AMMAN (JT) – A fatwa (religious edict) issued by a key cleric and veteran Muslim Brotherhood member has drawn fire from leading Muslim scholars, who questioned its authenticity, timing and the intentions behind it. Sharia professor Mohammad Abu Fares was quoted Wednesday as telling a news website that “whoever dies […]
RAMALLAH/DOHA (Agencies) – The Arab League on Thursday endorsed a Palestinian plan to seek full membership at the United Nations this fall, setting up a likely confrontation with the United States in the UN Security Council, the Associated Press reported. The Arab Peace Initiative Committee “has decided to submit a […]
Researchers in the US claim to have overturned our understanding of the way in which the visual process is initiated by light entering the eye. They suggest that the initial trigger is provided by electrical processes rather than structural changes in the retina, as has been believed for the past 50 years. The work was carried out […]
“Acoustic metamaterial” may sound exotic, but researchers in France have managed to assemble one from a few multipacks of cola cans. Arranged in a grid, the drinks cans act as a superlens for sound, focusing acoustic waves into much smaller regions than their metre-long wavelengths typically allow. The cans act […]
the snows of Kilimanjaro, a blue sky and a herd of elephants in front of it all. KENYA Source: National Geographic
The end of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s era appears to be approaching, as thousands take to the streets in Minsk to protest against the country’s economic crisis. The Internet-savvy demonstrators are finding ever-more-creative ways to voice dissent, but Lukashenko is responding with violence. Read More…
Arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Angola have sparked widespread outrage in Germany and highlighted the country’s emergence as the world’s third-largest weapons exporter. But is Berlin guilty of hypocrisy or just poor political judgement? Read More…
Karachi, which had shown some signs of calming down as theskirmish legislation between the PPP and MQM on local government faded somewhat into the distance, has been set aflame once more following the unwise diatribe by Senior Minister of the Sindh government Dr Zulfiqar Mirza against MQM chief Altaf Hussain. The PPP, including the president […]
For several years now, the Muslim headscarf has been the subject of heated debate between Dutch political parties. However, other European countries also host widely diverging opinions on the Islamic veil. When she was conducting research for her doctoral thesis, Doutje Lettinga found that there is considerable variety in the […]
The common idea that western civilization originates in Greece was born twice. Its last birth took place in the eighteenth century, before the social science had been created and before the richness of our Mesopotamian heritage had been discovered. The time has come to investigate the roots of western civilization […]
Hitler invented another doctrine to consolidate support for himself. He said that the theory of evolution had established that it was only the fittest who went forward and that the progress of the world depended upon the fittest being placed in a position of predominance. In accordance with this theory […]
HONG KONG — China, the United States’ biggest creditor, urged the United States government on Thursday to act to protect investors’ interests, highlighting rising concerns around the globe about the protracted budget talks taking place in Washington.
When we think of the world’s most expensive cities, it’s the traditionally chic European and North American metropolises like New York, Paris and London that usually come to mind. But according to a new cost of living survey by Mercer, an international consulting organization, two of the three most expensive […]
Nelly the elephant has taken over the role of premiere animal psychic during the Women’s World Cup this summer. The young African Elephant predicted the outcome of all German games correctly — even the host country’s devastating loss to Japan last week. More:
Geologists have discovered a vast new landscape that rose above the north Atlantic waves 56 million years ago. It was caused by a sudden up-welling from the Earth’s mantle and may explain rapid climate change that took place at about that time. Discovered by UK researchers, the river-valley system is […]
New life expectancy figures show Americans some way behind countries like Canada, the UK and Australia. Why? Living in the world’s richest country comes at a price, and it’s measured in life years. Men in the US are on average aged 75 when they die. That is 1.5 years younger […]
Under its leader Heinz-Christian Strache, the right-wing populist Freedom Party has become a force to be reckoned with in Austrian politics. It is currently neck and neck with the country’s two largest mainstream parties in the polls. Meanwhile the governing Social Democrats are struggling to reconnect with ordinary voters. More:
// MAKKAH: There are widespread rumors among Makkawis claiming some abandoned buildings and estates are possessed by jinns. According to the widely circulated gossip, residents of these buildings located in various districts of the holy city, especially on the outskirts, say they vacated their dwellings after supernatural forces had harmed […]
Beijing, China (CNN) – The congregants were seated in rows of folding chairs, clasping their hands in prayer or studying passages in their Bibles. The choir was sitting up front ready to sing on cue. A cross hung behind the pastor. The service looked like a Christian service you would see […]
At its base, one of the world’s largest malls houses an Olympic-sized ice rink that helps keep some 150,000 daily visitors cool in the searing heat, desert dust and humidity. // http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?correlator=1310652731969&output=json_html&callback=GA_googleSetAdContentsBySlotForSync&impl=s&prev_afc=1&pstok=Bb51-M_sCDwKBBCRmEw&client=ca-pub-8258178831251847&slotname=Dawn_Business_inside_468x90&page_slots=Dawn_Business_Ip_top_728x90%2CDawn_Business_inside_468x90&cookie=ID%3D7bc0595e8816825a%3AT%3D1303908499%3AS%3DALNI_MaWM22AkqRAF5fH1tLDjMKxcxeZPw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2F2011%2F07%2F13%2Fuaes-mission-impossible-cooling-the-desert.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fdawn.com%2F&lmt=1310652731&dt=1310652732775&cc=100&biw=1007&bih=458&ifi=2&adk=2372603604&u_tz=120&u_his=8&u_h=768&u_w=1024&u_ah=738&u_aw=1024&u_cd=24&u_nplug=7&u_nmime=23&flash=10.0.2&gads=v2&ga_vid=602765599.1310648883&ga_sid=1310648883&ga_hid=932088288&ga_fc=true DUBAI: Ali’s air conditioning quietly cools his spacious Dubai apartment around the clock and all year round, even […]