Briefs

Nepra hikes tariff by 0.48 per unit for Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Nepra has approved 0.48 per unit hike in power tariff for the people of Karachi. According to the department, fuel worth over Rs190 million was used in October this year to produce electricity while power generated through other means cost additionally around Rs530 million.The Karachi Electric Company would retrieve over Rs73 million under the power charges. In October, K-Electric supplied around 1.5 bn units to consumers. However, the consumers who have used 50 units in the month would not be subjected to the hike.

China will continue to work with Pakistan: spokesperson

BEIJING: A spokesperson of Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang said on Tuesday that China will continue to work with Pakistani side to further cement the mutual partnership. When asked that Pakistan got a new army chief and does China expect a stronger relationship with Pakistan with the new army chief, he said China and Pakistan enjoy an all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation. The bilateral friendship has withstood the test of times.

Big guns come out for Trumps’ play date

Monitoring Desk

Barron Trump's going to have seriously high caliber play dates from here on out ... courtesy of the Secret Service and the US Coast Guard. The 10-year-old and his friends were hanging at Mar-a-Lago over the Thanksgiving weekend, and the lawn was fully covered by several badasses with BIG guns -- by sea, ground and, we're guessing, air. Donald Trump's Florida estate presents security challenges because of its accessibility from the water. The Secret Service has said it will deploy more than 920 agents to protect the President-elect, his kids, their spouses and his grandkids.

Saudi Arabia snowfall turns desert sands powdery white

Monitoring Desk

It's not every day that powdery snow covers the desert sand in Saudi Arabia – but that's exactly what happened to parts of the country when temperatures dropped below freezing. Saudis are reacting with a healthy dose of humor, and even a few snowmen.  The frigid temperatures and blanket of snow is an unexpected treat for Saudi Arabia's central and northwest regions, which tend to see daily high temperatures of around 20° C (68° F), even in the November "cold season." Some Saudis have taken to social media to express their thoughts on the winter surprise, with one man "skiing" on an icy road.

Germany allows teacher to wear

headscarf at local daycare center

Monitoring Desk

A German court ruled on Monday that a Muslim preschool teacher may wear a headscarf while working in a local children's day-care center in Germany. The Federal Constitutional Court based its ruling on the freedom of religious expression, reports said.

"An Islamic headscarf is not unusual in Germany, on the contrary it is often reflected in social life," the judges wrote in Karlsruhe to justify their decision. There is no constitutional right to be "spared from the perception of other religious or ideological confessions," the decision stated.

The employer at the day-care center had issued a warning to the preschool teacher who was wearing a headscarf during work for violating a headscarf prohibition that was in effect at that time in Baden-Württemberg.

Son can stay in parents’ house
only at their mercy: Delhi High Court

Monitoring Desk

NEW DELHI: A son, irrespective of his marital status, has no legal right to live in the self-acquired house of his parents and can reside there only at their "mercy", the Delhi High Court has said. The court also said that only because parents have allowed the son to live in their house as long as their relations are cordial does not mean they have to bear his "burden" throughout his life. "Where the house is self-acquired house of the parents, son whether married or unmarried, has no legal right to live in that house and he can live in that house only at the mercy of his parents up to the time the parents allow," Justice Pratibha Rani said in an order.

27pc of Europeans say rape may

be acceptable in some circumstances

Monitoring Desk

LONDON: A rape victim was drunk? He or she flirted beforehand or wore “revealing” clothing? In some European countries, up to 55 percent of the population says such circumstances would make sexual assault without consent justifiable or acceptable, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the European Commission. Overall, about one-fourth — 27 percent — of all Europeans held that opinion.

The number is much higher in Eastern and Central European nations such as Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. In Romania, more than 50 percent of all respondents said nonconsensual love was acceptable in some circumstances. Although there was a clear divide between Eastern and Western Europe, geography alone does not explain the striking differences.

Tons of felines butchered and sold

to restaurants by Chinese ‘animal lover’

Monitoring Desk

An animal lover who claims to look after stray cats at home has been caught butchering the felines before selling them to restaurants, according to Chinese media. Sickening images have emerged showing dozens of cats killed, frozen and even decapitated at the man's tiny warehouse in Chengdu, south-west China. An undercover investigation carried out by the local local media revealed that the man, named Huang Fuping, sold the dead cats as rabbits to meat vendors in rural China for 20 yuan per kilogram (£2.3).

Court lets Hindu girl live with Muslim boyfriend

Monitoring Desk

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court permitted a 19-year-old Hindu girl to live-in with her Muslim boyfriend, who is just 20 years old and is currently ineligible for marriage. While allowing this reunion to take place on the wishes of the girl in a remote town of Dhanera in the border district of Banaskantha, a bench of Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice Biren Vaishnav observed, "Our society puts considerable stress on the institution of marriage and its sanctity. Instances of live-in relationship are largely confined to metro cities and other urban centres. Despite this, we must recognize our legal limitation in forcing an adult person of sound mind to stay at a place she does not want. Correspondingly, we also must recognize that we do not have the power to prevent the girl who is 19 years of age and is of sound mind from exercising her choice and joining the petitioner (her boyfriend), if she so desires."

Explosive materials recovered

By our correspondent

SUKKUR: Police during routine checking recovered six cartons of explosive materials from a vehicle on the National Highway near Rohri.  The vehicle was bound for Karachi.  Police registered a case against two accused, Abdul Razzaq Dasti and Mujahid Hussain. 

Four killed in accident

By our correspondent

SUKKUR: At least four people died and 10 others sustained injuries when a speeding bus collided with a car near Khairpur. Reports said that a bus going to Karachi from Sukkur hit a car on the National Highway, killing all the four occupants of the car on the spot while 10 passengers of the bus sustained injuries. The deceased were identified as Abid Lund, Sajid Lund, Asif Lund and Muharam Ali Rajpar.

‘Karo Kari’ claims six lives

By our correspondent

SUKKUR: In Khairpur, accused Shahzado Lashi killed his niece and a boy Jaffar and later surrendered to police.  In Jacobabad accused Mushtaq Veesar killed his daughter and her alleged friend.  In Qamber-Shahdadkot accused Shahameer Imam Ali Chandio shot dead his wife and her alleged friend who was said to be 70-years-old.

16 rifles, 82 pistols seized

By our correspondent

SUKKUR: Excise Police Ghotki In Charge, Muhammad Younis, said that at Kamu Shaheed on the Sindh-Punjab border police recovered 16 riffles, 82 pistols, 10 magazines, 21,550 bullets and 30 kilograms of Charas from a truck.  He said the driver of the truck managed to escape.  The police official said he suspected that the weapons were meant to be used in terrorism.

PESHAWAR: The police recovered 19.35 kg opium from the hidden cavities of a motorcar and arrested three smugglers in Chamkani, including a woman.Deputy Superintendent of Police, Chamkani, Abdul Salam Khalid told reporters that the police stopped a car and recovered the opium. The held accused were identified as Waheed Ali, Mohammad Amin and Rukhsana of Sukkur, Sindh.

DERA BUGTI: Two terrorists were killed in an encounter with Frontier Corps during a search operation in Dera Bugti. Two terrorists were also arrested while their five hideouts were destroyed. Security forces recovered a huge cache of explosive material, including rockets, IEDs and explosives material from a hideout of a banned outfit in Sangan area of Sibi.