US airlines to offer non-binary gender options

Yahoo – AFP, February 19, 2019

Beginning June 1, 2019, members of Airlines for America, a trade group that
 represents most leading US carriers, will allow consumers to pick "unspecified" and
 "undisclosed" in addition to the traditional two gender options of "male" and
"female" (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

New York (AFP) - US carriers will soon offer passengers additional options besides "male" and "female" when they buy tickets, an airlines trade association said Tuesday.

The shift comes as a handful of US states permit citizens to identify by non-binary genders and as a minority of countries within the European Union permit citizens to self-identify by their gender preference.

Beginning June 1, members of Airlines for America, a trade group that represents most leading US carriers, will allow consumers to pick "unspecified" and "undisclosed" in addition to the traditional two options.

"US airlines value a culture of diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and for our passengers and we work hard each day to accommodate the needs of all travelers, while delivering a safe, secure and enjoyable flight experience," the group said.

Implementation of the shift will be up to members of the group, which is also known as A4A. Members of the association include American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

United Airlines, another member, said on Twitter, that "In the coming weeks, customers will be able to select the gender with which they most closely identify during the booking process."

Delta Air Lines, which is not in A4A, also plans non-binary gender options during the booking process, a spokeswoman said.

Seven states in the US and the District of Columbia allow citizens to define as "X" gender, in addition to male and female, said Gillian Branstetter, media relations manager at the National Center of Transgender Equality.

The group applauded the airline announcement.

"Non-binary people face unnecessary, invasive, and discriminatory scrutiny by airlines, airports and security services alike," said Arli Christian, state policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality.

"A4A's work is in line with other states who offer gender neutral designations on IDs and is an important step toward ensuring safe and smooth travel for all passengers regardless of their gender."

Among the 28 EU member states and three European Free Trade Association states, seven countries currently have or will soon have a model that lets adults self-define their gender, according to a November 2018 European Commission report on trans and intersex equality. However, only one jurisdiction -- Malta -- permits non-binary recognition.

EU countries, as well as the EU itself, "are firmly grounded in a binary conception of sex," said the report.

"While public awareness if improving, trans and intersex people continue to suffer disproportionate social and legal burdens," the report said.

First Saudi women get First Saudi women get driving licences

Yahoo – AFP, June 4, 2018

A Saudi woman test-drives a car during an automotive exhibition for women in
the capital Riyadh on May 13, 2018 (AFP Photo/FAYEZ NURELDINE)

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Monday began issuing its first driving licences to women in decades, state media reported.

"The first group of women today received their Saudi driving licences," the official Saudi Press Agency said.

"The general directorate of traffic started replacing international driving licences recognised in the kingdom with Saudi licences," it added.

The move comes as Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world where women are not allowed drive, prepares to lift its decades-long ban on female drivers on June 24.

SPA said authorities started swapping international licences for Saudi ones in multiple locations across the kingdom, with women applicants made to undergo a "practical test".

It did not specify the number of licences issued.

The move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's far-reaching liberalisation drive as he seeks to modernise the conservative petro-state.

The self-styled reformer, who recently undertook a global tour aimed at reshaping his kingdom's austere image, has sought to break with long-held restrictions on women and the mixing of the genders.

But casting a shadow on the reforms, Saudi Arabia last week said it detained 17 people for "undermining" the kingdom's security, in what campaigners have dubbed a sweeping crackdown against activists.

Rights groups have identified many of the detainees as women campaigners for the right to drive and to end the conservative Islamic country's male guardianship system.

Authorities said eight of the detainees had been "temporarily released" until their investigation is completed.

Nine suspects, including four women, remain in custody after they "confessed" to a slew of charges such as suspicious contact with "hostile" organisations and recruiting people in sensitive government positions, according to SPA.

Authorities accused the detainees of "coordinated activity undermining the security and stability of the kingdom".

Previous reports in state-backed media branded some of the detainees traitors and "agents of embassies".

Campaigners have dismissed the reports as a "smear" campaign. The crackdown has also sparked a torrent of global criticism.

#UPDATE Saudi Arabia has begun issuing its first driving licences to women in decades, state media reports say https://t.co/s9KFH59Rt0 pic.twitter.com/nKUJ0eJYsr

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 4, 2018

Saudi university to open driving school for women

Yahoo – AFP, October 1, 2017

A Saudi woman drives her car along a street in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah,
 on September 27, 2017 (AFP Photo/Reem BAESHEN)

Riyadh (AFP) - A university in Saudi Arabia has said it will open a driving school for women, in a first for the ultra-conservative country after a ban on women driving was lifted.

