Queen Elizabeth II is set to approve a new succession law that will end the age-old precedence enjoyed by male heirs in line to Britain's throne, ending centuries of religious and gender discrimination.

'The Succession to the Crown Bill', which is set to become law in coming days, means that if Prince William and Kate Middleton were to have a daughter in July, she would be crowned Queen.

The Royal couple's first child will be third in line to the throne after William and his father Prince Charles.

The bill, which cleared its final readings at the House of Lords this week, will install 'absolute primogeniture' in succession to the British throne, meaning the eldest child, regardless of gender, will succeed to the crown and a daughter cannot be overtaken in the line of succession by a younger brother.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg, who introduced the Bill in the Commons, said, "This is a truly historic moment. I am proud the British Parliament has taken this step to end centuries of religious and gender discrimination."

The government agreed with the 15 other countries, where the Queen is head of state that ancient rules giving supremacy to male heirs must be changed to allow the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child to reign, whatever its gender.

The cabinet office has struck an agreement that the change to succession law will apply from October 28, 2011, the date of a summit in Australia where countries first agreed to go ahead.

Buckingham Palace agreed that the time for change had come.

Reported by the Times of India

Amid a damning reports showing official Myanmar complicity in ethnically cleansing entire Muslim towns and villages, the world's foremost Buddhist leader Dalai Lama condemned the violence, which has left hundreds dead and an estimated hundreds of thousands homeless.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, he told Cathy Newman that violence “is wrong”. When he was asked whether he could do something about the attacks in Burma and Sri Lanka, he said:"In a student-teacher relationship, whether it is supreme teachers like Jesus or Buddha, no one can control the thoughts of all humans."

Seeking to explain his point, he added."My friend a scientist in Argentina had said to a physicist at a meeting many years ago that she should not develop an attachment to her scientist field. That means I am Buddhist but I should not develop an attachment to my faith because then my attitude will become biased. And you cannot see the truth with a biased mind."

He also added that sometimes many conflicts are fought in the name of religion but in reality they may actually be due to political or economical differences. "Fundamentalists always think of themselves and not the values of others, which is wrong," he said.

Commenting on Wirathu, dubbed as “Buddhist Bin Laden” and accused of is flaming social tensions between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, he said he had not studied his case in detail or isolation but that he condemned his actions. "What he is doing is wrong," he said.

Previously, during an exclusive interview with ABC News from his home-in-exile in Dharamsala in India he had represented his most public condemnation of the Buddhist-led violence.

"It's very sad," the Dalai Lama said.

"All the major religions teach us the practice of love, compassion and forgiveness. So a genuinepractitioner among these different religious traditions would not indulge in such violence and bullying of other people."

In the vein of speaking about violence, when he was asked for his opinion on US senators voting against gun control as a part of an individual's freedom, the Dalai Lama said he understood individual freedom, "But that does not mean you carry out an act out of destructive emotion. The control must come from the individuals," he said.

He also discussed his hopes for progress with China and whether a woman could be the Tibetan people’s next spiritual leader. He said he is optimistic about progress with China and hopes that in a few years they can share a harmonious relationship based on "friendship and trust." Ending the interview, he said he would be happy to have a woman Dalai Lama to succeed him. "Women are naturally more sympathetic and compassionate people. So yes, I would definitely welcome it," he concluded.

It's unclear how much weight the Dalai Lama's words will carry in violence-stricken areas of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), where a new report accuses Buddhist monks, political party operatives, and ordinary Myanmar residents of committing brutal acts of violence against the country's tiny Rohingya minority.

The report, issued by Human Rights Watch, shows a pre-planned pattern of violence in the Southeast Asian country, including entire villages razed to the ground and the bodies of men, women and children buried in mass graves, some with their hands bound behind their backs. In another village, 70 people, including 28 children, were allegedly hacked to death. 

It's unclear whether Myanmar has responded to the report.

The violence began last year with a number of small skirmishes between Buddhists and Muslims in central Myanmar. It has since then spread and nearly all the violence has been directed toward Myanmar's minority Rohingya Muslims. They are a small ethnic group of 3 to 5 percent of Myanmar's total population.

The Myanmar government classifies the Rohingyas as Bangladeshi immigrants, denying them official citizenship. Burmese laws prevent them from travelling without permission and owning land. 

Human Rights Watch accuses Burmese authorities of turning a blind eye, and in some cases participating in the violence. It accuses the government of systematically restricting humanitarian aid" and "imposing discriminatory policies" on its Muslim minority, warning of a humanitarian crisis if the violence isn't brought to an end.

Local military commanders of India and China are holding a flag meeting on Tuesday in a bid to resolve the situation arising out of the incursion by Chinese troops in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh. The meeting scheduled at 10:30am is being held in Daulat Beg Oldi sector, sources said.

The Lok Sabha was Tuesday adjourned for the day amid noisy demands by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation. The house will now meet Thursday as Wednesday is a holiday for Mahavir Jayanti.