Briefly World

France will jail and impose huge fines on anyone who forces a Muslim woman to wear a full-face veil,according to a leaked version of a proposed law revealed on Friday....

French burqa law calls for jail for offenders

Paris: France will jail and impose huge fines on anyone who forces a Muslim woman to wear a full-face veil,according to a leaked version of a proposed law revealed on Friday. While women will face only a Euro150 penalty if they choose to don a burqa or a niqab,President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to slap one-year prison terms and 20,000 fines on those who make others wear them. No-one may wear in public places clothes that are aimed at hiding the face, says the text of a new law that is to be presented to parliament in July,according to a copy seen by the Le Figaro newspaper. The law will create a new offence of incitement to cover the face for reasons of gender,the paper said,and this offence will incur a Euro 15,000 fine and a year in prison.

Belgium Parliament approves bill to ban Islamic veil

Brussels: The Belgian lower house of Parliament on Thursday approved a bill to ban wearing the burqa in public,a move that could make Belgium the first European country to make the practice a criminal offence. The draft law,cast as a security measure by proponents,was overwhelmingly backed by 136 lawmakers. Just two abstained. The Bill,which would ban all clothing that covers or partially covers the face,could become law in the coming months as the upper house,or Senate,is not expected to block it.

School attacker injures five children,kills self in China

TAIXING: A man broke into a primary school in eastern China on Friday and beat five pre-school children with a hammer before setting himself afire,Xinhua news agency reported. The attacker,Wang Yonglai,died at the scene,Xinhua quoted police officers as saying. The five children were reported to be in stable condition in a hospital in Weifang,in Shandong Province. It was the fifth such assault on students in a month,and the third in three days.

Britain polls show Cameron on top after third debate

LONDON: Conservative Party leader David Cameron gained momentum on Friday as a new poll declared him the winner of the final TV debate,a victory that comes less than a week before Britains national election. Camerons strong showing raised Conservative hopes of taking office in the May 6 election after 13 years as the main Opposition to Gordon Browns ruling Labour party. I am just very focused on the next week,because this is still an election where we have to fight for every vote and every seat, Cameron told the BBC radio. A Guardian/ICM poll found that 35 per cent of the respondents chose Cameron as winning the debate,compared to 29 per cent for Brown and 27 per cent for Clegg.