Tunisian Prime Minister signs decree to ban face veils in public institutions, government offices

Monday, July 8, 2019 On Friday, Youssef Chahed, the Prime Minister of Tunisia, signed a government decree banning anyone wearing a niqab from entering a public institution or government offices. A niqab is a face-veil, which covers almost the entire face, and is commonly worn by Muslim females as a religious garment. “Chahed signed a […]

Iran’s morality police crack down on un-Islamic dress

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 The Iranian police forces have faced criticism from Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi, the head of the judiciary who was appointed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for their re-invigorated campaign to do away with un-Islamic dress. Ayatollah Shahroudi proclaimed, “Tough measures on social problems will backfire and have counter-productive effects.” Others have, of […]

2007 Taipei IT Month exposed problems on traffic jams

Thursday, December 13, 2007 Although the 2007 Taipei IT Month closed last Sunday (December 9), it attracted more than 750,000 people to visit the show, but it exposed some problems especially on the traffic factor. Generally on weekdays (December 3-7), the traffic jam at Shi-fu Road often took place in the afternoon as many schools […]

Final bidder submits SGD5.5 billion plan for Singapore casino

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 The third and last bidder for Singapore’s Sentosa Integrated Resort (IR) project, Eighth Wonder, submitted its development plan yesterday: a SGD 5.5 billion(USD 3.52 billion) eco-friendly casino known as “Harry’s Island”. Harry’s Island will boast 10 luxury, family-oriented hotels, a tree house with family suites, and a 7,500-seat Caldera theater which […]

Warmest Canadian winter on record

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 The winter of 2005/2006 has been the warmest winter in Canada since the beginning of the nationwide weather record in 1948, with average nationwide temperatures 3.9°C above the long-term average. Statistically, such a strong deviation from the average is expected to be observed only once in 100 years. While most of […]

Nine thousand Romanian miners to be laid off in 2006

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 Approximately 9,000 Romanian miners will be made redundant in 2006, slightly more than the 7,000 which are expected to be laid off this year. This comes as part of a government program for 2005-2008 which seeks to maximise efficiency in Romania’s mining industry, as well as reduce the number of mines […]

Bird Flu found in Africa

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 The H5N1 Avian Flu virus, also known as Bird Flu, has been found in Nigeria by Italian scientists. Tests done on samples in a laboratory confirm that the strain is the one that can kill people, although no human cases have been reported said the Paris-based United Nations body. This is […]