Indian Sub-continent

Islamabad, Feb 3 (PTI) The International Monetary Fund has approved the completion of the sixth review of its stalled USD 6 billion programme for Pakistan, paving the way for an immediate disbursement of about USD 1 billion loan tranche for the cash-strapped country.

The IMF's Executive Board held a meeting in Washington DC on Wednesday to consider Pakistan's request for completion of the sixth review and release of a USD 1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

Mangaluru (Karnataka), Feb 2 (PTI) While the row over wearing 'hijab' (head-scarf) at a government pre-university college in Udupi, 56 kms from here, continues with a student moving court on the issue, another similar controversy erupted at a college 40.8 kms away at Kundapur.

Apparently, a few girl students attended the college wearing the 'hijab' at Kundapur. This prompted 100 boys to wear saffron shawls. This happened on Wednesday.

Morigaon (Assam), Feb 2 (PTI) A 60-year-old man, who was fighting a case at a Foreigners Tribunal despite his name appearing in the National Register for Citizens (NRC), has allegedly died by suicide in Morigaon district, officials said on Wednesday.

The family of Manik Das of Borkhal village claimed he ended his life because of "frustration and mental torture" he faced while attending the proceedings at the Tribunal to prove his Indian citizenship.

Gurugram, Feb 2 (PTI) A local court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 10 years of imprisonment and imposed on him a fine of Rs 55,000 for raping and threatening a widow in 2019.

Sessions Court Judge Raj Gupta stipulated increase of prison sentence by two years if the convict failed to pay the fine on time.

Naresh, the convict, was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rape, in June 2019 at Sohna Police Station.

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) A 30-year-old debt-ridden businessman allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a multi-storey building in suburban Malad, a police official said on Wednesday.

According to the official, the deceased, identified by the police as Saurabh Pitale, jumped off the terrace of the four-storey building on Monday.

The businessman left behind a purported suicide note, in which he claimed he was under a debt of Rs 25 lakh and finding it difficult to repay his creditors, the official said.

Prayagraj, Feb 2 (PTI) The BJP MLA from reserved Bara assembly constituency in Prayagraj district quit the party on Wednesday in protest against allegedly being kept in dark about the party's intention to leave the seat for a coalition partner candidate.

BJP MLA Ajay Kumar told reporters that he has resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Explaining his reason for taking the drastic step, Dr Kumar said he had been hearing of the BJP leadership's intention to leave the Bara seat for a candidate of alliance partner Apna Dal (S)

Gurgaon, Feb 2 (PTI) The Haryana Chief Minister's Flying Squad busted a fake call centre here that was allegedly involved in duping US nationals and arrested three of its team leaders, officials said.

A laptop, a hard disk and five mobile phones were also recovered from the call centre, they said.

Kolkata, Feb 3 (PTI) The West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) on Thursday issued a notification to announce that elections to 108 municipalities in the state will be held on February 27.

The notification, however, did not mention the date of vote counting, which, the officials said, will be declared later.

"Elections to 108 municipalities will be held on February 27. The date of counting will be announced later. The entire election process will be completed by March 8, an SEC official said.

PUL-E-ALAM, Afghanistan (AP) — A flickering flame of paper, rags and random twigs is the only heat Gulnaz has to keep her 18-month-old son warm, barely visible beneath his icy blanket as she begs on a bitterly cold highway on the road to Kabul.

The 70-kilometer (45-mile) stretch of highway is flanked by snow-swept hills. Occasionally a driver slows his car and shoves an Afghani note into the 28-year-old woman’s bare, dirt-caked hand. She sits for hours on the highway median, positioned just beyond a bump in the road that slows traffic.

01 Feb 2022; MEMO: The United States rejects the view that Israel's actions towards the Palestinians constitute apartheid, the State Department said on Tuesday, after Amnesty International accused Israeli authorities of enforcing such policies, Reuters reports.