China: Muslim Fasting Discouraged

Several local governments in the western region of Xinjiang have ordered Muslim restaurants to stay open during the holy month of Ramadan and are telling civil servants and students to continue to eat and drink during daylight hours, when Muslims generally fast. Ramadan began on July 20. A notice on […]

UK: Pakistani parents found guilty in ‘honour killing’ of teenage daughter

Pakistani parents found guilty in ‘honour killing’ of teenage daughter Published on Friday August 03, 2012 http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1236647–pakistani-parents-found-guilty-in-honour-killing-of-teenage-daughter Martin Rickett/AP A British court found that Iftikhar (above) and Farzana Ahmed, both originally from Pakistan, suffocated their 17-year-old daughter, Shafilea, in 2003. They were ordered Friday to serve a minimum of 25 […]

Collapse or decentralization for Syria?

By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star Amid the many scenarios for Syria are two widely discussed possibilities: that President Bashar Assad will respond to his imminent collapse by retreating with his Alawite compatriots to an Alawite mini-state in the northwestern coastal area of Syria; and that Syria will fragment […]