• Society

    New breakthrough for Saudi women’s rights

        Riyadh: A requirement for Saudi female students to be accompanied by a male guardian in order to benefit from state scholarships abroad is likely to be scrapped soon. The decision follows last week’s breakthrough reform that allowed Saudi women to obtain passports and travel abroad with the approval…

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  • West Asia

    July 2019 was Earth’s hottest month on record

        Brussels: July 2019 was the warmest month on record in absolute terms across the globe, data released by the European Union’s satellite-based Earth observation network reveals. “July is typically the warmest month of the year in the global average. July 2016 was previously the warmest of any month…

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  • Society

    Khat is an art form, nothing to do with religion – Wan Azizah

      Putrajaya: Khat, a form of Malay-Arabic calligraphy writing, is an art form and does not involve any religious element, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said. She said she is aware of the Chinese community’s concern when the government decided to introduce khat in the Bahasa Melayu…

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  • Culture

    Being politically correct on festival greetings

      By Ivan Lim Contributor to AsiaN Singapore: In an Age of Innocence, people all over the world send out greetings to one another during religious and cultural festivals. They spread the message of friendship, goodwill and well wishing. to families and friends without fear of being called out for…

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  • Culture

    ASEAN Friendship Concert 2019:  Singing Together for Stronger Partnership

      Bangkok: While in some regions, music and politics are in a dysfunctional relationship, marked by wary trysts and embarrassed silences, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have shown that music supplements politics in deepening relations and strengthening partnerships. The ten ASEAN member countries and their allies and…

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  • Politics

    Sri Lankan president berates opposition to death penalty

    Colombo: Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has continued his verbal attack on those whom he considered as obstructing initiatives to make the country safer by opposing the enactment of tougher laws. “Certain segments who did not heed to the concerns of society to formulate stronger and tougher laws to eradicate…

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  • Society

    Greater Jakarta plunges into darkness following major blackout

      Jakarta: A major blackout has darkened Indonesia’s Greater Jakarta and West Java where thousands of homes and public facilities as well as transportation lines were affected. The electricity outage on Sunday was attributed by Indonesia state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to problems at several power stations…

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  • Politics

    Saudi Arabia removes travel restrictions for women

       Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud has hailed the decision to allow Saudi women to apply for passports and travel abroad without the need for the approval of a custodian. The decision announced this week is seen as a great leap for the…

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  • Culture

    Cleopatra’s beauty wows Moroccans at donkey pageant

      Rabat: Cleopatra has made history by becoming the first female donkey to win the top prize in a beauty pageant in Morocco. Cleopatra could convince the nine members of the jury, who included a veterinarian, that she was sufficiently attractive, loyal and fit to be declared winner in the…

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  • South East Asia

    Lucky escape for visiting Malaysian journalists as powerful earthquake rocks Indonesia

      By Nasir Yousoff Contributor to AsiaN Jakarta: It was a lucky escape for several Malaysian journalists currently on a media trip to Indonesia after they felt the tremors caused by a powerful earthquake that hit the Banten province in Java, 120 kilometers from the capital. The quake, put at…

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