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Their country is on the road to becoming the first European nation to ban the full-body veils worn by Muslim women, lawmakers in Belgium have said.

The EU Observer has reported on Thursday that a key panel of the Belgium Federal Parliament unanimously voted in favor of a proposal to ban both the burqa and the niqab, two forms of the veil that cover the entire body and face.

Women who wear the coverings could be fined and jailed for up to seven days, if parliament approves the ban.

A ban would liberate women from a burden and increase security, Corinne De Permentier, speaker of the lower chamber, says.

U. S. pressure on the national telecommunications sector was a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, Hezbollah lawmakers in Lebanon has complained.

Washington had asked Lebanese officials for data on the national telecommunications sector. Saying the effort amounted to spying, local media reacted earlier this month to the request.

The U. S. Embassy in Beirut issued the request in April 2009, though it was turned down by Energy Minister Gebran Bassil, who served as telecommunications minister in the previous government.

According to the reports officials in a Newfoundland seaside town were trying to determine Thursday who pulled the steeple off a 115-year-old unused Anglican church

The National Post reported that some of the 6,500 residents of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's noticed the toppled steeple of the St. Philips church Wednesday around 8 a. m.

The incident was likely related to a controversy over whether the church should be kept as a landmark museum or demolished, Mayor Bill Fagan told the newspaper.

California authorities have said that a powerful military helicopter will hopefully aid in rescuing a 26-year-old climber stranded near the summit of Mount Shasta.

The Sacramento Bee reported on Thursday that bad weather and a lack of heavy equipment has prevented rescuers from reaching chemical engineer Thomas Bennett of Oakland, Calif.

Bennett's climbing partner Mark Thomas told rescuers Bennett fell ill and collapsed on Sunday, possibly the result of altitude sickness.

State troopers have said that three Marine Corps recruits were killed in a multi-vehicle crash near Leavittsburg, Ohio.

The victims were on their way to Cleveland to take a military entrance exam when the car they were riding in was caught up in a pileup Wednesday in Warren Township.

The three were in the back seat of a Pontiac hit from behind by a semi-truck at an intersection outside Leavittsburg. The car, driven by Marine Sgt. Charles Keene, was then hit again by several other vehicles, the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator said.

Dollar-Yen traded below 93.75 for the whole past 24 hours, settling for a nearby top at 93.63. But, as we approach the important top 93.75, we recommend caution of a possible drop. Since it is pretty important, we will take 93.75 to be our "resistance of the day", and we do not expect this "correctionless" rise to continue unless it is broken. But if it does, the price will jump above 94 for the first time since August, targeting 94.35 and may get a taste of 95 as it targets 95.05.