Commentators both in Israel and around the world have pointed out that the movement toward the right is endangering Israel’s liberal democracy. But maybe it’s time to see what stands behind this flood of anti-liberal legislation. The sound and the fury Israel’s anti-boycott law has not yet died down: Avigdor […]
The Church of Scientology is rapidly losing support in Switzerland, and the number of members is declining, religious experts say. According to a report in the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, theologist Georg Otto Schmid, an expert on sects, said that support for Scientology is “shrinking.” “I would imagine that the sect will […]
A series of health centres specifically catering to the needs of gay men are being planned across Switzerland to help homosexuals deal with HIV issues, fear and psychological discomfort. Recent studies have shown that gay men suffer poorer health than heterosexual men, a fact not only attributable to the higher […]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is seeking greater security and nuclear ties on a visit to India. Mrs Clinton said last week’s bombings in Mumbai (Bombay) had “driven home how important it is that we get results”. She also called for deeper trade ties and heard Indian worries over […]
Source.Times of India US exposes ISI subversion of Kashmir issue WASHINGTON: In a city where lobbyists represent scores of interests, issues, and causes from across the world, Ghulam Nabi Fai was a familiar figure on Capitol Hill as the principal representative of the Kashmiri separatist movement. A stocky man 62-year […]
Source: Daily Times Pakistan BERLIN: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is in hospital in Germany, but it is unclear what he is being treated for, the Bild daily reported on Tuesday. The 71-year-old “secretly” checked himself into the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in northern Germany, and is being guarded by a […]
Source: Wednesday, 20 July 2011. BY GODFREY MAGRI – MALTA The annual convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat was held in Karlsruhe, Germany, between 24 and 26 June. Over 30,000 members participated and prayed in a great community spirit. The Leader of the Community, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, made two inspiring speeches. In […]
Source: Dawn.com // http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?correlator=1311157193888&output=json_html&callback=GA_googleSetAdContentsBySlotForSync&impl=s&prev_afc=1&pstok=bjIxdBGz-YgKBRDup4cX&client=ca-pub-8258178831251847&slotname=Dawn_Columnists_inside_468x90&page_slots=Dawn_Columnists_Ip_top_728x90%2CDawn_Columnists_inside_468x90&cookie=ID%3D7bc0595e8816825a%3AT%3D1303908499%3AS%3DALNI_MaWM22AkqRAF5fH1tLDjMKxcxeZPw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2F2011%2F07%2F20%2Frebellions-on-the-road-to-damascus.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fdawn.com%2F&lmt=1311157193&dt=1311157198601&cc=100&biw=1007&bih=462&ifi=2&adk=501409342&u_tz=120&u_his=5&u_h=768&u_w=1024&u_ah=738&u_aw=1024&u_cd=24&u_nplug=7&u_nmime=23&flash=10.0.2&gads=v2&ga_vid=602765599.1310648883&ga_sid=1311157037&ga_hid=71281011&ga_fc=true THE events rocking Rupert Murdoch’s media empire have been compared to the ‘Arab Spring’. That may be an exaggeration, but there is at least one respect in which the analogy isn’t spurious: the British political establishment appears to have overcome its fear of Murdoch. // The […]
Source: Asiatimes on line. No one knows the true cost in blood and treasure of the United States’ open wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and covert conflict in Pakistan over the past 10 years, but a recent report’s estimates of 225,000 dead and US$4 trillion spent may prove too conservative. […]
Source:Asiatimes on Line. SINOGRAPH The ordination of a new bishop of Shantou without papal blessing exposes simmering fissures between China and the Holy See in which the possibility of an objectively schismatic Church of China is becoming quite real. Now more than ever, all Catholics in China would be served […]
Source: Asiatimes on line. A video showing 16 Pakistani policemen, hands tied behind their backs, being executed by Taliban gunmen is a brutal reminder of how they mercilessly take revenge – in this instance to avenge the deaths of six children killed during security operations. Terrorized local people are more […]
The article below actually dates to October 2010. I am bringing it here, as the discussion continues. A political party in Switzerland launches a new effort to discontinue the ‘automatic church tax’ for ‘juristic entities’ (companies), which for instance ‘forces’ Muslim and Jewish firm owners to pay taxes to Christian […]
by Marie-Christine Bonzom in Washington, swissinfo.ch A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy has concluded that the war on drugs has failed, triggering a heated debate in the United States. The report, written by a high-profile panel including former Swiss cabinet minister Ruth Dreifuss, criticises the repressive approach […]
Leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan political party raising joined hands as a show of solidarity during a demonstration in Quetta, yesterday, to protest against the US drone attacks and the Nato supply. The drone war, targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders in Pakistan’s tribal badlands, is hugely unpopular among a public […]
By MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS RIYADH: The family of a Sri Lankan maid murdered in Saudi Arabia has agreed to pardon her killer and accept SR50,000 in blood money, the Sri Lankan Embassy here announced on Tuesday. Pavani Devi Sinnaiyah, 36, who was working in Qurayat in Al-Jouf province, […]
GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS RIYADH: A Saudi-Spanish consortium has emerged as a frontrunner among bidders to win an $8 billion contract to build a high-speed rail network linking Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah. “The Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) has already invited the consortium to its headquarters in Dammam to discuss […]
By Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times AMMAN – Inconsistency in determining the start of lunar months, particularly Ramadan, casts doubt on the credibility of astronomy, according to Mohammad Odeh, chairman of the Islamic Crescents Observation Project (ICOP). “There are different approaches among countries in determining the start of the lunar month. […]
AMMAN (Petra) – Jordan today marks the 60th anniversary of the death of His Majesty King Abdullah I (1882-1951), who was assassinated as he was entering Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for Friday prayers. King Abdullah I, the founder of the Kingdom, led the Arab forces of the Great Arab […]
Source: The New York Times NEW DELHI — Canada, which has long promoted its eagerness to attract foreigners, is experiencing a surge in the number of Indian students heading there for higher education. Besides the country’s positive attitude toward outsiders, the chief attractions for Indian students are the lower costs for […]
China has executed two officials from eastern cities after convicting them of corruption. Xu Maiyong, a former vice-mayor of Hangzhou, and Jiang Renjie, who was vice-mayor of Suzhou, were put to death after their appeals were rejected. Officials said Xu and Jiang took almost 300m yuan ($46m; £29m) by embezzling and taking […]