"Princess Nourah University is preparing to set up a driving school in cooperation with the relevant authorities," the women's university said on Saturday.

"This is the first such announcement following this week's order by King Salman to allow women to drive," it said.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said it would allow driving permits for women under a royal decree to take effect in June, sparking euphoria and disbelief among activists who long fought the ban.

The Gulf kingdom was the only country in the world to ban women from taking the wheel, and it was seen globally as a symbol of repression in the Gulf kingdom.

Princess Nourah University says it has more than 60,000 female students in Riyadh and other cities.

Tuesday's decision is expected to push women into the workforce and boost car sales, especially in the coming months before a scheduled imposition of a government value-added tax in January 2018.

Car makers including Nissan, Chevrolet and Ford have rushed to congratulate Saudi women, as millions of women are expected to hit the road in the kingdom in coming years.

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Saudi police question woman who wore miniskirt in video

Fury at Saudi election to UN women's rights group

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Trump ban leads Dutch to halt talks with the US on clearance at Schiphol

DutchNews, January 31, 2017

Several dozen people protested against the ban at Schiphol airport on Sunday.
Photo: Joris van Gennip via HH

The Dutch government has halted talks with the US on setting up border and customs controls at Schiphol airport because of president Donald Trump’s entry ban. 

The talks on allowing the US to carry out pre-clearance checks on travellers to the US while on Dutch soil began in December. The aim was to help travellers bypass long waits at US passport control. 

Foreign minister Bert Koenders told MPs on Tuesday that the talks had been suspended temporarily. 

MPs from across the political spectrum criticised prime minister Mark Rutte for not coming to parliament for Tuesday’s question and answer session. 

The prime minister, as the keeper of Dutch values, should have been in parliament to denounce racism and discrimination, Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer said. 

Human rights

Koenders and PVV leader Geert Wilders clashed over Wilders support for the ban. ‘You want to ensure than human rights do not apply to everyone,’ Koenders told the MP, pointing out that the ban affected Iraqi soldiers who had fought with the US against Isis.

‘You are making the world a less safe place,’ Koenders said. 

Koenders also said that the cabinet wants to ensure people with dual nationality who have been hit by the ban are properly protected. He has called a meeting of European ambassadors in Washington to discuss the situation. 

Academics

DutchNews.nl is aware of at least one dual Dutch Iranian academic who was supposed to travel to New York this week for research.

‘This order bans many of my Iranian friends, especially those who work in academia from attending conferences, research visits, or even going back to their work although they have valid US visa,’ he told DutchNews.nl. ‘These are highly intelligent decent young engineers, doctors, researchers, faculty members and PhD students who are contributing to the society that they live in.’ 

The ban will also be an important point on the agenda at the European summit on Malta at the end of this week. 

Schiphol

Ministers are also talking to Schiphol airport and KLM to ensure people caught up in the ban are looked after as well as possible. 

DutchNews.nl reported on Sunday that six Iranian nationals had been stuck at Schiphol airport after KLM refused to fly them to the US. When asked if any special provisions had been made to help them, Schiphol said it was up to the airline concerned. 

The six are expected to fly back to Iran on Tuesday afternoon. 

Related Article:

KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump’s Muslim country ban

KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump’s Muslim country ban

DutchNews, January 28, 2017

Dutch airline KLM has refused to fly at least seven passengers to the US after president Donald Trump closed the country’s borders to refugees and visa holders from a list of banned Muslim-majority countries. 

All the people who were refused permission to fly had a visa for the US, KLM told broadcaster NOS. Two had tickets to fly from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. The other five were flying from different destinations and had planned to change planes at Schiphol, NOS said. 

KLM said it had no alternative but to refuse to allow them to fly because they would not be allowed into the US. The airline said it and would pay for them to return to the starting point of their journey. 

Trump on Friday introduced an immediate entry ban for everyone from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen to last three months. The ban appears also to apply to people with a green card – a permanent residency permit. 

The KLM spokesman told website Nu.nl there would be more clarity about who could and could not fly in the coming days. 

More on the impact of the ban

Related Articles:

This google document shows lists Senators alphabetically, noting whether they have opposed or remained silent to the ban, any link or public statement about it and the dates of their next re-election. - New

Trump ban leads Dutch to halt talks with the US on clearance at Schiphol - New
Dutch prime minister regrets and rejects Trump’s Muslim country entry ban
Leaders, groups and businesses react to US immigration ban

Anne Frank and her family were also denied entry as refugees to the U.S.

