The assignment for Virginia Commonwealth University fashion students: design an abaya, an enveloping cloak worn by Muslim women, that is stylish yet acceptable in Arab countries.
The results: elaborately beaded designs, a flamenco-influenced abaya, a punk rock abaya — and perhaps a better understanding of cultural norms in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, where the [...]

Australia’s flagship airline is preparing to smash its unionised engineering workforce with non-union labour recruited in Asia and the Pacific, in a move that echoes the epic maritime dispute that rocked the waterfront a decade ago.
Documents seen by the Sydney Morning Herald show Qantas has engaged a labour hire company, Newport Aviation, to recruit the [...]