Asia

Indian president pays state visit to Switzerland

The Swiss government is hosting Indian President Pratibha Patil in the capital Bern for talks on boosting bilateral relations, including financial and research cooperation. During the two-day visit Patil will be received by the entire cabinet, including President and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, and will travel to the Lake Geneva […]

Palestinians unhappy with envoy Tony Blair

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI | REUTERS ARABNEWS GAZA: Palestinian officials are going public with long-whispered complaints that international Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, is biased toward Israel. Unofficial suggestions that Blair should now be replaced coincide with a Palestinian drive to secure membership of the […]

Islam faces the greatest danger from Islamist extremists

By Qasim Yousafzai For CentralAsiaOnline.com Shehrbano Taseer, daughter of slain Pakistani Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, spoke at a panel discussion at UN European headquarters in Geneva WASHINGTON, D.C. – Islam’s greatest threat comes from those who claim to be serving it – extremist militants, Shehrbano Taseer, daughter of slain Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, said June […]

Jordan, US sign $359m grant deals

BY OMAR OBEIDAT, JORDAN TIMES AMMAN –– Jordan and the US on Wednesday signed five grant agreements worth $359.3 million. The grants, presented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will support various sectors, including the budget, education, health and economic development in addition to a plan to […]

PAKISTAN: Ahmadi students are under threat from the extremist religious groups — government turns a blind eye again

  Source/Credit: Asian Human Rights Commission: 26 September 2011:  http://www.humanrights.asia Malice, hatred and discrimination against Ahmadi Muslim students in Pakistan are part of a wider scheme to cripple Ahmadis educationally, economically and socially. Ahmadis were declared a non Muslim minority in Pakistan by the amendment in the Constitution and they […]

Expat workers abused in Jordan: HRW

By ASSOCIATED PRESS ARABNEWS AMMAN: Jordan has some of the region’s most robust laws on paper to protect migrant domestic workers, but human rights groups said Tuesday its failure to enforce them leads to continued abuse. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Jordanian legal aid center, Tamkeen, […]