Toronto, March 25: After France, Muslim women have been banned from wearing niqab in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province.
A bill tabled Wednesday will not allow government services to women wearing the niqab.
The bill comes after protests triggered by an Egyptian immigrant’s refusal to remove her niqab in her French languages classes in Montreal, forcing the school and the provincial government to throw her out.
Hyderabad, March 25: The director and the registrar of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Andhra Pradesh’s Warangal town have announced their decision to quit following massive protests by students who alleged embezzlement of funds.
Director Y.V. Rao and in-charge registrar C.S.P. Rao announced their resignations late Wednesday after three hours of protests by students.
Mumbai, March 25: India copper futures are expected to open lower on Thursday tracking weak international markets, analysts said.
Shanghai copper fell nearly a half percent on Thursday, pressured by a strong dollar and a sovereign credit rating downgrade for euro zone nation Portugal.
The most-active April copper on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) last closed at 336.75 rupees per kg, down 0.85 percent.
GOLD:
India gold may open higher on Thursday tracking firm trends in the international market, analysts said.
Hyderabad, March 25: Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that the State Government is not allowing discussion in the State Legislative Assembly on any pressing issue including NREGS, irrigation projects and weeding out of ration cards.
Mohali, March 25: Exasperated after his side slumped to their fourth defeat in the Indian Premier League here tonight, Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara blamed the 31-run loss against Rajasthan Royals on the batsmen, saying they “committed suicide” in the middle overs.
Chasing 184 for their only second win in the tournament, the home side were in a position of strength at 107 for two in the 11th over before things went haywire and they eventually folded for 152 in 19.1 overs.
Washington, March 25: Recent arrests of high-profile Afghan Taliban leadership by Pakistan do not indicate a strategic change in Pakistan’s counter-terrorism strategy but merely a tactic, says a leading South Asia expert.
In reality, Pakistan wants to assume a leading role in negotiating and reconciling with the Afghan Taliban to ensure a friendlier neighbour after the United States withdraws, concludes a new paper by Ashley J. Tellis.
Hyderabad, March 25: Minorities Welfare and Company Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed Wednesday said the Centre would intervene and help out the Andhra Pradesh Government on four per cent reservations to Muslims, if the Supreme Court directed it to do so.
Speaking to reporters after attending a book release function, the minister said that so far the AP State Government alone was dealing with the matter.
New Delhi, March 25: Twenty-seven-year-old Priya, a devotee of Paramahamsa Nityananda Swami, can’t believe a video footage where the Karnataka-based spiritual guru is allegedly shown in a compromising position with a Tamil actress.
“I still doubt whether it is swamiji or it is a graphic gimmick,” a shocked Priya told IANS.
Nityananda Swami’s is not the first reported case of a person in religious garb being caught in a scandal. Of late, a number of swamis have been in the news for the wrong reasons.
New Delhi, March 25: The Delhi High Court has ordered the army to pay the ‘widow’ of an armyman a compensation of Rs 10.5 lakh. Naib G.N. Sharma had joined the Army in 1982 as the religious teacher of the Armed Regiment at Pathankot.
But according to his wife’s statement in court, Commander Col. Bikramjit Singh made him work at his house as his servant. When Sharma protested, he was threatened. Even other officers did not come to his aid. In February 1992 Sharma was “discharged” on the basis of a resignation letter forged in his name. Within months he disappeared and never returned.
Irish, March 25: Sex scandal allegations continue to surface in the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Benedict XVI accepts the resignation of a senior Irish bishop.
Bishop of Cloyne in southern Ireland John Magee has been accused of mishandling complaints against Irish priests.
The 73-year-old bishop resigned last March after a church report found his handling of abuse allegations had put children at risk of harm. Magee have apologized for his actions.
London, March 25: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has urged Tehran to resume talks with the six major world powers over its nuclear program.
“All member states of the international community have deep concern on the nuclear development program,” RIA Novosti quoted Ban as saying on Wednesday.
“Iran should return to negotiations,” he said, adding “I again urge that this issue should be resolved peacefully through dialogue as soon as possible.”
Washington, March 25: Pakistan appeared to have found little encouragement from the US as it raised two of its pet peeves – an India-type civil nuclear deal and mediation on Kashmir – at their first strategic dialogue here.
The very first question that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fielded at the end of the first round of meetings Wednesday with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was whether Washington was prepared to discuss an India-type nuclear deal with Pakistan.
