high honour of a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in the Order of St Michael and Saint George for his exceptional and sustained international contribution to broadcasting, natural history and the environment.
English actor David Suchet, best known for playing Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot on screen, is honoured with a Knighthood for his services to the arts.
The Cabinet Office said that healthcare and social care workers make up 14 per cent of the list this year, for contributions as diverse as setting up the COVID-19 hospitals to delivering medical care on the frontline, and 740 women are recognised in the list, representing 49 per cent of the total.
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Media dinner shooting suspect wrote about targeting of administration officials, Trump says
Washington (AP): The man accused of trying to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.
The accused gunman's family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington's glitziest annual events the night before.
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader, Todd Blanche, said the suspect travelled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the Washington hotel where the Saturday night gala dinner was held with its typically tight security.
Law enforcement officials who have interviewed Allen's relatives, examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the two firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Authorities believe the suspect fired the shot that hit the Secret Service officer, who is expected to make a full recovery, Blanche said.
“He's going to be great, he's going to be fine, and thank God he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Blanche said Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.
“It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organised news conference at the White House late Saturday.
