At a glance

Ganesha idol banned from New York schools
WASHINGTON: A US federal judge has banned the representation of Lord Ganesha, from the Bedford Central School, district of New York. District judge Charles Brieant acted on a suit brought by three Catholic families who objected to a representation of Lord Ganesha and an altar built by students for an Earth Day project. The judge gave his ruling on the basis of supreme court standards for the separation of church and state. But Judge Brieant rejected the families8217; complaints about yoga, which is popular among many students.

Two die on Mt Everest
BEIJING: Two climbers died on Mount Everest this month, both on the descent after having scaled the world8217;s highest peak, official media said on Sunday. 8220;One climber died during the descent after the Ukraine team reached the peak,8221; the Xinhua news agency reported. The agency also said one climber from the 8220;Polish and Belgian teams8221; died on the way down after reaching the summit om May 18. It did notgive the second climber8217;s nationality or identity.

Pak drug mule dies after heroin packets burst
KUWAIT CITY: A Pakistani drug smuggler died in Kuwait after packets of heroin he had swallowed ruptured in his stomach, newspapers reported on Sunday. The man died immediately after admitting himself to hospital with stomach pains, five days after he had consumed the packets which he was unable to pass, Al-Rai al-Aam said. In 1995, Kuwait introduced a law which extends the death penalty to narcotics traffickers, repeat drug offenders and offences involving minors. Two Iranian drug traffickers were hanged last July under the new law, in the first such executions. Despite Kuwait8217;s stiff penalties, drug use and trafficking in the oil-rich emirate continue to rise. More than half of all Kuwait8217;s criminal cases are now drug-related.