Sunday, October 25, 2009 CAIRO: Britain became the latest European country to join the furor over burka, an outfit covering the whole body from head to toe, after a college banned a Muslim student from entering the class over the wearing. “We do require all students of Burnley College to have their faces visible when at the college,” principal John Smith told media on Saturday, October 24.“We are determined to maintain the highest standards of teaching and learning in Burnley College.“It is not possible to maintain this essential full communication of the face of any student is not fully visible,” he said.Shawana Bilqes was barred by the college from enrolling for the Access course for an HE Diploma. The 18-year-old Muslim student was sent a letter by the college rejecting her enrollment.“I tried to compromise but they wouldn't,” Bilqes said. “The college sent me a letter to say I could continue with my course if I stopped wearing the veil.” The college defended its decision to ban the Muslim girl.“Where individuals are able to comply with these reasonable requirements, which apply to all students equally, we would be very pleased to admit them to Burnley College,” Smith said.“Where individuals decline to comply, then I am afraid that we cannot accommodate them.” The Muslim student defended her right to wear burka on campus. “It is my choice to wear the veil,” Bilqes said.“I live around the corner from the college in an area where there are so many practicing Muslims.”
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
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