24pc of French Muslims oppose secular laws
AFP, Paris
Around one in four French Muslims supports the wearing of the full-face veil, but the vast majority accept France’s strict secular laws, a study showed on Sunday.
The Ifop survey carried out for a major study of French Muslims by Institut Montaigne, a liberal think-tank, showed that the vast majority of people who identify themselves as Muslims accept curbs on religion in public.
China, Russia hold drills
PTI, Beijing
China and Russia have carried out joint naval exercises in the resource-rich South China Sea off China’s southern Guangdong province away from the disputed areas, nearly two months after an international tribunal dismissed Beijing’s claims to most of the waters.
Vessels including a missile destroyer, anti-submarine vessels, missile frigates, ship-based helicopters and conventional submarines among others took part in the exercise, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
12 dead in Thai boat capsize
Reuters, Bangkok
At least 12 people have died and dozens are missing in Thailand after a boat carrying 150 Thai Muslims capsized in the ancient tourist city of Ayutthaya, officials said today. The accident took place on the Chao Phraya river in Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage site located some 80 km north of Thailand’s capital Bangkok.
Four-in-10 Japanese are virgins
AFP, Tokyo
More than 40 percent of young Japanese single adults are virgins, a government survey has shown, and almost three-quarters of men are not in any kind of relationship. The poll reveals the extent of sexlessness in a country where policymakers worry about low birthrates and the knock-on effect of an ageing society.
US airstrikes kill 8 Afghan cops
AP, Kabul
An Afghan official says at least eight Afghan police officers have been killed in two U.S. airstrikes in southern Uruzgan province in what was apparently a friendly-fire incident.
Rahimullah Khan, a provincial operational commander, says the first airstrike killed one policeman at a checkpoint outside the provincial capital of Tirin Kot, while the second, which struck the same area, killed seven others.
