Dozens of girls who turned up for school in France on Monday wearing abayas in defiance of a ban on the Muslim garment were sent home when they refused to remove them, a government minister told French broadcaster BFM on Tuesday. The abaya, an over-garment covering the body from shoulders to feet that some Muslim women wear, was banned in schools by the French government last month. The government says the abaya constitutes a display of religious affiliation, banned at schools under a 2004 law. Until last month, the abaya had faced no outright ban as a gray zone under the law. What happened on Monday? Nearly 300 girls showed up at school on the first day of term wearing an abaya, with 67 sent home after they refused to remove the garment, Education Minister Gabriel Attal told BFM. He said the majority had agreed to change out of the dress. Attal said those girls sent away were handed a letter to their families stating that "secularism is not a constraint; it is a liberty." If the girls persisted in wearing the dress to school, there would be a "new dialogue," the minister said. What has been the reaction to the ban? An association representing Muslims, Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM), has called on the State Council, France's highest court for complaints against state authorities, to issue an injunction against the abaya ban and one on the qamis, the male dress equivalent. The ADM motion is to be examined on Tuesday. French President Emmanuel Macron has come out in defense of the ban, saying there was a "minority" in France that "hijacks a religion and challenges the republic and secularism." On Monday evening, he said such behavior led to the "worst consequences," citing the brutal murder of teacher Samuel Paty three years ago. Paty was killed by an 18-year-old Russian Muslim refugee following a social media campaign against him in which he was criticized for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in a class on freedom of expression. "We cannot act as if the terrorist attack, the murder of Samuel Paty, had not happened," Macron said in an interview with YouTube channel HugoDecrypte. "School must remain neutral: I don't know what your religion is; you don't know what mine is," the president said. Under the 2004 secularism law, large Christian crosses, Jewish kippas and Islamic headscarves were already banned in school.

A senior official in the Pakistan government has admitted that Pakistani smugglers are using drones to smuggle illicit drugs, mostly heroin into Indian territory. Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, the Special Assistant on Defence to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made these remarks to Hamid Mir, a journalist associated with Pakistan's Geo News. Mir has posted a video on his Twitter handle of the interview with Khan, who is also the Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) representing Kasur city, which borders the state of Punjab in India. The Pakistani journalist tweeted on July 17, "Big disclosure by PM's advisor Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan. Smugglers using drones in the flood-affected areas of Kasur near Pakistan-India border to transport heroin. He demanded a special package for the rehabilitation of the flood victims otherwise victims will join smugglers." When the journalist asks the special advisor to Pakistan PM about the issue of cross-border smuggling of narcotics in Kasur he affirms the development. "Sure, it (smuggling via drone) is happening and it is very unfortunate. Recently there have been two incidents where 10 kg of heroin was tied to each drone and thrown across. Agencies are working on it." Indian security forces have brought down a number of drones in recent times carrying contraband. In April this year, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said that security forces have taken many counter-measures to tackle incidents of dropping of weapons and drugs by drones sent by Pakistan. Earlier this month, on July 21, BSF and Punjab Police troops recovered a drone in broken condition from the farming field near Mastgarh village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. On specific information, BSF and Punjab Police launched a search operation and recovered the Pakistani drone from the outskirts of Mastgarh village. "The recovered drone belongs to Quadcopter, DJI Matrice 300 RTK model," officials said. Earlier, the Border Security Force (BSF) foiled the nefarious design of smugglers by seizing 2.35 kg of heroin dropped by a Pakistani drone near the International Border in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. During the detailed search, the BSF troops recovered one packet of narcotics suspected to be heroin weighing 2.35 kg wrapped with yellow adhesive tape from the farming field ahead of border fencing. On June 29, BSF troops recovered approximately 5.120 kg of suspected heroin dropped by a Pakistani drone near the International Border in farming fields of Village- Khalra in Tarn Taran district. Earlier, on June 24, the troops of the BSF shot down a Pakistani drone that had intruded into the Indian airspace in Punjab's Tarn Taran sector. Also, the BSF shot and brought down a Pakistani drone in Punjab's Tarn Taran district. On June 22, the BSF in Punajb's Fazilka recovered a drone originating from the Pakistan side and two packets of suspected narcotics near the Abohar border. "On specific information, alert BSF troops recovered a Pakistani drone (DJI Matrice 300 RTK) on June 22, during morning hours along with 2 kg (appx) suspected heroin near the international border in Jodhawala village of Fazilka district," BSF Punjab Frontier said. BSF personnel in Rajasthan's Bikaner recovered a drone originating from the Pakistan side and two packets of suspected narcotics near the Rawla border. Source: The Hindu

