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Society
Turkmen urged to strengthen peace, friendship as country celebrates Kurban Bayram
Ashgabat: Every citizen of Turkmenistan considers it an honour to make a worthy contribution to strengthening peace and friendship on the planet and to developing culture and traditions, the country’s president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said as he congratulated compatriots on Kurban Bayram, the Feast of Sacrifice celebrated by Muslims on…
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Society
Social village in Kyrgyzstan gives helping hand to the needy
Bishkek: Tributes have been pouring in for a social village in Kyrgyzstan that has been, despite formidable challenges, caring for people with disabilities for 15 years, assisting them to return to full life. Social Village Manas, 60 km from the capital Bishkek, was established in 2004 as an NGO to…
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Society
S.K. agency provides N.K. defectors psychological therapy for traumatic memories
Seoul: Around two years ago, nearly 20 years after she escaped from North Korea, Kim Young-sook (alias) was suddenly overcome by traumatic memories of life-or-death experiences, and she knew she could not handle it on her own. Her memories of crossing the thinly-frozen Tumen River into China in 1998,…
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Society
Caring in action: Health retiree transports patients for free
Butterworth: When Shabuddin Mat was working at the public health clinic in Butterworth in the Malaysian state of Penang, he noticed how difficult it was for the underprivileged to travel to receive treatment. So, when he retired from his job as a financial administrator in July, he did not…
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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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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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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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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…
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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…
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