I’m not going home today

As a Palestinian who lives in the Old City of Jerusalem, I must admit, I am so glad I’m not going home today. Instead of making my usual journey back to Jerusalem via the miserable Qalandiya checkpoint, I will be staying on this side of the wall. Today, of all […]

One in four Tel Aviv couples divorces

Statistics show one in four Tel Aviv couples divorces, and 20 percent of the city’s families are single-parent households, a rate considerably higher than the national average. The Tel Aviv municipality is giving serious consideration to a proposal meant to facilitate divorces in the city. According to the Central Bureau […]

Dante Alighieri and Islam

By ROBERTA FEDELE Considered an emblem of the Christian Middle Ages and a central author of the Western tradition, Italian writer Dante Alighieri unintentionally reveals a lot about the influence of Islamic thought and models on Christian Europe. This is especially true of his masterpiece, “The Divine Comedy”, regarded as a prodigy […]

Saudi labor minister calms jobs panic

DAMMAM/JEDDAH: Labor Minister Adel Fakeih on Tuesday urged expatriates in the Kingdom not to press the panic button regarding reports about the six-year visa limitation issue. Talking to Arab News at Asharqia Chamber, the minister said companies in the Kingdom will have until Sept. 7 to achieve a prescribed quota […]

Protesters call for amending Citizenship Law

By Rana Husseini AMMAN – Dozens of citizens demonstrated in front of the Prime Ministry on Wednesday, calling on the government to amend laws to allow Jordanian women married to foreigners to pass on their citizenship to their children. Under the slogan “We are full citizens and do not accept […]

Human trafficking: A regional fight

A workshop held by the International Organisation for Migration and the Public Security Department reached the conclusion that the issue of human trafficking should be pursued and dealt with on regional basis. The theme of the meeting, “Regional dialogue to enhance the identification and protection of victims of trafficking”, is […]

Will Russia Stand Up to Syrian Challenge?

According to several media outlets, on May 24 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a telephone conversation with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad pointed out to him the need to engage in a dialogue with the circles as wide as possible. As pointed out by sources in the Arab countries, including […]

Lagarde visits Brazil in campaign for IMF job

France’s finance minister Christine Lagarde held talks in with her Brazilian counterpart on Monday in a bid to enlist support for her candidacy for the post of next chief of the International Monetary Fund. Christine Lagarde told Guido Mantega and Brazil’s central bank chief Alexandre Tombini that the main priority […]

Sarkozy kept close tabs on Strauss-Kahn, says French daily

French daily Le Monde has reported that President Nicolas Sarkozy’s beefed-up domestic intelligence team helped him strategically leak incriminating information about Dominique Strauss-Kahn when the Socialist starting rising in the polls. The newspaper reported on Wednesday that thanks to a newly reinforced internal intelligence agency, the Sarkozy administration is privy […]

Mainland Suspends Imports of Food from Taiwan

The Chinese mainland announced on Wednesday that as of June 1, it will suspend imports of beverages, food products and food additives from Taiwan that are produced by companies suspected of using a cancer-causing plastic additive. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) said the mainland has […]

Keep 4 Jamaat [-e-Islami] leaders detained till July 12: Tribunal

The International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to keep four top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, including its Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, detained until July 12 in connection with crimes against humanity in 1971. The three other leaders are: Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid and assistant secretaries general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla. The three-member […]