65% of University of Jordan students are females — Tarawneh
AMMAN —University of Jordan (UJ) President Ekhleif Tarawneh on Tuesday said that 65 per cent of the 39,000 students at the university are females. Tarawneh made the remarks during a […]
Robert Fisk: John Kerry wants the Gulf to support the Syrian rebels. But which rebels? The soft, safe ones? Or those horrible, ‘terrorist’ – Why wouldn’t the Saudi royal family arm their favourite anti-Shiite militia?
Kerry has had a miserable time of it in the Gulf. He has to love them all – the kings and princes and emirs – and he needs their support against Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Because, of course, they are sending cash and weapons to the rebels. But which rebels? […]
Robert Fisk: Alawite history reveals the complexities of Syria that West does not understand – The maps long favoured in the West partition off Arab countries into ethnic divisions, but all these make clear is our own ignorance
In Syria these days, we are resorting to our racist little maps. The Alawite mountains and the town of Qardaha, home of the Assad family – colour it dark red. Will this be the last redoubt of the 12 per cent Alawite minority, to which the President belongs, when the […]
Saudi Arabia: Tough guidelines for minor marriage hailed
RIYADH: HUDA SALIH & REEM WAFAI ARABNEWS Proposed guidelines from the Ministry of Interior could make it tougher for girls below 16 to get married. Fahd Al-Bakran, a spokesman for […]
Injured Syrians pour into Jordan as border clashes rage
by Taylor Luck, Jordan Times. AMMAN/MAFRAQ — Some 1,750 Syrians crossed into Jordan early Monday, pushing the total number of new arrivals over the past four days to over 7,500, […]
Israel opens Palestinians-only bus lines in West Bank (the ‘Apartheid line’?)
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel launched two Palestinians-only bus lines in the occupied West Bank on Monday, a step an Israeli rights group described as racist and which the transport ministry […]
Prince Hassan of Jordan urges Arab support for global zakat fund
Petra | Mar 03, 2013 | JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan on Sunday urged Arab and Islamic countries to support the establishment of a global fund for zakat and solidarity. During a meeting with ambassadors of Arab and Muslim countries to follow up on the initiative, Prince Hassan […]
Recreational outlets for women more important than ever (or: Scuba Diving for Saudi ladies)
SABRIA S. JAWHAR ARABNEWS Monday 4 March 2013 .IN THE “hey-this-is-kinda-funny” category of newspaper reporting, the Saudi media published articles recently about Saudi women taking scuba diving lessons in the […]
U.S. policy on Syria is self-defeating (read my ‘Notes’!)
Story Summary By Rami G. Khouri At the start of my current trip in the U.S. the single question that preoccupies Middle East-watchers there is what to do about Syria, and whether or not the United States should provide military assistance to the opposition groups fighting to topple the regime […]
Maronite patriarch calls on Christians to remain in the region (‘Middle East’).
Story Summary Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai issued a plea Sunday for Christians to remain in Lebanon and the Middle East to preserve their presence in the region. The Maronite patriarch […]
Assad Hits Out At UK Government In Interview
President Assad tells The Sunday Times that Britain’s involvement in the Syria crisis has been naive, confused and unrealistic Syrian President Bashar al Assad has heavily criticised the British government, […]
Well-armed jihadists raise fears of new war in Syria
AFP | Mar 02, 2013 | 23:09 Updated: Mar 02, 2013 | 23:09 DEIR EZZOR, Syria — Victory in Syria’s civil war is still up for grabs, but some rebel […]
Gazans make huge catch of rare Devil Ray
GAZA — Gaza fishermen have caught more than 200 Devil Rays over the past two days, a rare haul that was proudly displayed on the beach before being carried off […]
Fighters seize historic Aleppo mosque
Friday 1 March 2013 BEIRUT: Fighters seized control of the historic Umayyad Mosque in Syria’s second city of Aleppo yesterday after several days of fierce clashes that damaged the building, […]
Israel settlement construction is ‘systematic, deliberate and provocative’: EU
By Al Arabiya with AFP Israel’s settlement construction in annexed east Jerusalem is part of a strategy aimed at preventing the Holy City from becoming the capital of two states, […]
Freedom fatwa? Saudi cleric says women don’t need to veil, can travel alone
By Al Arabiya An influential Saudi cleric has issued a religious edict, commonly known as Fatwa, allowing women to travel without a male guardian, uncover their faces and eat alongside […]
Islam spreads more rapidly when attacked
Source: ABNA.co Kuwait City (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Kuwait City: Islam is a moderate religion and spreads the message of tolerance even when the religion is itself under attack by the enemies. These views were shared by the speakers of a conference on Islam in the capital city of Kuwait who also […]
EU consuls recommend imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements
Haaretz: Nonbinding Heads of Mission report for 2012 focuses on Israeli construction in E-1, policy in East Jerusalem and endangering of two-state solution; call to actively encourage Europe an divestment from settlements is particularly severe The European Union’s consuls general in East Jerusalem and Ramallah are recommending economic sanctions against […]
TV host writes: ‘What Islam is for me
….This is how one Muslim woman in Turkey answers the question: …….Everyone is aware of the state of affairs that has become increasingly seen in Western societies in recent years; […]
Exhibition to showcase Haram architectural pieces
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS Wednesday 27 February 2013 The first phase of the project to expand mataf in the Grand Mosque in Makkah is scheduled to end before Ramadan. Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, yesterday inspected progress of work on the project, which […]