Indian Sub-continent

NEW DELHI (AP) — A court in a southern Indian state told students on Thursday not to wear any religious clothing until it delivers a verdict on petitions seeking to overturn a ban on hijabs, headscarves used by Muslim women.

The court in Karnataka state is considering petitions filed by students challenging a ban on hijabs that some schools have implemented in recent weeks.

“We will pass an order. But till the matter is resolved, no student should insist on wearing religious dress,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi as saying.

Islamabad, Feb 10 (PTI) Pakistan has summoned India's Charge d'Affaires here to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and conveyed the government's grave concern on the ban on Muslim girl students from wearing hijab in Karnataka.

The Foreign Office said in a statement late on Wednesday that the Indian diplomat was conveyed Pakistan's deep concern over alleged religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, stigmatisation and discrimination against Muslims in India.

New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday urged people to come out and vote and free the country from all fears as polling for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections was underway.

Polling for 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state began in the morning.

"Free the country from all fears -- come out and vote," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Mangaluru, Feb 9 (PTI) The hijab issue which first surfaced at a pre-university in Udupi could have been resolved locally and the Sangh Parivar outfits are responsible for spreading it to other districts, Campus Front of India (CFI) Karnataka state president Atauallah Punjalkatte alleged on Wednesday.

Addressing reporters at Udupi, he claimed that the Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat had also encouraged the Sangh outfits even when the High Court was hearing the issue.

Vadodara, Feb 9 (PTI) A special court in Gujarat's Vadodara city on Wednesday sentenced two men to life until last breath for the gang-rape of a 14-year-old.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court of judge R T Panchal sentenced Kishan Mathasuriya and Jasha Solanki to life till last breath, after finding them guilty of raping the minor.

Special public prosecutor Pravin Thakkar said that the duo was convicted on charges under relevant provisions of the IPC and POCSO Act.

New Delhi, Feb 9 (PTI) The government on Wednesday banned import of drones, with certain exceptions, as part of efforts to promote manufacturing of drones in the country.

Import of drones for R&D, defence and security purposes have been exempted from the ban but such imports will require due clearances.

"Import of drone components, however, shall not require any approvals," the civil aviation ministry said in a release on Wednesday.

Lucknow, Feb 10 (PTI) The battle for Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday with polling at 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state.

Polling started at 7.00 AM and will continue till 6.00 PM, officials of the state election commission said here.

Campaigning in the constituencies going to vote in the first round of the seven-phase election in the politically crucial state ended on Tuesday evening.

New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would consider a submission seeking the listing of a plea for transferring a case on the hijab row from the Karnataka High Court to itself.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said the high court is seized of the case and should be allowed to continue with the hearing and decide it.

Pune, Feb 10 (PTI) The Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) city unit held a demonstration in Pune on Thursday in support of 'hijab' for female Muslim students, amid a controversy over the issue in neighbouring Karnataka.

A number of girls and women held placards with the message 'hijab is our right, hijab is our pride', as part of the demonstration in Phule Wada area here in Maharashtra.

09 Feb 2022; MEMO: A Joint Mechanised Training exercise between the Pakistan Army and Royal Saudi Land Forces began Tuesday in north-east Pakistan, according to the Pakistani military, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The opening ceremony of the two-month training, which aims to "enhance and strengthen" the existing military cooperation between the two forces was held in Multan, it said in a statement.