Health officials in India are investigating reports that top Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan knows he and his wife are expecting a baby boy.

Maharashtra state health minister Suresh Shetty said he had instructed his officials to conduct the inquiry.

An Indian medical association had written to the ministry, calling for the investigation.

Sex tests before birth are illegal in India. The couple have not commented on reports of the pregnancy or gender.

India’s ban on sex tests is part of attempts to reduce female foeticide which distorts the country’s gender balance because of the general cultural preference for boys, reports the BBC’s Jill McGivering.

Media reports had claimed that SRK, 47, and his wife Gauri Khan were expecting a baby boy through surrogacy.

A Cairo court has sentenced Islamist preacher Ahmed Abdullah, known as “Abu Islam”, to 11 years in prison on charges of tearing up a Bible, defaming religion and disturbing peace and security.

The court ordered his detention for five years for ripping up a Bible, three years on the charge of defaming religion and three more years for disturbing public peace and security.

Abu Islam, who owns the religious al-Omma satellite channel, also faces charges of the Christian faith and Egypt’s women but specifically those who are Christian.

Lucknow : The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has decided to increase the fees of several under-graduate and post-graduate courses citing inflation in the recent years. The last time, the university had hiked the fees was 15 years ago. While the admission fee has been hiked from Rs 165 to Rs 300, games fees have been raised to Rs 200 from Rs 150. Hostel charges have been increased to Rs 500 from Rs 385 and the kitchen establishment charges have been hiked to Rs 300 from Rs 180 in the past.

A major hike has been made in tour fee of under-graduate courses. Tour fees for students of BA, BCom, BSc, Bachelor of Social Works has been hiked to Rs 100 from Rs 10. Students of Bachelor of Library Science will have to pay Rs 800 now up from Rs 100 earlier. Infrastructure development fees has been hiked to 1,200 from Rs 1,050. According to sources, boys will have to pay Rs 750 for the shervani clothpiece while they were paying only Rs 540 at the time of admission before.

University spokesperson Rahat Abrar said that nearly 20 to 30 per cent hike has been made in the fees of almost all the courses and hostel as well as meal charges. Abrar said that university’s Executive Council has approved the new fee structure.

Abrar said the AMU had not hiked fees in the last 15 years, but inflation over the years demanded the revision in existing fee structure. In the covering letter of the proposed fee structure revision, Vice-Chancellor Lieutenant General (retd) Zameeruddin Shah wrote the hike has come after the University Grants Commission (UGC) fixed the grant to the universities across the state, and has been asking the universities to generate their resources to pay cater the expenses.

He stated that before arriving at the revised fee structure, existing fee structures of Jamia Millia Islamia, Banaras Hindu University and Delhi University were closely examined, and the new revised fees of AMU are still less than those universities.

Another AMU official said that the fee hike will help the university to improve the infrastructure facilities on campus and introduce new advanced courses. The AMU vice-chancellor had recently appealed to the university alumni across the world to make contributions as the university may require additional funds of Rs 100 crore over a period of next five years to improve the infrastructure. Shah had stated that government funding, alone, was inadequate to meet requirements for the expansion and modernisation programme in university.

He had stated that AMU required funding to improve the infrastructure facilities and development programmes being carried out.

–IndianExpress

Jakarta: Muslim and human rights groups called on National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo to revoke a 2005 ban on hijabs in the police corps.

A decision made by then National Police chief Gen. Da’i Bachtiar in 2005, orders all members of the corps to only wear official uniform and specifically prohibited female officers from wearing hijabs.

The ban, if violated, could result in dismissal.

Female members of the corps Aceh are excluded from the regulation given the province’s 2001 Sharia-inspired bylaws that oblige all women to cover their hair.

Separately, Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said by lifting the ban on hijabs, the police would be uphold one of the country’s founding principles.

“By allowing female members of the police to wear hijabs, the National Police would uphold the country’s motto of Unity in Diversity,” he told The Jakarta Post.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s President-Elect Hassan Rouhani said Iran would not suspend its nuclear activities during his tenure, but meantime underlined that Tehran and the West can build each other’s trust in other ways.

“The era of suspension is gone and now we are in such special conditions that I do believe we have abundant ways to build (each other’s) confidence,” Rouhani told a press conference here in Tehran on Monday.

He further reminded Iran’s agreement with the three European countries over Tehran’s nuclear program in 2005 when he was in charge of Iran’s team of negotiators in nuclear talks with the West, and said, “In 2005, we came to a final agreement in talks with (French President) Mr. Jacque Chirac on how to build international confidence in Iran’s enrichment activities and this agreement could be the final solution.”

“The Germans acquiesced in the agreement, but Britain, under the US pressure, refrained from cooperation and the job was left unfinished.”

