A noted Saudi scholar has claimed that Bahrain’s embattled Al Khalifa royal family is seeking Indonesian mercenaries to help maintain its iron grip over the country. Ali al-Ahmad, head of Washington-based think-tank the Institute for Gulf Affairs, told Iran’s PressTV on Sunday that Bahraini officials had traveled to Indonesia, Malaysia […]
How to Die? Clerics in Pakistan are not teaching how to live but how to die! The Blasphemy laws and misinterpretation and completely misunderstanding of the beautiful Islamic teachings by the clerics in Pakistan have resulted in hate and intolerance campaigns. The clerics are openly preaching hatred and intolerance in […]
Shape up. That’s the simple message, on the way we treat women, from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. It’s contained in its “concluding observations and recommendations” published on February 2, following consideration of a report presented in Geneva on January 19 by an 11-member […]
Shehrbano Taseer too gets threats for her views against extremism Karachi: A day after her father was gunned down by an extremist, a grieving Shehrbano Taseer wrote on Twitter, “A light has gone out in our home today.” It wasn’t long before the 22-year-old realised something else: Her father’s death […]
The meteorologic data indicates that for two thirds of the days of the year, air currents arrive from Western and Eastern Europe, and for more than one-fifth of the year, air currents arrive from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and North Africa. Air pollution from North Africa and Europe containing toxic materials […]
Since long was the hue and cry in Pakistan to test in depth the friendship of China. COAS who in fact rules the Pakistan always objected to the idea. Surprisingly current and his predecessor Joint Chief of Staff belonged to Chinese Lobby, but Joint Chief post is since […]
President says that Israel ‘doomed’ unless negotiations with the Palestinians leading to a peace agreement begin in the immediate future. “Whoever accepts the basic principle of the 1967 lines will receive international support from the world,” Peres said. “Whoever rejects it will lose the world.” President Shimon Peres is […]
Jakarta – In Yogyakarta, the cultural centre of the island of Java in Indonesia, the governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, has set an interesting precedent by refusing to ban the Ahmadiyah religious group. The group was founded by a 19th century Indian religious leader, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed he was the promised Messiah foretold […]
BEIJING – More than 2 million people have been displaced or otherwise affected by flooding in eastern China’s Zhejiang province that is also pushing up food prices, state media reported Sunday. Torrential rains have left huge areas of the relatively wealthy province under water, with 422,500 acres (171,000 hectares) of farmland inundated, […]
During the current budget session, Pakistan National Assembly bombarded the defence budget with sharp criticism. This shows that country has the potential to take on any issue if it wishes so. Can one hope same show up to repeal the religion clause which was inserted in the Constitution back in […]
by Dr. Monzur Ahmed The honey bee exhibits a combination of individual traits and social co-operation which is unparalleled in the animal kingdom. A glimpse into the nest makes it apparent why honey bees have fascinated us from the earliest days of scientific observations. The infrastructure of the nest, the […]
Bern University has set up a professorial post in bee health with the aim of better understanding the insect and its dwindling colonies. The post, funded with a SFr5 million ($5.89 million) donation by the Biel-based Vinetum foundation, will be attached to the university’s veterinary faculty. It aims to study the largely […]
by Peter Siegenthaler, swissinfo.ch As the Swiss Refugee Council marks Refugee Day on June 18 with a focus on what refugees have to offer society, European states worry about a new wave of asylum seekers. Swiss justice minister, Simonetta Sommaruga, tells swissinfo.ch that she wants to simplify and speed up […]
By RAZAK AHMAD | REUTERS KUALA LUMPUR: A forthcoming Islamic reality television show in Malaysia aims to find the best women preachers and change conservative mindsets on the role of women in Muslim societies. The 13-episode prime time program titled “Solehah,” an Arabic word meaning “pious female,” is a talent contest that will […]
By Hana Namrouqa MUJIB NATURE RESERVE – The Mujib Nature Reserve is expected to be declared a biosphere reserve at the end of this month, thus achieving international recognition for Jordan’s jewel of eco-tourism, according to officials. UNESCO is expected to declare the reserve a biosphere on June 28, according […]
Some voices in the US Congress are reportedly suggesting that the US cut back its financial contribution to the UN system and withdraw from some of its main bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Council, if the UN General Assembly votes in favour of recognising an independent Palestinian state […]
The light shines on Jerusalem JERUSALEM — When night falls on the Old City of Jerusalem this week, the walled enclave sheds its role as one of the world’s most contested pieces of real estate to become a luminous carnival of art installations and performances. Jerusalem’s Festival of Lights, now […]
Russia’s Rosoboronexport military corporation and DCNS, the warships’ French maker, signed the contract on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum. French Foreign Trade Minister Pierre Lellouche, who was present along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, estimated the contract at 1.12 billion euros. A Mistral-class ship can carry up […]
By RFI Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn tried to claim diplomatic immunity when he was arrested over the attempted rape of a hotel maid, police transcripts revealed Thursday. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/americas/20110617-strauss-kahn-tried-claim-diplomatic-immunity
One of the seven French children hospitalised with E coli was in a serious condition Friday, according to hospital sources. The four-year-old boy needs intensive care and sophisticated medical techniques, they say. The child needed dialysis overnight, according to Health Minister Xavier Bertrand, who visited the hospital in the northern […]