Portrait of Anne Frank at age 12, sitting at her desk at the Montessori school
in Amsterdam. (Courtesy Anne Frank House, Amsterdam)

"New Systems" - Feb 27, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The New Human P1" - Sep 19-20, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)
"Return of the Masters" - Apr 11-12, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)- (Text version)

".... The Wild Card of 2016

Remember: No emotion now. You have come from another planet and you’re looking at the end of 2016 – and there is the election. Understand without bias.

So for 2016, let’s do the numerology. You add the numbers and get nine. Nine is completion in simple numerology, and when you see a nine it often means the completion of something. Often it is of a time cycle, an energy or the completion of a paradigm. But it’s very strong.

The nines are stronger than many of the other numerological aspects and you feel them. The president-elect (at this writing) is a strong wild card. He is scheduled to become the 45th president. What a coincidence! Forty-five is a nine. A nine and a nine together are more than significant. They tell a story about what is happening. I will tell you something else. This story is not finished yet and there is more coming. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t make up your mind in advance about any outcomes. You’re from another planet, remember? There’s no emotion, no bias, no politics and nothing to judge. Look at it for what it is.

A big stick has just been inserted into what is normal and it’s going to be turned. As the big stick turns, other things will respond that never would have responded otherwise. I wish to tell you, dear one, old soul, relax with upcoming wild cards. They do what they do on purpose so that you will have a better civilization in the future. Sometimes they show you what won’t work, and sometimes they change paradigms that would have never changed otherwise. But what you have now is a profound wild card. That is the message.

It’s so common for you to respond certain ways when you are invested in the process. The knee-jerk reaction is expected or you wouldn’t be a Human. However, for this lesson, you’re from another planet and you’re looking down and you’re seeing it. Pretend.

Isn’t that interesting about a nine and a nine together? It means that truly the end of something is here. Perhaps it’s the end of the old way things were done? Perhaps it’s a shake-up of the system so it can correct itself? Don’t dare make up your mind where it’s going, because it’s not finished yet. However, wait a moment. Did you also realize that 2017 is a “one” year? Not only is the energy one of completion with a double nine, but it moves into “a new beginning” (the definition of a one in numerology).

I have more to tell you about numerology, and also something that will be clearer about this whole situation. I will give this to you in the next channelling.

Can you relax in the face of uncertainty when it’s your own country? Can you relax in the face of not knowing what’s next? When you’re so involved, can you disengage from either side of the fray? That is the test of a Lightworker.

There’s something else coming. Dear ones, this is beautiful. No matter what you think and no matter what your reaction is to this channelling, what is happening is correct for your time and needed for your immediate future. I will speak of this later. The beauty is when you step away and see how grand it is, that Spirit cares enough that it would allow a big stick to occur that would stir your complacency at this time. The real reason? The shift is here.

How do you feel? I want you to relax and smile at what the shift has brought you. For those of you who felt all the “shift talk” was nonsense, this may be your wake-up call. It’s real. Here it comes.

This is the message of the day. I am Kryon, in love with humanity, and for good reason.

And so it is.

KRYON

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

Qatar Airways says it will stop sacking women who get pregnant

Women working with Qatar Airways will not be sacked anymore if they get pregnant or marry within the first five years of employment. The airline company relaxed its rules after pressure from international labor groups.

Deutsche Welle, 27 Aug 2015

A spokeswoman for the Doha-based airline said the company had phased out the restrictions "over the past six months."

The policies included air hostesses losing their jobs if they became pregnant or married within the first five years of employment.

"Our policies have evolved with the airline's growth," a Qatar Airways spokeswoman told news agency AFP. Under the new rules, female employees who were going to have babies would be offered temporary jobs. Staff could also get married after notifying the company.

More than 9,000 cabin crew operate Qatar Airways' planes around the world. Nearly 80 percent of these are women, who have to organize their lives around their company's strict laws.

One of these includes a rule according to which female employees can be picked up from work only by their father, brothers or husband. Qatar Airways is not easing this restriction for now.

Qatar Airways has a fleet of more than
150 jets, servicing almost 150 destinations

The airlines' discriminatory policies

The airline's discriminatory policies have met with severe criticism from employees and labor unions around the world. The International Labor 

Organization (ILO) looked into the organization's rules after a complaint by the International Transport Workers' Federation and the International Trade Union Confederation.

The ILO said Qatar was a signatory of the 57-year-old convention against discrimination at work, ratified by 170 countries and that its rules dismissing pregnant women breached the international agreement.

"Protective measures should include action taken to ensure that a woman worker does not lose her job during pregnancy and that maternity is not a source of discrimination," the ILO said in its statement in June this year.