Rouhani said there are many ways to build international confidence in Iran’s nuclear activities, including the same agreement that he, as Iran’s top negotiator and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary, struck with Chirac in the 2005 negotiations.

Rouhani, who won Iran’s presidential race on Friday, was the Supreme Leader’s representative and the secretary of SNSC from 1989 to 2005 and, hence, led the Iranian team of negotiators in nuclear talks with the world powers for 16 years.

– FNA

Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, loving father of Aryan and Suhana, voted India’s most popular father in a Father’s Day poll conducted by India’s most popular matrimonial website Shaadi.com.

The results of the poll that were collected from over 11,000 Indian women have been a day ahead of Father’s Day which is supposed to be celebrated June 16, worldwide. The award-winning actor won with 38.43% votes followed by Amitabh Bachan with 31.58% votes. The world renowned Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took the third spot with 18.61% votes.

Shahrukh married Gauri Chibber on 25 October 1991. They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). Shahrukh considers his children as his best friends. Aryan Khan has now moved to London for his higher studies at the Sevenoaks School, one of the oldest and most prestigious schools.

June 16: In the aftermath of the crushing defeat to India, former skipper Aamir Sohail has launched a scathing attack on one of Pakistan’s greatest cricketers, Imran Khan, saying the World Cup-winning captain is responsible for the current state of sport in the country.

“I want to say clearly here and for once we must face the truth that Imran is responsible for the state of affairs in our cricket,” Sohail said.

With his statement that is clearly a fallout of Pakistan’s disastrous campaign in the Champions Trophy in England, where they lost all their three group matches, Sohail left the other two guest on the show Zaheer Abbas and Younis Khan surprised.

“Imran damaged Pakistan cricket by encouraging our bowlers to tamper with the ball. This has led to a culture where we can’t produce good new ball bowlers or quality openers,” the 46-year-old former opener told a news channel.

Sohail was retorting to the views expressed by former pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who felt Pakistan “need a dressing room culture where a winning mentality is promoted” and someone like Imran to guide and produce quality players.

The storm was already brewing and yesterday’s eight-wicket defeat to arch-rivals India only added to the wounds.

A proven player with 47 Tests and 156 ODIs under his belt, Sohail has worked as a chief selector in the past and was a member of the 1992 World Cup winning squad led by Imran.

–PTI

Beijieng: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday announced cutting ties with Syria, shutting down the Syrian embassy in Cairo and withdrawing the Egyptian charge d” affaires from Damascus, at a popular conference aired on state TV.

“Hezbollah must leave Syria,” Morsi warned, “We reject any military or political interference in Syria whether by states or militants.”

The Egyptian president added that the country”s leadership, people and army are in support of the Syrian people, yet he stressed non-interference in the Syrian domestic affairs.

“There is no place for the current Syrian regime in the future of Syria,” Morsi reiterated while addressing the popular conference in support of Syrian “revolution”, held at Cairo Stadium by Islamists.

Morsi also urged Arab and Islamic states for an emergency summit to discuss the latest developments in the Syrian conflict.

The Egyptian Islamist-oriented president deplored that the Syrian conflict killed over 90,000 citizens, injured hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, citing a UN report.

He slammed “regional and international powers” for their military support of the Syrian government that led to the continued bloodshed in the country.

Kuwait’s top court has dissolved parliament and called for new elections after an opposition challenge to the voting system was thrown out.

Head judge Youssef al-Mutawa said the Constitutional Court made its decision after examining and rejecting the challenge.

Kuwait’s emir made a televised plea for citizens to accept the changes to the voting rules, asking them to reject “the voices of chaos”.

“I accept…the ruling of the Constitutional Court regardless of its content, and I call on all citizens to respect it and abide by it,” Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah said in a special broadcast on state television late on Sunday.

The government said the new system, which reduced the number of votes per person to one from four, brought Kuwait in line with other countries.

However, opposition politicians said the decree was unconstitutional and an attempt to stop them from forming a majority or bloc in parliament.

Al-Sabah had used emergency powers in October last year to change voting rules, six weeks before the country was due to hold parliamentary elections.

Opposition politicians boycotted the poll, and on the eve of the election tens of thousands of Kuwaitis marched in protest against the decree.

Hundreds of Dalit Muslims took part in the march under the banner of Pasmanda Muslim Mahaj.

“We support Nitish Kumar for his daring move to oppose the BJP and its likely prime ministerial candidate, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,” said Mahtab Ansari, a member of the Mahaj.

Mahaj’s two leaders – Ali Anwar Ansari and Saleem Perwej – are considered close to Nitish Kumar. Ali Anwar is a JD-U Rajya Sabha member and Perwej is a JD-U legislator.

The JD-U is expected to formally end its alliance with the BJP Sunday.