Indian Sub-continent

MUMBAI, April 18 (Reuters) - About 300 people queued at Apple's (AAPL.O) store in Mumbai on Tuesday, as fans took selfies with Chief Executive Tim Cook, who inaugurated the first retail store run by the tech giant in India, underscoring the importance of its market.

"The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible!" Cook, who is making his first visit to India in seven years, said on Twitter. "We are so excited to open ... our first store in India."

Islamabad/Peshawar, Apr 17 (PTI) Pakistani police have arrested a Chinese national working at a hydropower project in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after local people accused him of blasphemy, police said.

The police arrested the Chinese national identified as Tian on Sunday and on Monday he was shifted to Abbottabad via an Army helicopter due to security concerns as the police feared local people could harm him, the Dawn newspaper quoted Station House Officer Naseerudin as saying.

London, Apr 17 (PTI) Indians are the topmost nationality that makes up the student population in England and Wales, with 43,175 of them enrolled at higher educational institutions during the 2021 census, according to an analysis released in London on Monday.

Islamabad, Apr 17 (PTI) The lower house of Pakistan's Parliament on Monday rejected a supplementary demand for Rs 21 billion grant for elections in Punjab despite the Supreme Court's order, deepening the uncertainty over the polls in the politically crucial province and adding to tensions between the government and the judiciary.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday called for urgently addressing India's trade imbalance with Russia even as he described the partnership between the two countries as among the steadiest of major relationships globally.

In presence of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Jaishankar said at an event that finding a solution to the imbalance really means addressing the impediments such as market access issues, non-tariff barriers and those relating to payments or logistics.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) The dispute panel of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday said the import duties imposed by India on certain informational and technology products violates global trading norms, a decision which New Delhi will challenge at the appellate body of the Geneva-based multilateral organisation.

The ruling followed a dispute filed by the European Union, Japan and Taiwan against these duties in the WTO.

COLOMBO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's navy said it has brought ashore on Monday 179 kg of heroin and six suspects arrested on international waters.

The navy made the arrests on Saturday night on international waters off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, said the navy spokesman Gayan Wickramasuriya.

A multi-day fishing trawler that carried the drugs and the suspects was also brought to the Galle harbor, the spokesman said.

DHAKA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's telecommunication giant Huawei will upgrade Bangladeshi state-run cellphone operator Teletalk's network to ensure better coverage in rural areas and 5G readiness.

Huawei said it will facilitate Teletalk with new 4G sites, core network, IP network, charging and billing system modernization solution. In this connection, both sides signed an agreement on April 13 in Dhaka.

Kanpur: "Develop a habit of reading verses of the Holy Quran every day," said the Imam of the mosque in Jajmau here on Sunday.

Addressing the gathering of the devouts who attended extra prayers (Taraweeh) till the completion of the whole 30 chapters of the revealed book, the Imam dwelt at length on the importance of understanding the real spirit of the Holy Quran.

He made it clear that the devouts should learn properly and find time to read the book at their homes.

New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) Two weeks before gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad was shot dead while under police escort in Prayagraj, the Supreme Court had dismissed his plea seeking protection during his custody with the Uttar Pradesh Police in the Umesh Pal murder case.

Ahmad (60) and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college for a checkup.