Picture of The Day – Elephants, Kenya
the snows of Kilimanjaro, a blue sky and a herd of elephants in front of it all. KENYA Source: National Geographic
Uprising in Belarus – Internet Generation Takes on Europe’s Last Dictator
The end of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s era appears to be approaching, as thousands take to the streets in Minsk to protest against the country’s economic crisis. The Internet-savvy demonstrators are finding ever-more-creative ways to voice dissent, but Lukashenko is responding with violence. Read More…
Arms deals raise human rights questions
Arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Angola have sparked widespread outrage in Germany and highlighted the country’s emergence as the world’s third-largest weapons exporter. But is Berlin guilty of hypocrisy or just poor political judgement? Read More…
Destructive words
Karachi, which had shown some signs of calming down as theskirmish legislation between the PPP and MQM on local government faded somewhat into the distance, has been set aflame once more following the unwise diatribe by Senior Minister of the Sindh government Dr Zulfiqar Mirza against MQM chief Altaf Hussain. The PPP, including the president […]
Europe still struggling with headscarf
For several years now, the Muslim headscarf has been the subject of heated debate between Dutch political parties. However, other European countries also host widely diverging opinions on the Islamic veil. When she was conducting research for her doctoral thesis, Doutje Lettinga found that there is considerable variety in the […]
The Flag of Bilal (5): Origins of the Modern State
The common idea that western civilization originates in Greece was born twice. Its last birth took place in the eighteenth century, before the social science had been created and before the richness of our Mesopotamian heritage had been discovered. The time has come to investigate the roots of western civilization […]
The New World Order of Islam (6): The Oddities of Racism
Hitler invented another doctrine to consolidate support for himself. He said that the theory of evolution had established that it was only the fittest who went forward and that the progress of the world depended upon the fittest being placed in a position of predominance. In accordance with this theory […]
China Urges U.S. to Protect Creditors by Raising Debt
HONG KONG — China, the United States’ biggest creditor, urged the United States government on Thursday to act to protect investors’ interests, highlighting rising concerns around the globe about the protracted budget talks taking place in Washington.
Top 10 Most Expensive Cities
When we think of the world’s most expensive cities, it’s the traditionally chic European and North American metropolises like New York, Paris and London that usually come to mind. But according to a new cost of living survey by Mercer, an international consulting organization, two of the three most expensive […]
New Football Oracle
Nelly the elephant has taken over the role of premiere animal psychic during the Women’s World Cup this summer. The young African Elephant predicted the outcome of all German games correctly — even the host country’s devastating loss to Japan last week. More:
Lost landscape discovered off Scottish coast
Geologists have discovered a vast new landscape that rose above the north Atlantic waves 56 million years ago. It was caused by a sudden up-welling from the Earth’s mantle and may explain rapid climate change that took place at about that time. Discovered by UK researchers, the river-valley system is […]
Why do Americans die younger than Britons?
New life expectancy figures show Americans some way behind countries like Canada, the UK and Australia. Why? Living in the world’s richest country comes at a price, and it’s measured in life years. Men in the US are on average aged 75 when they die. That is 1.5 years younger […]
Right-Wing Populists on the Rise Austria’s Freedom Party Goes from Strength to Strength
Under its leader Heinz-Christian Strache, the right-wing populist Freedom Party has become a force to be reckoned with in Austrian politics. It is currently neck and neck with the country’s two largest mainstream parties in the polls. Meanwhile the governing Social Democrats are struggling to reconnect with ordinary voters. More:
Makkah realtors cash in on ‘jinn’ rumors
// MAKKAH: There are widespread rumors among Makkawis claiming some abandoned buildings and estates are possessed by jinns. According to the widely circulated gossip, residents of these buildings located in various districts of the holy city, especially on the outskirts, say they vacated their dwellings after supernatural forces had harmed […]
Amid growing pressure, churches in China ‘are at a critical moment,’ pastor says
Beijing, China (CNN) – The congregants were seated in rows of folding chairs, clasping their hands in prayer or studying passages in their Bibles. The choir was sitting up front ready to sing on cue. A cross hung behind the pastor. The service looked like a Christian service you would see […]
UAE’s mission impossible: Cooling the desert
At its base, one of the world’s largest malls houses an Olympic-sized ice rink that helps keep some 150,000 daily visitors cool in the searing heat, desert dust and humidity. // http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?correlator=1310652731969&output=json_html&callback=GA_googleSetAdContentsBySlotForSync&impl=s&prev_afc=1&pstok=Bb51-M_sCDwKBBCRmEw&client=ca-pub-8258178831251847&slotname=Dawn_Business_inside_468x90&page_slots=Dawn_Business_Ip_top_728x90%2CDawn_Business_inside_468x90&cookie=ID%3D7bc0595e8816825a%3AT%3D1303908499%3AS%3DALNI_MaWM22AkqRAF5fH1tLDjMKxcxeZPw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2F2011%2F07%2F13%2Fuaes-mission-impossible-cooling-the-desert.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fdawn.com%2F&lmt=1310652731&dt=1310652732775&cc=100&biw=1007&bih=458&ifi=2&adk=2372603604&u_tz=120&u_his=8&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=1310648883&ga_hid=932088288&ga_fc=true DUBAI: Ali’s air conditioning quietly cools his spacious Dubai apartment around the clock and all year round, even […]
8-year-old Brooklyn boy is killed and dismembered
NEW YORK (AP) — Walking home alone from day camp for the first time, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky disappeared. A day-and-a-half search led police to the Brooklyn home of a man seen on a surveillance video with the young Orthodox Jewish child. They asked: Where is the boy? The man nodded toward […]
Drugs and the Valley
The two-decade conflict in Kashmir, the highest militarised region in the world, is responsible for a spiraling drug problem amongst its populace, psychiatrists maintain. In the Indian-administrated Kashmir, 80 per cent of the drug-using population comprises those who abuse prescription medicines, doctors say. Easy availability of medicines across the counter […]
The weakness of gravity
The story goes that a young Newton was sitting beneath a tree when an apple fell to the ground, which he famously attributed to a force of attraction between the apple and the Earth called gravity. He went one step further to suggest that it is the same force that […]
Centre-stage but invisible
IT is a required skill in a stage-play for an actor to be centre-stage and be ready to become invisible to the audience. // http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?correlator=1310648297457&output=json_html&callback=GA_googleSetAdContentsBySlotForSync&impl=s&prev_afc=1&pstok=8W5K5ZAii1wKBRDE3JIW&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%2F14%2Fcentre-stage-but-invisible.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fdawn.com%2F&lmt=1310648297&dt=1310648298116&cc=100&biw=1007&bih=458&ifi=2&adk=501409342&u_tz=120&u_his=8&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=1393871594.1310648270&ga_sid=1310648270&ga_hid=1099309154&ga_fc=true// The trick, as theatre gurus such as Stanislavsky or Brecht would prescribe, is to harmonise your silence with the running dialogue of other actors on […]