Saudi woman scales Everest summit as country warms to women in sports

Channel News Asia - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Saudi woman Raha Moharrak reached the summit of Nepal's Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in a first for the conservative Muslim kingdom where women's sports are severely restricted, tourism officials said on ...

Iran hangs two for spying for Israel US

Times of India - Sunday 19th May, 2013

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran hanged two convicted spies on Sunday, one found guilty of working for Israel, the other for the United States, the Tehran prosecutor's office announced. Mohammad Heydari was convicted of "receiving payment to provide intelligence on various security issues and national secrets in repeated meetings with the ...

Asian Five Nations A step backward may help UAE rugby move forward

The National - Sunday 19th May, 2013

The UAE's Gareth Armstrong tries to advance the ball against the Philippines Volcanoes in their Asian Five Nations closer at Manila on Saturday ...

Vendors seek to profit from Chinas security budget

Channel News Asia - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Mannequins in riot gear, armoured cars anddrones line a police equipment and "anti-terrorism technology" trade fair in Beijing as vendors seek to profit from China's huge internal security ...

Art Basel to bring international flair to Hong Kong

General Sources - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Art lovers, collectors and gallerists will gather on Thursday for Hong Kong's inaugural edition of Art Basel, sealing the city's status as an international art hub and Asia's leading art destination. The four-day annual show is the world's premier art fair and has until now only been held in Switzerland and the United States each year. More than 2,000 international artists ...

China End Violence Against Sex Workers

Human Rights Watch - Sunday 19th May, 2013

In China, the police often act as if by engaging in sex work, women had forfeited their rights. The government must abandon its repressive laws against sex workers, discipline abusive police, and end the suppression of sex workers rights ...

China threatens to end the military rule of the U.S. in Asia

Pravda - Saturday 18th May, 2013

In mid-April, the Chinese government said the increased U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region causes a lot of tension, and they plan to send more military forces and strengthen their partnerships with neighboring countries. A recent study found that China increasingly threatens to end the military supremacy of the ...

Irans president to attend Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Thailand

Global Times - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit scheduled for May 19 to 20 in Thailand, semi-official Fars news agency reported Saturday.Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi and Vice President Mohammad-Javad Mohammadizadeh will accompany Ahmadinejad during his visit to Thailand, according to the report.The primary themes of the water summit, to be held in ...

Mumbai gets its first Shariah court

Channel News Asia - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Maulana Wali Rahmani, a senior Muslim cleric and secretary at AIMPLB, said: "This court will function to settle mainly family disputes among Muslim families pertaining to marriage, divorce and inheritance on the basis of Shariah ...

Dozens injured as car ploughs through parade in Virginia

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Emergency personnel respond to one of the people hit by a car, at right, during the beginning of the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in ...

Denmarks Emmelie de Forest wins Eurovision song contest ....

San Diego Union-Tribune - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Emmelie de Forest of Denmark performs her song "Only Teardrops" during a rehearsal for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden, Friday, May 17, 2013. The contest is run by European television broadcasters with the event being held in Sweden as they won the competition in 2012, the final will be held in Malmo on May 18. (AP Photo/Alastair ...

MCYS To Hold Asean Youth Entreprenuers Exhibition

BruDirect - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) will hold the Asean Youth Entreprenuers Exhibition' on May 20 to 22, 9am to 5pm at the 4th floor of the Rizqun International Hotel in ...

Nigeria military declares 24-hour curfew in Maiduguri

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

curfew on Saturday on neighborhoods in a northeastern city that's the spiritual home of an Islamic extremist network as soldiers continued the government's emergency campaign in the region, with authorities saying they killed 10 suspected insurgents. A statement Saturday on behalf of Lt. Col. Sagir Musa named 11 areas ...

Assad insists he will not quit car bomb hits Damascus

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Bashar al-Assad insisted he will not resign before the end of his mandate in 2014 as a car bomb exploded in the capital Damascus on Saturday killing at least three people. "To resign would be to flee," Assad said in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin when asked if he would consider stepping aside as called for by US Secretary of State John Kerry. "I don't know ...

Power lunch Security on the menu for Kayani Sharif meet

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Nawaz Sharif and briefed him on the security situation of the country. Kayani, who sought the meeting, called on Sharif at his brother Shahbaz Sharif's residence in Lahore on Saturday. This was the first meeting between Kayani and Sharif since the PML-N emerged victorious in the elections. The meeting lasted over three hours and the leaders had lunch together. The army chief briefed the ...

China army developing advanced robot soldiers

Times Of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

BEIJING: China is developing robots with a lot more capabilities for battle, "information acquisition, command and control, and collaborative support," official sources said. But the official Chinese media is saying its effort is different from the manner in which military robots have been developed in the US. "The Chinese military has its own orientation and direction, and is ...

Tamils want to live in one country RajapaksaSri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said the Tamil minority now wants to live peacefully in one country and slammed the Tamil diaspora for the lack of support in his reconciliation and rebuilding

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Tamil diaspora for the lack of support in his reconciliation and rebuilding efforts in the former conflict zones. "Diaspora and the Tamil parties who foster separation still try to take the Tamil society towards destruction", he said while speaking at the Victory Day celebrations marking the fourth anniversary of the military victory over ...

Car drives into US hikers parade 60 injured

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Emergency personnel respond to one of the people hit by a car, at right, during the beginning of the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in ...

Afghan women lose fight for freedom

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Afghanistan blocked a law on Saturday that aims to protect women's freedoms, with some arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles or encourage women to have sex outside of marriage. The failure highlights how tenuous women's rights remain a dozen years after the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime, whose strict interpretation of Islam kept Afghan women virtual prisoners in ...

When Britten-Pears found ‘the real thing’

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Pandit Ravi Shankar . Curators in the UK sifting through thousands of objects belonging Britten and Pears have stumbled upon an ink written page in their private diaries which recalled their experience of having heard Shankar perform live. Britten and Pears had visited India in the early 1950s. Their diary called Shankar "the real thing". The letter will be part of a museum in the Red ...

Kidnapped at 5 man back with family after 23 years

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

BEIJING: A Chinese man kidnapped 23 years ago at the age of five and sold to a family 1,500km from his home, has been reunited with his family again, ...

Little chance peace talks would succeed Syrian President Assad says in interview to Argentine newspaper

Times of India - Saturday 18th May, 2013

Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published in an Argentine newspaper on Saturday. Speaking in Syria with the newspaper Clarin, Assad said he was doubtful that mediation the United States and Russia have proposed could settle a deadly conflict that has convulsed the country for two years. "There is confusion in the world between a political solution and terrorism. They think a political ...