Asia

Ahmadiyah to be banned in S. Sulawesi

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 06/18/2011 11:27 PM| MAKASSAR: South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo has approved a proposal to ban Ahmadiyah activities in his province. A gubernatorial bylaw will be deliberated together with representatives of Muslim community organizations in the province, the governor said Thursday. The approval apparently responded […]

Report from Dr. jur. Karen Parker on the human rights situation of members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Pakistan.

see here for an interesting report: http://www.guidetoaction.org/parker/ahm-aff.html just one extract for your information: 17. In 1985, I worked with the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to bring to its attention the widespread violations of human rights in Pakistan, especially the clear persecution of Ahmadi […]

Saudi Arabia Signs $1.7 Billion Defense Deal

Saudi Arabia has signed a $1.7 billion direct commercial sales contract with Raytheon Company to upgrade the Kingdom’s Patriot Air and Missile Defense System to the latest Configuration-3. The award includes ground-system hardware, a full training package and support equipment upgrades. The announcement came last night at the Paris Air […]

A summit in Tehran trumps the US

  An Iranian diplomatic thrust to bring Afghanistan and Pakistan onside against the United States – benefiting already from the countries’ fury at US efforts to isolate them from Taliban talks – lends greater significance to an anti-terrorism summit in Tehran being attended by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. The […]

Comfort or freedom: Make your choice

By ROBERTA FEDELE | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: During a conversation regarding the venture of Manal Al-Sharif — the 32-year-old computer consultant arrested on May 22 for having uploaded on YouTube a video of herself driving — one young Saudi woman perceptively noticed: “What if all women here were aware of […]

Bangladesh to retain Islam as state religion

By JULHAS ALAM | AP DHAKA: Bangladesh will retain Islam as the state religion in amendments the government is proposing to its constitution, a government minister said Tuesday. A former military ruler declared Islam the state religion in 1988 by amending the charter, but it barely affected Bangladesh’s secular legal system […]

Authorities gear up to tackle road congestion

By Khaled Neimat AMMAN – With almost a million cars expected to enter Kingdom this summer, concerned authorities are gearing up to tackle the challenge. Both the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the Public Security Department’s (PSD) Traffic Department have drawn up plans to deal with road congestion, officials said […]

Jordan: 21% of marriages end in divorce

By Laila Azzeh AMMAN – Around 79 per cent of divorces that occurred last year took place before consummation of the marriage, a study has found. The survey by sociologist Hussein Khazaali, based on official statistics, showed that there are nearly 60,000 marriages registered in the Kingdom each year in […]

Amid revolt, Assad sings reform song

By ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIRUT: Syria’s president promised a national dialogue Monday to consider political reforms, but his vague overtures to a pro-democracy uprising fell flat as protesters took to the streets shouting “Liar!” and demanding his ouster. In only his third public appearance since the revolt erupted in March, Bashar […]