by Dale Bechtel, swissinfo.ch The authorities have placed strict conditions on an agreement governing the independent monitoring of forced deportations of rejected asylum seekers. Monitors deployed by the Federation of Protestant Churches in a six-month trial period starting in July will not be allowed to go public with their reports. […]
By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: The Haramain Railway, which will link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah with Jeddah, will cost about SR42 billion, according to a report circulated by the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO). The high-speed rail project will bring about dramatic improvement in transportation of pilgrims between the two […]
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS MAKKAH: Three Saudi engineers attending the Haj Research Forum in Makkah have called for expanding the mataf, the area surrounding the Holy Kaaba, in order to accommodate more worshippers. Abdul Haleem Khouj, head of the team that made the proposal, said it would […]
Every time the US intervenes in a Muslim country, it ends up helping the extremists As if the mind-numbing mess created by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan wasn’t enough, it had to turn its attention to Yemen. Yemen is in the midst of an unprecedented popular revolt […]
By Taylor Luck OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Amidst the winding maze of cobblestone streets in the old city of Jerusalem stands a café that goes out of its way to make any Jordanian feel close to home. A collage of photographs of King Hussein, Jordanian flags and bagpipe ballads greet visitors […]
AMMAN (JT) – A failure of US and international efforts in reviving the Middle East talks will dim the chances for reaching a breakthrough in the peace process, which may start a new Intifada in the Palestinian territories, His Majesty King Abdullah has said in an interview. In an interview […]
Weight loss programs are a multi-million dollar industry in the US, with each company claiming that their way is the best. At the heart of the debate has been the issue of carbohydrates. How much should we be consuming? There have been several studies conducted in the last decade comparing […]
Humans might be evolving slower than scientists had thought, according to a new analysis of the genomes of two families, but there is a huge variance between people. The researchers, reporting their findings June 12 in the journal Nature Genetics, based their measurement of evolution speed on the number of […]
Evolution of the Eye Scientists now have a clear vision of how our notoriously complex eye came to be SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN By Trevor D. Lamb | July 13, 2011 | The human eye is an exquisitely complicated organ. It acts like a camera to collect and focus light and convert it into […]
It is likely the only common ground they will ever have, but terrorism analysts and supporters of militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir do agree on one thing — the 15-year jail term that he received on Thursday means he will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. The conclusion […]
Older people who use olive oil in their cooking and on their salads may have a lower risk of suffering a stroke, researchers reported on Wednesday, June 15. In a study that followed older French adults for five years, researchers found that those who regularly used olive oil were 41 […]
SAPPORO — Fujitsu Limited and Sapporo Shirakaba-dai Hospital on Wednesday announced the joint development of a clinical appointment guidance system that employs color electronic paper (e-paper). The system recently began full operations. Read more
In 1326, Ibn Battuta completed his first pilgrimage to Mecca. But instead of returning home, he decided to see as many parts of Dar al-Islam as possible, vowing never to travel the same road twice. In the end, he traveled more than 75,000 miles, down the east coast of Africa […]
Here begins Ibn Battuta’s travels p. 43 I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], being at that time twenty-two years of age [22 lunar years; 21 and 4 months by solar reckoning], with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at […]
Zermatt’s place in history was tragically secured with the first ascent of the Matterhorn in the 19th century. As the surrounding peaks were climbed in the 1830’s to 50’s, there developed intense competition to conquer the Matterhorn, which for many years had been considered “unclimbable”. The English climber Edward Whymper […]
China has sent one of it largest patrol ships through the South China Sea amid heightened tension over the disputed waters. The Haixun-31 sailed on Wednesday and will monitor shipping and “protect maritime security” on its way to Singapore, state media said. Read More
China has closed Tibet to all foreign tourists until the end of July, say travel agents in the region. The move is being seen as an attempt by Beijing to prevent unrest ahead of celebrations marking 90 years since the founding of the ruling Communist Party. Read More
Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Moscow on Thursday that China and Russia have agreed to further advance their bilateral pragmatic cooperation in the fields of trade, culture and international affairs. The agreement came as the two countries established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership based on equality, mutual trust, […]
ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) called on Wednesday for a cease-fire in Libya, and urged all sides to strictly abide by UN Security Council resolutions. In the Astana Declaration, signed by the leaders of the member countries of the regional bloc, the SCO expressed its concerns over […]
Although many top German athletes come from immigrant families, very few Muslim girls and women in Germany play sports. Many parents see Western sports culture as a threat and keep their daughters away from coed athletic clubs. But some forward-thinking initiatives show how young female Muslims can be encouraged to […]