Iraqi refugees in limbo, await resettlement
by Kymelya Sari JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — The contrast in demeanour between Abu Sufyan and his teenage son could not have been more different. The family of five will soon […]
Damascus mosque blast kills 42 including senior Syrian imam
Mar 21, 2013 – 22:17 REUTERS / SWISSINFO.CH BEIRUT (Reuters) – An explosion at a mosque in the Syrian capital on Thursday killed at least 42 people, including a senior […]
Turning consumers into creators: Swiss join the crowdfunding craze
by Michèle Laird, swissinfo.ch Mar 21, 2013 – 11:00 Switzerland is home to several crowdfunding platforms generating millions of francs from peer-to-peer financing. swissinfo.ch looks at how the online phenomenon is taking root. Recent projects in Switzerland, such as the revival of a legendary watchmaking company, the building of a […]
First love, then war? (or: Israelis not impressed by Obama)
When Obama acts decisively against Isfahan and Fordow he’ll gain our trust. The president shouldn’t expect Israelis to become “pliant” because he gave a few good speeches. US President Barack Obama speaks in Jerusalem on March 21, 2013. Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post US President Barack Obama’s thermonuclear charm […]
Documentary Exposes US Role in Iraq Sectarian Conflict
PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Paul Jay. Maggie O’Kane, Executive Producer, tells the story revealed by the Guardian documentary about the role of Col. James Steele in supporting torture, death squads and brutal sectarian conflict during the height of the Iraq war. Steel’s […]
The Decline of Marriage and the Rise of Unwed Mothers: An Economic Mystery
The real question here isn’t “Why so many babies?” It’s “Why so few marriages?” And we have an answer. by Derek Thompson THE ATLANTIC This was the most shocking statistic I read this weekend: 58 percent of first births in lower-middle-class households are now to unmarried women. Meanwhile, two in […]
Obama: ‘Peace is possible,’ but see the world as Palestinians do
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_embed_2x_container.swf?site=cnn&profile=desktop&context=embedwww&videoId=international/2013/03/21/obama-in-middle-east.cnn&contentId=international/2013/03/21/obama-in-middle-east.cnn By Tom Cohen. John King and Jessica Yellin, CNN updated 9:15 AM EDT, Thu March 21, 2013 Jerusalem (CNN) — President Barack Obama tried Thursday to invigorate the stalled […]
Obama makes direct peace appeal to the Israeli people
(Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama appealed directly on Thursday to the Israeli people to put themselves in the shoes of stateless Palestinians and recognize that Jewish settlement activity in occupied territory hurts prospects for peace. In a showcase speech in Jerusalem to Israeli university students, Obama coupled his plea […]
UN to investigate alleged chemical attack in Syria – Ban Ki-moon
RT: UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria’s Aleppo will start as soon as possible. Official Damascus and the rebels are […]
A dying society
Source: LUBP by Shazia Nwaz The more I read from young Pakistanis on social media, the more I wonder how in the world they did this to us. Such inability to think critically is not easy to acquire, and yet countless have acquired it. Recently, Dr. Javed Iqbal, son of […]
Richard Dawkins Stands in Awe of Nature but Cannot Seem to See Under the Surface
Epigraph: “The God of Islam is the same God Who is visible in the reflection of the laws of nature and is discernible in the book of nature. Islam has […]
Bought for $3 at yard sale, bowl sells for $2.2 million
Source: CNN (CNN) — A rare Chinese bowl bought for about $3 from a yard sale in the U.S. sold for $2.2 million at an auction in New York on Tuesday. The bowl, found in New York state, “was bought for a few dollars from a tag sale near the […]
Lawyer fights ‘widow sex’ tradition in Malawi
Source: CNN (CNN) — Lawyer and human rights activist Seodi White has long been an outspoken campaigner for gender justice in Malawi, a country where half its women are married before the age of 18. As the head of the Malawian chapter of Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), […]
An open letter to President Obama
By ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ The writer is a prominent professor of law at Harvard University and a well-known advocate for Israel. The Jerusalem Post: Israelis desperately want peace, normalization and […]
Haaretz analysts and contributors round up Obama’s first presidential visit to Israel
Haaretz: Chemi Shalev believes Obama may be more effective than thought in rekindling the peace process, Aluf Benn considers how as Israeli dependence on the U.S. will rise as it […]
Cyprus bailout deadline set for Monday
Source: Washington Post: Petros Giannakouris/AP – Women pass a Russian commercial bank in Nicosia, Cyprus, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus’ troubled banks in place until Monday but will cut it off after that unless a suitable rescue program has […]
Obama: It is not just when settler violence against Palestinians goes unpunished
The Times of Israel: The US president is delivering the main address of his Israel visit, to students in Jerusalem, before a state dinner at the President’s Residence. Earlier, in […]
Australian Prime Minister Survives Ouster Attempt
Source: NY Times: SYDNEY, Australia — Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday survived an effort by a senior lawmaker within her own party to oust her from her job, after her predecessor Kevin Rudd, whom she deposed in a 2010 party coup, unexpectedly declined to run against her. More:
PEW Research : Veterans of Post-9/11 Wars Ambivalent about Whether Iraq Was Worth It
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq — a war that started with solid public support, but ultimately became a politically-divisive issue. A survey of […]
Kurdish ceasefire boosts peace process in Turkey : Historic gesture by PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan shows peace talks launched last year are building momentum
Constanze Letsch in Istanbul guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 March 2013 The jailed Kurdish guerrillas’ leader, Abdullah Öcalan , has used the Kurdish new year celebrations to call a ceasefire in the […]