However, the airways snubbed international pressure and its chief, Akbar Al Baker said at the time, "I don't give a damn about the ILO - I am there to run a successful airline." Al Baker also said the UN agency's attitude was "evidence of a vendetta they have against Qatar Airways and my country."

The Gulf kingdom has been repeatedly criticized for its treatment of workers, especially those working to build football stadiums and infrastructure ahead of the World Cup in 2022.

mg/kms (AFP, Reuters)

Saudi women's driving campaign a 'success'

Yahoo – AFP, 26 Oct 2014

A Saudi woman gets into a taxi in the city of Riyadh on October 26, 2014, as a online

 campaign continues to call for an end to the driving ban for women in the country (AFP

Photo/Fayez Nureldine)

Riyadh (AFP) - Activists pushing for women's right-to-drive in Saudi Arabia declared their online campaign a success Sunday, in the world's only country where women are not allowed to operate cars.

The campaign that began last year and revved up again since the beginning of the month encouraged women to post online images of themselves driving.

Dozens of women have driven and posted during the latest campaign, one activist said, although she knew of only two who hit the streets Saturday and Sunday as the campaign peaked.

Saudi activist Manal Al Sharif drives her

 car in Dubai on October 22, 2013, as she

 campaigns for women's rights to drive in

the country (AFP Photo/Marwan Naamani)

"A day hasn't gone by without receiving one or two videos" of women driving, said the activist.

Men and women have also posted messages of support.

More than 2,800 people have signed an online petition at www.oct26driving.com asking authorities to lift the ban on women driving.

The activist said she did not want to be named because the interior ministry has threatened her with arrest if she speaks publicly about the campaign.

Last year, activists also focused their demands on October 26, when at least four driving videos were posted on YouTube.

Sixteen or more women were fined for taking the wheel on that day.

There is a "huge risk" for female drivers, the activist said when asked why more had not posted images of themselves this year.

Women have previously been arrested, cars have been confiscated, and one received 100 lashes, she alleged.

"So, women are afraid," the activist said.

She added that, apart from driving, the campaign is also about "creating a storm" over the issue.

On Thursday the interior ministry issued a warning to would-be female drivers and their supporters.

The ministry said it would "strictly implement" measures against anyone who "contributes in any manner or by any acts, towards providing violators with the opportunity to undermine the social cohesion".

That means the campaign has had an impact, the activist said.

"I think it's pretty successful. If we're getting a reaction, that means we're effective."

'Half a citizen'

Sahar Nasief defied the warnings and got behind the wheel anyway on Sunday.

"The roads were full of police cars... everybody was on alert," she told AFP from the Red Sea city of Jeddah after running a 15-minute errand in her car because her driver wasn't available.

The authorities' response shows the driving campaign has been "very successful," she agreed.

"Its sad that you live in a country where you feel like half a citizen, that you are a threat to national security," another driver said in a YouTube video posted on Saturday.

Dressed in black with only her eyes exposed, she said she was driving in Riyadh on the weekend.

Saudi women are required to dress in black from head to toe and still need permission from a male guardian to work and marry.

Activists say women's driving is not against the law.

Tradition and custom are behind the prohibition, which is not backed up by an Islamic text or judicial ruling, the online petition states.

But activists said they feel the conservative society is becoming more accepting of women motorists.

"A lot of people now are for the campaign," Nasief said.

Another activist, Aziza al-Yussef, said people notice that she is a woman driver and don't seem to care.

"We are just waiting for a decree from the king to allow it," she said, optimistic that a change is coming.

Hardline clerics protested when King Abdullah, in January last year, decided to give women a 20 percent quota in the previously all-male Shura Council, an advisory body.

The unnamed activist said "it's hard to say" if women are closer to the right to drive.

In the meantime activists say they will keep raising their voices, and getting behind the wheel.

MH370 families offer to counsel bereaved relatives of MH17 victims

Remains of those killed not expected to be returned to Malaysia for some time as forensic testing in Netherlands continues

The Guardian, Kate Hodal in Kuala Lumpur, 27 July 2014

A Malaysia Airlines flight attendant in Kuala Lumpur lights a candle during a

 special multi-faith prayer for the MH17 crash victims. Photograph: Mohd 

Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

Families of the passengers and crew members on board missing flight MH370 have begun offering counselling to the relatives of those who died last week on downed flight MH17.

The remains of MH17 victims are not expected to arrive back in Malaysia for many more weeks. "No one deserves to go through what they're going through," said Jacquita Gonzalez, wife of MH370 in-flight supervisor Patrick Francis Gomez.

"Right now they [the MH17 bereaved] are like we were in the beginning: quiet and wanting their space. But we are here for them, we actually know what they're going through, we know this is so painful, so hard."