India and the US are collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024, US President Joe Biden said here on Thursday after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing the media after bilateral talks with PM Modi, Biden said India and the US were collaborating in nearly every human endeavour in delivering progress across the board. "From designing new ways to diagnosing and treating new illnesses like cancer and diabetes to collaboration on human space flight, including on sending an Indian astronaut to the international space station in 2024…," Biden said with PM Modi by his side. PM Modi also said that India has decided to sign the Artemis Accords and taken a great leap forward. "We have decided to join the Artemis Accords. We have taken a giant leap in our space cooperation. In short, I would say even the sky is not the limit for cooperation with the US," PM Modi said. Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST), the Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century.  It is an American-led effort to return humans to the moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond. India is planning to send its maiden human space flight – Gaganyaan – into a low earth orbit by the end of 2024 or early 2025. If an Indian astronaut travels to the international space station, it could be before the Gaganyaan project. Earlier, a senior White House official said that NASA and the ISRO were developing a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation this year. On semiconductors, US companies are partnering with India to build a semiconductor ecosystem that promotes supply chain diversification. Micron Technology with support from the Indian National Semiconductor Mission announced an investment of more than USD 800 million that together with additional financial support from Indian authorities will amount to a USD 2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in India. In addition, US Applied Materials announced the new semiconductor centre for commercialisation and innovation in India and Lamb Research, another semiconductor manufacturing equipment company is going to announce a training programme for 60,000 Indian engineers through its semi-verse solution to accelerate India's semiconductor workforce development goals. On critical minerals and mineral security, the United States will announce its support for India becoming a member of the Mineral Security Partnership which is led by the US State Department and strengthens critical minerals supply chain and ensures that our respective markets are well supplied with essential critical minerals that are needed for climate, economic and strategic technology goals, the official said. On advanced computing, artificial intelligence and quantum information science, India and the United States have first established a joint Indo-US quantum coordination mechanism that will facilitate more collaboration between our industries, academia, and government, said the official. They have also signed a new implementation arrangement on artificial intelligence advanced wireless and quantum technologies.  The US on an Economic Development Consortium is now welcoming into its membership, Indian Quantum universities and entities as well. In advanced telecommunications, the two countries are working together on 5G and 6G technologies, including Open Radio Access Network (RAN) systems. Here we'll be announcing partnerships on open ran, field trials and rollouts, including scale deployments in both countries with operators and vendors of both markets. This will involve backing from the US International Development Finance, for cooperation and to promote the deployments in India, the official said. India's 5G and 6G and the US Next G alliance will be leading a new public-private Cooperation forum as well.  The US will also be welcoming Indian participation in the US rip and replace programme that removes telecommunications equipment made by untrusted vendors. On people-to-people ties and higher education, leveraging the enormous talent, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields in both countries and coming out of a task force.  It would be chaired by the Association of American Universities and counterparts at the Indian Institute of Technologies would like to welcome the launch for the university network with Indo US global challenges to federal Spark, new research partnerships and exchanges in fields including agriculture, energy and health, said the official. Source: ndtv.com

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the Commonwealth to send various levels of election observers to see the upcoming parliamentary elections in Bangladesh.  Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister at her residence. On Sunday, May 07, after the meeting at Claridge's Hotel Bilateral Meeting Room Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, "Prime Minister sheikh Hasina raised the issue of elections and offered to send election observers at various levels from the Commonwealth to oversee the upcoming Bangladesh parliamentary elections. In response to this proposal, the Commonwealth Secretary General said, "We want to help Bangladesh in a peaceful, fair and participatory general election.We had helped to organize a free and fair elections in some of our organization's member countries." Secretary General Patricia Scotland added, "All political parties need a political commitment that they will participate in the elections, accept the election result and not resort to violence if they win or lose the elections."

