Bangladesh under Yunus’ leadership: Challenges, opportunities
By Shafiqul Bashar DHAKA: As Bangladesh finds itself since 8 August 2024 in the interim leadership of Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, the nation stands at a crossroads of potential and peril. Following the ousting of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August, Dr Yunus’ administration has inherited a complex landscape marked by economic […]
Beyond the papers: Korean adoptees and the search for truth
By Alessandra Bonanomi ROME: A few days ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube video by Al Jazeera that told the story of Simon Hokwerda, a man born in 1966 who was adopted by a Dutch family at the age of four. Simon, whose Korean name is Kim Kwon-si, is one of the biracial babies born […]
Uzbekistan’s 1,500-year-old Eastern Biota on international list of Monumental Trees
By Kuban Andymen BISHKEK: A 1,500-year-old Eastern Biota is now among several of Uzbekistan’s ancient and rare trees on the international list of Monumental Trees, a platform that highlights historically important trees worldwide. The register is an online record of perennial, rare, and unique tree species of international importance located throughout the world, aimed to […]
Bahrain reiterates call for international peace conference
By Habib Toumi MANAMA: Bahrain has reiterated its call to hold an expanded and urgent international conference to revive hope in achieving peace. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa renewed the call as he addressed the bi-cameral parliament convening at the start of its new session. On May 16, King Hamad, chairing the 33rd Arab […]
South Korean Nobel laureate Han Kang Prize announcement
By Anders Olsson, Chairman of the Nobel Committee OSLO: 한강 Han Kang was born in 1970 in the South Korean city of Gwangju before, at the age of nine, moving with her family to Seoul. She comes from a literary background, her father being a reputed novelist. Alongside her writing, she has also devoted herself to art and music, […]
Pakistan: New version of old story of Ali Baba and 40 Thieves
By Nasir Aijaz The AsiaN Representative ISLAMABAD: ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’ is an Arabic folktale, the most popular and widely read and retold across the world including Pakistan, especially for children. According to the story, as I read in my childhood, Ali Baba was a poor woodcutter and an honest person who discovers […]
Bahrain, Japan to set up Center for Gulf Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
MANAMA: Bahrain and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up the Bahrain Center for Arabian Gulf Archaeology and Cultural Heritage. The MoU aims to establish a dedicated research, studies and training center to preserve, document and transmit the cultural heritage of the Gulf States to future generations. The center will work through […]
AJA gets ready for new transformation phase, set to elect executive committee
SEOUL: Asia Journalists Association is set to elect five vice presidents to its executive committee, marking a new phase in which the 20-year-old association is being run. A regular member of the pan-Asian association will also be elected to the committee, the highest decision-making body in AJA. The five candidates for the vice presidency, from […]
Outstanding women in Bahrain to be awarded for exceptional talent
By Habib Toumi MANAMA: A new tribute will made to outstanding women in Bahrain as people in the Gulf country, both nationals and foreigners, will be able to vote for the 2024 Woman of the Year Awards. The Woman of the Year Awards, by Woman This Month magazine, honor the achievements and contributions of women […]
Gulf countries mark 20 years of NATO partnership: Looking back, moving forward
By Habib Toumi NEW YORK: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the four member countries of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) partnership with NATO have celebrated 20 years of the initiative. An event hosted by the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Sabah, on the sideline of the UN General […]