The offer came at a crucial time just one week after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in the early hours of Friday 18 July in the Donetsk region on the Ukraine-Russia border, where it is believed pro-Russia separatists fired a surface-to-air missile at the aircraft, killing all 298 people on board.

Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak – who was lauded last week after negotiating directly with pro-Russia separatists for the return of the black boxes and the passengers' remains – had previously stated that the Malaysian remains were expected by the end of Ramadan. But he confirmed last week that their return could take much longer owing to forensic testing in the Netherlands, where the remains of 282 passengers – including 43 Malaysians, among them 15 crew – arrived on Wednesday.

"There are technicalities and legal requirements that cannot be avoided," he said. "It is highly unlikely for the remains to be brought back soon."

Dutch experts have now begun the difficult process of verifying and identifying the remains using DNA samples collected from next-of-kin. A special Malaysian crisis team, as well as a group of psychologists, chemists, forensics experts and police, are currently in Kharkiv to help with the investigation, while six other hospital teams in Malaysia are awaiting the remains once they arrive back from Holland via C-130 military plane, local media reported.

Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia's department of civil aviation are also working on removing all evidence from the crash site for further investigation – a complicated endeavour given that the site is on the frontline of a war zone.

"[T]he bodies may have to remain [in Holland] longer for a post-mortem to determine the elements of criminality," the health minister, Subramaniam Sathasivam told the New Straits Times.

"There is strong suspicion that the plane was shot down. There is a possibility that countries affected may want to seek justice for their citizens."

He added that the amount of evidence required to build a criminal case would take time and potentially delay the eventual repatriation of the bodies.

The victims' friends and families have been left saddened that they will not be able to receive the bodies as soon as they had hoped.

Dutch experts have now begun the difficult process of verifying and identifying the remains using DNA samples collected from next-of-kin.

Murphy Govind, the brother of MH17 stewardess Angeline Premila Rajandran, said: "It is sad that the bodies will not be home before [Eid, the end of the fasting period] but there's nothing we can do. We can just hope for the best.

"As long as the Dutch people are doing their job identifying the bodies, we just hope that they can do it as soon as possible."

The tragedy has added further pain to a nation reeling after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March, and is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. For the family and friends of those on board MH370, the crash of MH17 is a stark reminder of how little closure there is for understanding what happened to the 239 people on board.

"I'm glad that MH17 is being settled and at least they have the remains coming back, they know where the plane is – now it's about who's at fault an who did that," said Gonzalez, who met her husband when she was 12, married him at 22, and was grieving on his 51st birthday last Thursday.

"But we are still in limbo, we don't know anything because we haven't heard anything about MH370 … We also want closure, we want to know what happened."

Instead of drawing the nation together, in some ways, the double tragedy has further amplified religious tension among Malaysians, who comprise Chinese, Indians and ethnic Malay Muslims.

It is often argued that Malay Muslims receive special benefits not available to other Malaysians, from government positions to scholarships.

A government announcement that "special arrangements" had been made for the remains of the 21 Muslim passengers on board MH17, with the Islamic religious and development departments providing logistics and a special burial site, was questioned over the lack of clarity on how the remaining Malaysian bodies would be handled.

"The fact that the Malaysian government is announcing special arrangements for only less than half of the total number of Malaysians killed in this tragedy seems a little awkward," one news report noted.

Adding to controversy, an MP caused an uproar after by telling parliament alcohol and revealing uniforms should be banned from all Malaysian flights to avoid "Allah's wrath". "If smoking is prohibited on flights, what more alcohol? This must not be allowed on our flights," said Siti Zailah Yusof, speaking in parliament earlier this week.

"Another thing the government should pay attention to is the dress code of female flight attendants, especially Muslim flight attendants.

"No one should die in sin … This must be taken into consideration: we cannot stop Allah's wrath."

Siti's comments were met with derision and disbelief by citizens and NGOs alike, who called her comments "sexist, discriminatory and condescending".

"Such a statement is insensitive and irrelevant, especially at a time when the grieving nation is still recovering," said human rights NGO Empower in a statement. "The MP failed to understand that the victims died because MH17 was shot down by perpetrators who have still not been brought to justice."

CORRECTS CITY - Two women pray with others during a prayer session organized

 by former schoolmates of a cabin crew member of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which

 was shot down in Ukraine, at a mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia Saturday, July 19, 
2014. Malaysia's transport minister said the country is "deeply concerned" that the
site in Ukraine where the Malaysia Airlines jetliner was shot down with 298 people
onboard "has not been properly secured." (AP Photo/Satish Cheney)

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