Author Salman Rushdie, against whom Iran's revolutionary leader issued a fatwa 18 years ago, was awarded a knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II yesterday.
The nominations -- transforming him into Sir Salman -- topped a long list of awards bestowed on artists, sportsmen, diplomats, journalists and others in the queen's annual Birthday Honors List.
Indian-born Rushdie was forced to go into hiding for a decade after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a death sentence over his book The Satanic Verses, claiming it insulted Islam.
PHOTO: EPA
His second novel, Midnight's Children, won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981 and was named the best novel in 25 years of the prize in 1993. Rushdie is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
"I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honor and am very grateful that my work has been recognized in this way," he said.
Other awards in the queen's list go to journalist Christiane Amanpour and Oleg Gordievsky, a former KGB chief who was Britain's highest-ranking defector from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Amanpour, the half-Iranian, half-British chief international correspondent for CNN, becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
Gordievsky was a double agent and head of the Soviet secret service's London office before his 1985 defection. He escaped to Britain after giving the KGB men tailing him the slip while out jogging.
He becomes a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George -- the same honor held by fictional spy James Bond -- for "services to the security of the United Kingdom."
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Britain's ambassador to the UN, received the same honor.
Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for his alter egos including Dame Edna Everage, became a CBE alongside Michael Eavis, founder of Britain's giant Glastonbury pop music festival, and fashion designer Betty Jackson.
Peter Sallis -- the voice of Wallace in the animated series Wallace and Gromit -- novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford, singer Joe Cocker and Carry On films actress Sylvia Syms all received the Order of the British Empire.
Also see story:
Cricketer Ian Botham knighted
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of