Lionel Messi can end doubts about the greatest player ever if he finally bags a winner's medal in Sunday's final, with Luka Modric's Croatia out of luck. Julian Alvarez also wowed the thunderous Argentina support. In the battle of the majestic maestros, Lionel Messi got the better of Luka Modric on the mighty stage of a World Cup semifinal. Glory now awaits arguably the greatest player to ever kick a ball, while the other will surely bid farewell to the globe's premier competition in Saturday's unedifying third place playoff. Argentina's captain fantastic struck the opening penalty and beautifully set-up the third in a 3-0 win, with young forward Julian Alvarez netting two to prove the team is much more than just their number 10. "We have gone through some tough situations and some very good ones. Today we experienced something spectacular," Messi said. "I am enjoying it with all these fans and with all the Argentinians who are back in our country. I imagine it must be crazy." Despite another virtuoso display from Messis Croatian counterpart, the game slipped away for the 37-year-old Modric amid uncharacteristically slack defending from his side. Croatia exposed RB Leipzig's masked warrior Josko Gvardiol has been a rock at this World Cup but suddenly a huge hole opened in Croatia's back line, allowing Enzo Fernandez's superb pass to find Alvarez free and bearing down on goal. Dominik Livakovic, another star in Qatar, could do little to stop himself colliding with the Manchester City striker and Messi did the rest from the spot on 34 minutes, as he became Argentina's record World Cup scorer with 11. The noise in the Lusail Stadium as the ball bashed the back of the net was like little else at this tournament, the throngs of Argentina fans dwarfing their rivals from southern Europe. Many of the Argentina supporters are Indian and Bangladeshi migrant workers who live in Qatar, adding a fervour and local flavour which spiced up the contest in Qatar's biggest arena of almost 89,000 people. Alvarez then exposed a second chasm in the opposition defence when he charged through on goal, had a little bit of luck with the bounce of the ball and finished with aplomb. All this was before halftime, and Croatia had no answer despite having decent possession. Oh how their fans dreamt of their 2018 run to the final and the power of Mario Mandzukic up front. Andrej Kramaric is a solid Bundesliga striker but against the Albiceleste, they needed more presence in the forward positions. Modric's tidy play and metronomic accuracy can only do so much. "We have prepared everything but we missed a real, genuine attacker," said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic. "I have nothing to complain about regarding the boys. They gave their best during this whole tournament... It is a deserved defeat." Messi the magician The whistle for the interval followed a piece of outrageous skill by Argentina's fulcrum on the touchline and the fans broke out into a deafening chorus of 'Messi, Messi, Messi' —  many of the migrant fans support the twice winners simply because of the 35-year-old magician. Alvarez, 22, showed there is a bright future for Argentina when the great man hangs up his boots. But Argentina's third and his second was more to do with mercurial Messi turning Gvardiol inside out before laying it off for the finish. The 20-year-old defender’s rising transfer value may just have dipped a little. Now Messi has a second final to enjoy or endure after the pain of losing late on in extra-time to Germany in the 2014 showpiece. Defending champions France or Morocco will be waiting in this same stadium on Sunday. Messi now knows the place well and crossed almost every blade of thinning grass, yet still looked so laid-back throughout. A winner’s medal on Sunday will surely end the debate about football's top dog, as a tearful Cristiano Ronaldo heads with his tail between his legs into the Arabian desert or elsewhere. Modric falls short Messi's last World Cup dance will be in the final when he will become the tournament's all-time top appearance maker with his 26th game. Forbearer Diego Maradona also reached two finals, winning one and losing the other. Real Madrid's Modric was meanwhile substituted off on 80 minutes to warm applause — left to wonder why Croatia’s previously solid backline crumbled. The answer is that Argentina are a fine team with the best fans at the World Cup. That opening defeat to Saudi Arabia — also at this stadium — feels a lifetime ago. "We knew we were not the big favorites, but we were not going to give anything away to anyone. We proved it match by match," smiled Messi.

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht on Monday said Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian population centers highlighted the urgency of delivering air defense systems to Kyiv's forces. The long-promised systems, which are capable of protecting an entire city, were originally slated to be delivered at the end of the year. Monday's deadly strikes, however, have now sped up the delivery timeline. What did German officials say? Lambrecht said the Russian barrage underlined the need for the vehicle-mounted Iris-T SLM systems to be delivered quickly. "The renewed missile fire on Kyiv and the many other cities show how important it is to supply Ukraine with air defense systems quickly," the defense minister said in a statement. "Russia's attacks with missiles and drones terrorize above all the civilian population," Lambrecht said. She added that the first of four high-tech air defense systems will now be "ready for the effective protection of people in the coming days." Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised to provide the air defense systems to Ukraine in June. What can the air defense shields do? The IRIS-T SLM can defend from approaching missiles at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) and a distance up to 40 kilometers (25 miles). According to Scholz, the defense system makes it possible to protect "an entire major city from Russian air attacks." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that Germany would do "everything it can" to help quickly bolster Ukraine's air defenses. "It is despicable and unjustifiable for Putin to bombard large cities and civilians with missiles," Baerbock wrote on Twitter. During the Monday morning missile strikes, the German Foreign Ministry said, a large building housing a German consulate in Kyiv was damaged. However, it added that the office had not been in use since the war broke out.

