Cross-class marriage urged to tackle Indonesia poverty
JAKARTA: A senior Indonesian minister has suggested that poor people should marry someone of higher social status to reduce poverty.Muhadjir Effendy, the coordinating minister for human development and cultural affairs, told a meeting on the national health program in...
How climate change reduced the flow of the Colorado River
Washington (AFP) - The massive Colorado River, which provides water for seven US states, has seen its flow reduced by 20 percent over the course of a century -- and more than half of that loss is due to climate change, according to new research published Thursday.Two...
Air Travel With Kids: The Keys To A Successful Flight
The thought of being stuck in an airplane cabin with a temperamental toddler is enough to turn anyone off from traveling. Luckily, we gathered essential tips to avoid this nightmare and even, maybe, make the best out of it!Back in the days, I dreaded getting on that...
Virus brings two foes together, Japan and China
Beijing (AFP) - As China faces increasing isolation, with some countries closing off borders over coronavirus fears, an unlikely friend has emerged -- historical arch-foe Japan.After decades of war and animosity, donations and Japanese ballet dancers shouting their...
Silicon Valley inventor of ‘cut, copy and paste’ dies
San Francisco (AFP) - Silicon Valley on Wednesday was mourning a pioneering computer scientist whose accomplishments included inventing the widely relied on "cut, copy and paste" command.Bronx-born Lawrence "Larry" Tesler died this week at age 74, according to Xerox,...
Breaking news and barriers: South Korea’s first female anchor
Seoul (AFP) - Under gleamingly bright studio lights, Lee So-jeong reads straight from a teleprompter, rehearsing her lines ahead of the primetime newscast for South Korea's national public broadcaster, KBS.Five times a week, she is beamed into living rooms across the...
Myanmar’s most isolated pray for harvest
Satpalaw Shaung (Myanmar) (AFP) - A haunting refrain pierces the night as the tribeswomen of the Gongwang Bonyo, among the most isolated people in Myanmar, dance around a campfire to bless the harvest ahead.The group are part of the Naga, a blanket term for dozens of...
Veteran writer KS Maniam mourned by literary community
Tributes are pouring in for veteran writer KS Maniam who passed yesterday aged 78 at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.Born as Subramaniam Krishnan in Bedong, Kedah in 1942, he succumbed to cancer of the bile duct.His novels included The Return (1981), In A Far...
Pompeii restoration unearths ‘surprise’ treasures
Pompeii (Italy) (AFP) - Vivid frescoes and never-before-seen inscriptions were among the treasures unearthed in a massive years-long restoration of the world-famous archeological site Pompeii that came to a close Tuesday. The painstaking project saw an army of workers...
Report reveals the 10 best countries for kids to grow up in now
Climate change, conflict, and inequality target one demographic in particular — one that is also uniquely hindered from being able to protect itself: children.And if you are a child in the United States, your odds of thriving in these uncertain times may not be as...
Afghan artist brushes aside disability to open arts centre
Kabul (AFP) - Unable to use her hands, arms, or legs, Afghan artist Robaba Mohammadi has defied unlikely odds in a country that routinely discriminates against women and disabled people.Denied access to school, as a child she taught herself to paint by holding a brush...
Bare-faced robbery: thieves steal 6,000 hygiene masks in Japan
Tokyo (AFP) - Thieves in Japan have made off with some 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital, with the country facing a mass shortage and a huge price hike online due to the coronavirus.Four boxes containing the face masks disappeared from a locked storage facility at...