Korea’s top court upholds 20-year prison term for ex-President Park
SEOUL: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year sentence for former President Park Geun-hye in a high-profile corruption case, closing the yearslong saga that gripped the country and ultimately removed her from office in 2017. In the sentencing hearing over an appeal filed by prosecutors against a ruling in July that reduced Park’s prison […]
Northern Kyrgyzstan, Con Dao (Vietnam), Isphahan (Iran) selected by NYT among top places to visit in 2021
SEOUL: Northern Kyrgyzstan, Con Dao, an archipelago of 16 mostly uninhabited islets just off the southern coast of Vietnam, and Isphahan, Iran, have been selected by the New York Times among 52 places to visit in 2021. “We asked readers to tell us about the spots that have delighted, inspired and comforted them in a […]
Malaysia: Judiciary will continue to uphold law, justice throughout emergency, PM says
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has given its assurance that the judiciary will continue to function to uphold the law and justice throughout the emergency period. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the Perikatan Nasional government will continue to defend the independence of the judiciary and would never interfere in matters of the courts. “The judiciary will […]
Remembering the times when the sun was adored as god
By Fahredin Shehu* PRISTINA, KOSOVO: Arabic poetry was transmitted orally until the fifth century. Poems were later written down. These days, I have been removing the dust from the deepest recesses of my sub-consciousness (talking about some 30 years of my studies), looking for parallels of the old poetry with the contemporary Arab poetry. The […]
Free COVID-19 vaccines for all Koreans; inoculation to start next month
SEOUL: President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the government would provide all South Korean people with free-of-charge COVID-19 vaccines in phases starting next month. “[The government] will make sure that all of the people will be inoculated free of charge in accordance with priorities,” he said in his New Year’s address, assuring that inoculation will […]
Missing plane in Indonesia: Debris, cables found in waters off Laki Island, Pulau Seribu
JAKARTA: Cables and debris suspected of belonging to a missing Sriwijaya Air plane have been found in the waters off Laki Island, Pulau Seribu District on Saturday afternoon, Indonesian news agency Antara reported. Several police officers, assisted by local residents, rushed to the waters’ area and searched for the missing aircraft, which lost contact while […]
UAE: Mandatory PCR testing every 14 days for government employees, except those who took COVID-19 vaccine
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has announced that employees of all ministries and federal entities will be required to undergo mandatory COVID-19 PCR testing every 14 days starting January 17. In a circular issued, the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources said the decision is part of the government’s efforts to limit the […]
Seoul sends anti-piracy unit to Strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes South Korean tanker
SEOUL: South Korea’s anti-piracy unit began operations in the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday to respond to heightened tensions after Iran’s seizure of a South Korean oil tanker, officials said. On Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps seized the tanker, MT Hankuk Chemi, due to what Teheran claims to be environmental and chemical pollution by the […]
Fifth journalist to be killed in two months in Afghanistan violence
KABUL: An Afghan journalist has been shot dead in an attack by gunmen in the central province of Ghor. Bismillah Adil Aimaq, the editor-in-chief of a local radio station, is the fifth journalist to be killed in the war-ravaged country in the past two months, a provincial spokesman said. According to reports, Bismillah was on […]
Major manmade catastrophes in 2020
KUWAIT: A list of the major manmade catastrophes in 2020 compiled by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) shows that while the coronavirus (COVID-19) has killed and infected millions of people around the world, many others were the victims of tragedies caused intentionally or unintentionally by humans. Jan. 2: A military helicopter crash-lands on a Taiwanese […]
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Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
