Tuesday 14 March 2017

Employers allowed to ban the hijab: EU court

Employers allowed to ban the hijab: EU court

Hijab targeted as court rules workplace bans on political and religious symbols are not discriminatory.



Sunday 12 March 2017

Twin bombings kill dozens in Damascus' Old City

Twin bombings kill dozens in Damascus' Old City

More than 100 people also wounded after two blasts hit near Shia Muslim sites of worship in the Bab Musalla area.


Geneva 4 and the shifting shape of Syria diplomacy

Geneva 4 and the shifting shape of Syria diplomacy

With a parallel track of talks and an amended agenda, the diplomatic process to end Syria's war is transforming.


The fourth round of UN-led Syria talks, dubbed Geneva 4, wrapped up last week with a tentative agreement between warring sides on an agenda for future negotiations - but a problematic work plan coupled with shifting international priorities could draw out the already lengthy diplomatic process.
For nine days, United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura met separately with delegations from the Syrian government and three different opposition groups in an effort to end six years of bloody war.
But the negotiations, the first in 10 months, turned out be little more than closed-door consultations - evidence of a diplomatic process kept on life-support by the international community for lack of any other option.
Any real movement on the key opposition demand for a political transition remained stalled amid disagreements over the make-up of the opposition delegation and the government's demand to add "counterterrorism" as a core subject of negotiation.

Friday 10 March 2017

The fall of President Park Geun-hye: A day-by-day look

The fall of President Park Geun-hye: A day-by-day look

Key developments in a tumultuous stretch in South Korean politics that led to the stunning downfall of President Park.




Ancient pharaoh statues uncovered in Cairo mud pit

Ancient pharaoh statues uncovered in Cairo mud pit

The relics, found by a team of Egyptian and German archaeologists, date back more than 3,000 years.




Thursday 9 March 2017

US deploys heavily armed Marines to Syria

US deploys heavily armed Marines to Syria

Several hundred Marines sent to prepare for battle to push ISIL out of its de facto capital, Raqqa, in country's north.



Girls killed in fire at San Jose Pinula child centre



Girls killed in fire at San Jose Pinula child centre

At least 21 girls found dead after fire apparently started in protest against alleged abuse at care home in Guatemala.



Tuesday 7 March 2017

Court rejects Syrian refugee's case against Facebook

Court rejects Syrian refugee's case against Facebook

Anas Modamani wanted Facebook to stop the spread of a selfie he took with Merkel that made him the target of racists.



US deploys missile defence system to South Korea

US deploys missile defence system to South Korea



Forces claim gains in battle for Mosul's Old City

Forces claim gains in battle for Mosul's Old City

Troops claim control of main government offices and museum in ongoing assault on ISIL's last remaining urban stronghold.



Monday 6 March 2017

Trump signs new Muslim travel ban excluding Iraq

Trump signs new Muslim travel ban excluding Iraq

US president signs executive order after courts blocked previous directive, with latest list narrowed to six countries.



FBI joins investigation into Sikh man's shooting

FBI joins investigation into Sikh man's shooting

Activists want Trump administration to make hate crime a priority after Rai was shot and wounded near Seattle.


Seoul says North Korea carried out missile tests

Seoul says North Korea carried out missile tests

Three of four ballistic missiles landed in waters as close as 300km to Japan's northwest coast, Shinzo Abe says.


Saturday 4 March 2017

China’s long bridge nearing completion

China’s long bridge nearing completion

China’s long bridge nearing completion
Beijing: China’s 956M-long bridge, the Hongshuihe Bridge, is nearing completion in South-West China.
The main span of the bridge is 956 meters. It is the first cable stayed bridge with hybrid composite beam technology in the world.

Toilet show is light relief at Paris fashion week

Toilet show is light relief at Paris fashion week

Toilet show is light relief at Paris fashion week
PARIS: Paris fashion week shows tend to be held at the city´s most opulent addresses, grand chandeliered salons dripping with marble and gilt. But new brand Sirloin gave tradition the bum´s rush by presenting its debut collection this weekend in one of the French capital´s most well appointed public toilets.
Designers Mao Usami and Alve Lagercrantz said their odd choice of venue was meant to play tribute to "a place that allows the trivial, silly yet brilliant questions and ideas in life to flow free".
They said it was time to bring the smallest room out of the closet, as models revealed the designers´ autumn-winter collection by opening the mahogany cubicle doors of the historic Madeleine public toilets in central Paris.
The pair are not the only ones to have toyed with convention.
Saint Laurent held its catwalk show on a building site on Tuesday night, while French designer Delphine Delafon staged hers Saturday as a Sicilian wake-cum-funeral with 15 models in widow´s reeds silently mourning over a man´s body.
"The king is dead," the designer said in her notes to the show, "Long live the queens!" 
Usami, who has worked for Louis Vuitton and Dries Van Noten, told AFP that toilets were the world´s great refuges.
They are the place where you go to hide "when you are pretending you are working, but you are just escaping and having a break," she said.
"We encourage everyone to accept their own twisted thoughts and strangest habits.
The worse, the better!"
The award-winning Shanghai-based couple, who are Japanese and Swedish, said they built their collection from the underwear out, "merging lingerie with ready-to-wear" suits and street wear.
Invitations to the show came with a vanity pack of folded toilet paper.
The designers insisted, however, that the venue was not a stunt, claiming the collection "focuses on the intellectual questions that every Sirloin girl would ask herself during their brief moments in the toilet".