Can we make ourselves smarter? In recent decades, scientists have accumulated increasing evidence that our intelligence, at least as measured by the IQ test, is sharply constrained by genetics. Although estimates vary, most studies place the heritability of intelligence at somewhere between 50% and 80%. It’s an uncomfortable fact, but […]
Indonesia is making big in-roads into the international art scene. The value of pieces by Indonesian artists has been steadily increasing — a piece by S. Sudjojono sold for $385,000 at an auction in April, while a painting by Balinese artist Lee Man, “Bali Life,” was sold for $3.24 million […]
Is happiness really all that? It depends on how you define it. The business writers at 24/7 Wall St. have modified a new “Better Life” index, with its multiple measures including “life satisfaction,” and added their own economic and political measures. The result is a Top 10 happy countries list […]
By ASIF ISMAIL | GLOBAL INDIA NEWSWIRE The 17th World Sacred Music Festival kicked off June 3 in Fes, the charming Moroccan city of majestic hills and ancient walls, with a dazzling opera based on that eternal love story, Layla and Majnun. Under the artistic direction of the Morocco-reared and […]
Capital city Yerevan with Mount Arafat in the background At Eastertide we usually go to unusual places in the pursuit of archaeology. This year it was the turn of Armenia, an unusual place perched in the Caucasus. It is slightly smaller than Belgium, with a population of around three million. […]
Israel is involved in a massive propaganda drive to counter Palestinians’ UN bid (winning recognition for their state). It is reported that secret cables have been sent to all Israeli embassies to exert maximum pressure on the countries they are in to thwart the international recognition of Palestinian state. Envoys […]
Does one sin in the eyes of God or just those of the Maltese Church? That’s the million dollar question the majority of the Maltese people answered on May 28. Now that the referendum frenzy is over and the result has clearly shown that the feeling of the Maltese people […]
In the months since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation, his successors have signalled a shift in foreign policy by reaching out to former adversaries. Egypt’s government has welcomed Iranian diplomats and embraced the Palestinian group Hamas. Many interpret such moves as clear evidence of Egypt’s desire for a diplomacy that […]
By MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS RIYADH: Saudi Arabia handed over the keys of 500 houses of King Abdullah City for Sri Lanka’s tsunami victims, Saudi Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Abdul Aziz Al-Jammaz told Arab News from Colombo on Saturday. “We handed over the keys of the […]
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Harrowing eyewitness accounts mounted on Saturday after Syrian forces backed by helicopter gunships killed at least 25 protesters, prompting the US to toughen its stance on President Bashar Assad. As the turmoil neared the three-month mark, the international outcry grew over Assad’s use of deadly force against […]
By Musa Keilani Tareq Al Hashemi, vice-president of Iraq,left Jordan after a three-day stay during which he shared with some media people his ideas about the future of his country, as well as his interpretation of the general pulse of the man in the Baghdad street. Hashemi’s Islamic background gave […]
I recently came across this fascinating and historic book in the mosque’s book depot. It drew my attention, as the term ‘New World Order’ is now synonymous with a plan for a fascist world government which desires to annihilate 90% of the world population and enslave the rest. Hazrat Mirza […]
The Live Flowers Museum opened to the public yester-day with more than 170 flower species on display at a traditional farm in the municipality of San Cristobal, Antioquia department, Colombia. The orchid has been Colombia’s national flower since 1834 and, more precisely, the variety known as catleya trinae, named after […]
ISLAMABAD: Majid* was fortunate enough to see his family. But others from the Ahmadiyya community abducted by the Taliban are not. Majid was in militants’ captivity for over six months at an unknown location in Miramshah tribal area. He was abducted from Sihala in December last year while on his […]
An exhibition about the life and work of Einstein will no longer appear in Shanghai following a fracas between Chinese and Swiss museums. The exhibition has been touring China as part of a celebration of 60 years of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China. According to the Associated Press, the […]
As Denmark prepares for a final vote Friday on introducing border controls on its border with Germany as well as Sweden, a diplomatic war of words has heated up between the German and Danish government. Read More…
It is time for the European Union to rethink its policy in the Middle East. That is the demand being made by 24 former heads of government, foreign ministers and peace negotiators. A Hamas recognition of Israel should be the goal rather than the precondition of the peace process, the […]
The Egyptian military was celebrated for helping to facilitate a peaceful revolution there three months ago. But now accusations have surfaced that they subjected young women to degrading “virginity tests” in what appears to have been an attempt to control the population. One woman told SPIEGEL her story. Before she describes how […]
Still no trace of a german father, who kidnapped his four childeren and probably went to Sudan. Living seperate from his wife and children, he took the childeren for a bicycle ride and stoled their passport from the appartment. Christians fundamentalist view The police assume that he has settled […]
Germany has so far refused pressure from its NATO allies to join the militarily mission against Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, but Berlin said Thursday it might send troops to the North African country after he’s been deposed. Read More…