Society - THE AsiaN

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…
Read More »
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…
Read More »
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…
Read More »
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…
Read More »
Politics

ASEAN, Australia unite to address human-trafficking issues

Bangkok: Australia and Asean today launched an 80 million Australian dollars counter-trafficking initiative to reinforce regional cooperation in combating human trafficking. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the new 10-year programme was another initiative to ensure stringent punishment and protection on the rights of victims of human trafficking in…
Read More »
Business

Sri Lanka building up a nutritious young generation thanks to local dairy industry

Colombo: A national program in Sri Lanka to provide a packet of liquid milk to around 600,000 primary students is well underway. The program, under President Maithripala Sirisena’s concept of creating a ‘Nutritious young generation of a nation bountiful with milk,’ is coupled with a plan to make Sri…
Read More »
Society

Nor ´Phoenix´ Diana breaks norms as Malaysia’s first hijab pro-wrestler

Kuala Lumpur: With her weight of 43 kilograms and height of 155 centimeters, Nor ´Phoenix´ Diana, is a regular looking young Malaysian woman. However, Nor is not as common when it comes to what she is doing. She is simply creating a new trend by becoming the first Malaysian…
Read More »
South Asia

Social media in Pakistan proves its strength

A controversial decision to make plastic wrapping over all checked in luggage mandatory at Pakistan airports was withdrawn less than one day after it was announced. The decision waded into controversy amid heavy criticism by frequent flyers concerned about delays and costs and environmentalists worried about the negative consequences of…
Read More »
Society

Kazakhstan Prime Minister launches ecological campaign

Nur-Sultan: Kazakhstan Prime Minister Askar Mamin has launched ‘Together – Clean Kazakhstan’ ecological campaign. More than 1,200 people including members of the cabinet, representatives of government and public organizations, diplomats, local authorities and students participated in cleaning the Koyandy Water Reservoir, KAZINFORM reported. In a welcoming speech, the Prime…
Read More »
Business

400,000 illegals expected to leave Malaysia under amnesty offer

Kuala Lumpur: Some 400,000 illegal immigrants are expected to leave Malaysia by December 31 under the Back For Good (B4G) programme introduced by the Malaysian Government to allow them to return to their countries of origin voluntarily. Foreigners who have committed offenses or have overstayed in the country can…
Read More »