Faridkot, March 25: In a major accident involving an oil-tanker, at least two people died, several suffered serious injuries and 14 vehicles were burnt in this Punjab district Wednesday evening, police said.
According to police, an oil-tanker suddenly overturned and immediately caught fire on Faridkot road in Dhilwa Kurdh village near Sadak town.
Though, the driver and cleaner of the tanker jumped out of the vehicle in time and even tried to alert other approaching vehicles but they were unable avert the tragedy.
Mohali, March 25: Having made a comeback of sorts with their second straight victory, Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne said his team can still be a force to reckon with in this year’s Indian Premier League.
Rajasthan Royals outplayed Kings XI by 31 runs for their second straight victory Wednesday after three defeats.
Warne said that the players will have to maintain the intensity and put up a combined front something they showed against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab.
New Delhi, March 25: Prolonged shortfalls in power supply throughout the country have led India to boast the highest cost per unit of electricity in the world. During the first half of the 11th five-year plan, the cost rose to Rs 5.9 per unit for the 59,000 crore units flowing through the sector’s various mechanisms for inter-state trading, according to a Planning Commission report released today.
Oklahoma, March 25: He was shot dead at his part-time job at a convenience store in Oklahoma City, USA. Security cameras inside the shop recorded the murder of G Prasanth, age 25, who was a graduate student at the state university.
The Oklahoma Police has released the security camera recording of Prasanth’s murder in an attempt to gather more information about his death.
Mumbai, March 25: Bharti Airtel shares rose 3 per cent early on Thursday after the board of Kuwaiti telecom Zain approved selling most of its African assets to the Indian firm.
Zain said on Wednesday it would sign the deal in the next few days, confirming what sources with direct knowledge of the matter said earlier.
At 0333 GMT, Bharti shares were up 2 per cent at Rs 313 in a Mumbai market that fell 0.1 per cent.
—-Agencies
London, March 25: Supermodel Cindy Crawford has revealed that being happy and confident is the secret to looking good.
The 44-year-old, who has two children called Presley and Kaia, said that body maintenance is not all about exercise regimens and dieting, reported imdb.com
New Delhi, March 25: Terming Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s remarks about women as “sexist” and “Talibani”, expelled party leader Amar Singh today demanded action by the National Commission for Women against the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.
“Yadav has said the youth would whistle at women MPs after the Women’s Reservation Bill comes into force. It is a sexist, Talibani and a cheap remark, which hurts womanhood. I hope that the NCW will take cognizance of the statement and take appropriate action (against him),” he told reporters here.
Jerusalem, March 25: Israel proceeds with what has been denounced as its insidious annexation of the Palestinian territories, following a meeting between the regime’s premier and the US president.
Tel Aviv plans to build a total of 100 more settler units in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds, said a local city councilman and member of the municipal planning commission, Elisha Peleg on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left a White House meeting with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday without disclosing the nature of the talks.
Washington, March 25: The government plans to propose to the United States government a few sets of dates on which its investigators would like to question Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley who recently pleaded guilty to his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
New Delhi, March 25: In compliance with a court order, the police lodged an FIR against a BSP legislator, his associates and three policemen on Wednesday in connection with a case involving land grabbing, threat to life, loot and damaging the private property of a villager.
Islamabad, March 25: The US government’s refusal to offer legal grounds for CIA’s drones bombing raids in Pakistan may result in CIA officers facing prosecution for war crimes.
“Prominent voices in the international legal community” were increasingly impatient with Washington’s silence on the CIA’s bombing raids in Pakistan and elsewhere, Kenneth Anderson, a law professor at American University, told a congressional panel on Tuesday, AFP reported.
Washington, March 25: US President Barack Obama met twice with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for honest and straightforward talks, the White House said on Thursday.
The meeting between the two leaders comes on the heels of some recent friction between the US and Israel on settlement issues.
The meeting was kept a low profile and out of bounds for the White House media.
Mumbai, March 25: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex shed over 61 points, or 0.35 per cent, in the opening trade today on capital outflows by foreign funds, weighed by weakening trend on the global markets.
The 30-share index, which had gained 40.45 points in the previous session on Tuesday, fell by 61.16 points, or 0.35 per cent to 17,389.86 points in the opening trade.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also declined by 18.60 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 5,206.70 points.