India has again extended assistance to Sri Lanka and will send two ships each of diesel and petrol to the neighbouring nation facing an acute shortage of fuel. One ship is expected in Sri Lanka between July 13 and 15 and another between July 29 and 31. The last one will reach the island nation between August 10 and 15, ET has learnt from Colombo-based sources. The decision to supply fuel comes after recent discussions held between Sri Lankan high commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda and minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri.   Moragoda explained the urgent energy requirements of Sri Lanka to Puri. Lanka has received more than 400,000 tonne of fuel from India over the past three months. Moragoda and Puri also discussed ways in which India and Sri Lanka could further expand cooperation in the petroleum sector to overcome the current crisis, according to the high commission. They also talked about establishing long-term relationships in the petroleum, oil, gas and related supply sectors. The current diesel stocks in Sri Lanka will only be used for essential services until the arrival of a new shipment. About 33,000 metric tonne of gas will arrive in Sri Lanka in July, and 100,000 metric tonne of gas will be procured for the next four months, the Lankan media reported. Sri Lanka has been facing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, leading to a severe shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel. The nearly bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis, announced in April that it was suspending nearly $7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about $25 billion due through 2026. The economic crisis has particularly impacted food security, agriculture, livelihoods, and access to health services. Food production in the last harvest season was 40-50% lower than previous year, and the current agricultural season is at risk, with seeds, fertilizers, and fuel and credit shortages.   Source: The Economic Times  

President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed the United States will send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine with ability to strike what he called "key targets" of Russia's invasion force. "We will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine," Biden wrote in The New York Times. A US official told reporters that the weapons being sent are Himars, or the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. With precision-guided munitions and a longer range than weapons currently deployed by Ukraine, the multiple rocket launchers represent an important upgrade at a time when the Ukrainians are battling Russian artillery in the east of the country. The Himars rockets "will enable the Ukrainians to more precisely strike targets on the battlefield from greater distance inside Ukraine and to help them repel Russia," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory but they will not be used against Russia." The Himars are the centerpiece of a $700 million package being unveiled Wednesday, also including air surveillance radars, more Javelin short-range anti-tank rockets, more artillery ammunition, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts, the official said. Although there'd been speculation for days that Himars were going -- following repeated pleas from Ukraine's outgunned military -- the announcement also made clear the US attempt to help Kyiv's war effort while not being seen as a direct belligerent. For that reason, the ammunition for the Himars will not include a version able to reach some 186 miles (300 kilometers), out of fear that the Ukrainians would use it to hit deep inside Russia. They will instead get the version extending about 50 miles (80 km), which is still significantly further than the Ukrainians' present capabilities, the US official said. That means Ukraine's forces will be able to strike at Russian positions with the rockets from relative safety. The "Ukrainians have given assurances they will not use these systems against Russian territory," the official stressed. The new weaponry will come from a recently approved fund of $40 billion. Already the Biden administration has sent $4.5 billion in mostly military aid to Ukraine since the war began with Russia's February invasion. Asked what the United States considers the war aim for Ukraine, the official said it was to put Kyiv "in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table." While the United States does not want to "prolong the war," it considers it vital that Russia "pay a heavy price for its actions" or it will "send a message to other would-be aggressors that they can take a territory by force," the official said. "We will not pressure the Ukrainian government in private or in public to make any territorial concessions," the official said. Source: AFP/BSS AH

The Kremlin on Friday said President Vladimir Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukraine, as Russian forces approached Kyiv on the second day of Moscow's invasion.    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader was "ready" to send a high-level delegation "for talks with a Ukrainian delegation" to Belarusian capital Minsk, which has previously hosted rounds of peace talks over the Ukraine crisis.    He said Putin's ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, told him that he would "create the conditions" for such a summit.    Russia has thousands of troops stationed in Belarus, and Ukraine said it was being attacked from several sides -- including from Belarus.    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had repeatedly called for talks with the Russian leader during a weeks-long diplomatic push in which Western countries tried to deter Putin from launching an attack.    Hours before Putin announced he was sending troops to Ukraine, Zelensky said he tried to call the Kremlin chief but "there was no answer, only silence".    As Russian troops closed in on Kyiv on Friday, Zelensky issued a new statement urging talks.    "I would like to address the President of the Russian Federation once again. Fighting is going on all over Ukraine. Let's sit down at the negotiating table to stop the deaths of people," he said.    Putin announced the start of a military operation against Ukraine in the hourly hours of Thursday, when Moscow was asleep.    He did so after recognising two pro-Moscow separatist republics in eastern Ukraine as independent.    The West has imposed a barrage of international sanctions on Moscow in response, but Ukraine has said it should do more. Source: AFP/BSS AH

More six lakh doses of corona vaccine are scheduled to reach in the country. It is the second consignment of vaccine that ‍are being sent by China. The information was delivered through a press release of China embassy in Dhaka on Friday. It was said in the release that Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen sent diplomatic letter to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi seeking corona vaccine. In this continuation, on Friday Wang Yi made a telephone call to A K Abdul Momen informing him about sending six lakh doses corona vaccine as gift. Earlier, on May 12 China sent five lakh doses corona vaccine of Sinopharm to Bangladesh. AH