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Torrential rains have led to landslides, cloudbursts and heavy flooding in Himachal Pradesh.

France is all set to ban Muslim abaya dress – a full-length, loose-fitting billowy robe worn by some Muslim women as a sign of piety – in state schools, the country’s education minister said ahead of the upcoming school season. French education minister Gabriel Attal said in an interview on Sunday that he would ban Muslim schoolgirls from wearing the abaya in classrooms. “I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,” Mr Attal, 34, said in an interview with TV channel TF1. “When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them.” He said he will give “clear rules at the national level” to school heads just as they return to classes nationwide from 4 September, Le Monde reported. “Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school,” Mr Attal said and described the abaya as “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute”. Mr Attal was appointed education minister by French president Emmanuel Macron just last month. France – known for implementing a strict prohibition on religious symbols within state schools and government buildings – has encountered challenges in modernising its directives to address the country’s expanding Muslim minority. Local media quoted Eric Ciotto, head of the opposition right-wing Republicans party as saying: “We called for the ban on abayas in our schools several times.” Clementine Autain of the left-wing opposition France Unbowed party criticised the “policing of clothing”. She said Mr Attal’s announcement was “unconstitutional” and against the founding principles of France’s secular values. She said the ban was symptomatic of the government’s “obsessive rejection of Muslims”. The French Council of Muslim Faith, which consists of several Muslim associations, has meanwhile said that clothing alone is not “a religious sign”. In French public schools, the wearing of sizable crosses, the Jewish kippah or Islamic headscarve is not allowed. In 2004, the nation implemented a prohibition on headscarves within schools, and in 2010, it enacted a ban on full-face veils, or niqab, in public spaces, causing frustration among a significant portion of its Muslim community, which comprises around five million people. In contrast to headscarves, abayas existed in a somewhat undefined space in the country and had not been subject to a complete ban until this point. Read More French minister Marlène Schiappa to appear on Playboy front cover Italian leader tones down divisive rhetoric but carries on with pursuit of far-right agenda It is thanks to the Conservatives’ incompetence that food prices are rising faster than any other G7 country More than one in 10 flats and terraces classed ‘overcrowded’ in parts of England Danish government to present draft law making it illegal to burn the Quran or other religious texts Shein and Forever 21 team up in hopes of expanding reach of both fast-fashion retailers

A federal hate crime investigation is underway after a White gunman with a swastika-emblazoned assault rifle killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, authorities said.

Kristen Welker is set to join 'Meet The Press' as moderator after her departure from 'Today'

Martha MacCallum proudly shares Fox News viewership during GOP debate

The totem pole has been in Scotland for almost a century since it was sold to the museum in 1929.

Tristan and Andrew Tate had been under house arrest for most of 2023 due to charges of rape and human trafficking

The Russian authorities have announced an endeavor to boost production of movies glorifying Moscow’s actions in Ukraine this year

Libya's foreign minister is suspended because of talks with Israel, which Tripoli does not recognise.

A school in India is ordered sealed after its teacher asked students to slap their Muslim classmate.

Asian shares are trading mostly higher, as investors felt relief from the head of the Federal Reserve indicating it will “proceed carefully” on interest rates

Hundreds have gathered for a vigil to mourn the deaths of four young people, including two siblings, who were killed in a car crash in Co Tipperary. Young people in the crowd were seen comforting each other as they grieved the loss of 24-year-old Luke McSweeney, his sister Grace McSweeney, Zoey Coffey and Nicole Murphy, all aged 18. Classmates of McSweeney and Coffey from Presentation secondary school wore lilac jumpers that commemorate their graduate class of 2023. Grieving family members were also present at the Kickham Plaza gathering on Sunday evening. The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, told the crowd it was “amazing” to see so many people at the vigil, and that there was a “goodness” in people coming together to console one another. He said people would support one another in the coming days and “find a strength in that”. Mayor of Clonmel Richie Molloy addressed the vigil by saying that the tragedy was the worst in living memory. He added: “It’s very hard to know what the families are feeling this evening, and while we can imagine, it’s very hard to know. “All I can say as the mayor, the people of the town really want to show the families the feeling of unity that’s out there.” Father Michael Toomey, a chaplain at CBS High School – which Mr McSweeney attended, said that people in the Clonmel area and around the country had been left speechless by the tragedy. He said that some people will be struggling to make sense of it, and wondered “why them?” “The question we will certainly never get the answer to, not in this life anyway,” he added. “The deaths of Zoe, Nicole, Luke and Grace, it’s like a massive stone that hit a stilled lake, the rippled effects have sent shockwaves right across our family, our schools, our town, our country. “As I said to the girls in Loreto the other day, and the lads in the High School, none of us would ever get over their deaths. But we will learn to live with it. “It will become part of us and, as I also said, it will make us stronger once we grieve properly.” Young men and women embraced one another and cried as the vigil came to a close with the song Rise Up by Andra Day. Mr McSweeney was driving the teenagers to a bus on Friday when the car overturned and crashed into a wall in the town. The youngsters were on their way to celebrate their Leaving Cert exam results, which they had received earlier on Friday. Bouquets of flowers, notes and candles have continued to be left at the wall of Loreto Secondary School, where Ms Murphy went to school and which is around the corner from the scene of the crash. On Sunday, as Mountain Road was reopened, people covered a corner of a stone wall with more flowers, notes and candles. People also stopped their cars to stand in front of the scene and pay their respects. Earlier on Sunday, students attended Loreto secondary school and Presentation secondary school to mourn together. Education minister Norma Foley said that immediate support would be offered from schools and their staff, with the National Educational Psychological Service offering any further support. “Those services will be in place as long as they’re required by the schools and we’re very cognisant of the fact that different schools will have different needs,” she said. “I’m very conscious that the class of 2023 have technically moved on from the school but it is so important that they would know that the school continues to be there for them, the door of the school is always open to a student, whether they are an immediate student, or a past student, and so the supports will be ongoing as they’re required.” When asked about other tragedies involving school leavers that took place this summer, the minister said she had engaged with some of those schools involved and found they can help one another. “I’ve always been struck where they have pointed out that they have been raised up, their hearts have been lifted by that enormous solidarity from other schools.” Irish president Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were among those who expressed their sympathies, with Mr Varadkar saying the nation is in mourning. Mountain Road reopened on Sunday after a Garda forensic examination of the scene. Gardai are appealing for witnesses and said their investigation is focusing on preparing a report for the local coroner. Adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, including heavy downpours at the scene when first responders arrived, will be considered as part of the inquiry. Read More Support for Clonmel students will be in place for as long as needed – minister Locals grieve after one of worst tragedies to befall Co Tipperary town Leaving Cert students had received ‘excellent’ exam results hours before fatal crash Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live