DOHA (AFP) – The Taleban gave the first indication on Tuesday (Aug 17) since coming to power that they would not make the full burqa compulsory for women as they did when they last ruled Afghanistan. Under the militants’ hardline 1996-2001 rule, girls’ schools were closed, women were prevented from travelling and working, and women […]
The desperate scenes at the Kabul airport will now give Afghanistan a place in America’s national memory as another failed attempt to reshape a far-off land. By Roger Cohen An era that began two decades ago with the shock of hijacked planes flying into American skyscrapers drew to a close this week with desperate Afghans […]
KABUL (BLOOMBERG) – The Taleban vowed to build an inclusive government, protect the rights of women “within the bounds of syariah law,” and prevent Afghan territory from being used to target any other country after sweeping aside the Western-backed government to end two decades of war. “We assure the international community and especially the US […]
KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and former deputy premier Ismail Sabri Yaakob are neck-and-neck in the race to become Malaysia’s next prime minister, sources tell The Straits Times, but as at Tuesday (Aug 17) both men are still short of the 111 lawmakers’ support needed for a simple majority in Parliament. The Straits […]
SINGAPORE – A year from now, Singapore will adjust MediShield Life – the compulsory national health insurance scheme – to modify claim limits for outpatient cancer drug treatments. Instead of being allowed to claim up to $3,000 a year for all such treatments and related services, claim limits for these drugs will range from between […]
SINGAPORE – Bigger Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in the non-mature estates of Hougang and Jurong East were more oversubscribed than those in mature estates in the Housing Board’s third sales exercise of the year. Home seekers made a beeline for the four-room flats in Hougang, which saw one of the largest number of applicants for a […]
Maki Kaji, a university dropout who turned a numbers game into one of the world’s most popular logic puzzles and became known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” died at his home in Tokyo on Aug. 10. He was 69. His death was announced on Tuesday by the puzzle company he co-founded, Nikoli. The cause was […]
SINGAPORE – An upcoming integrated waste treatment facility in Tuas will be the first infrastructure project by a statutory board here that will be financed through green bonds, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Tuesday (Aug 17). The National Environment Agency (NEA) – a statutory board under her ministry – has […]
SINGAPORE – A housewife who forced her Indonesian domestic helper to shower with the toilet door open and get dressed in front of open windows was on Tuesday (Aug 17) sentenced to 15 months and two weeks’ jail. Rosdiana Abdul Rahim, now 33, was also ordered to pay the victim, Ms Mayang Sari, $2,500 in […]
YANGON (AFP) – Rohingya refugees expelled from Myanmar in a bloody crackdown are to testify in court for the first time on Tuesday (Aug 17) to urge a full judicial investigation into allegations of war crimes committed against them. A military campaign in Myanmar in 2017 is believed to have killed thousands and forced some […]