The World At Night, or TWAN, recently announced the winners of their 2011 International Photo Contest. A full collection of photos can be viewed at http://twanight.org. This photograph by Stephane Vetter won first place in the Beauty of the Night Sky category; it displays the northern lights and the Milky Way […]
The High Court yesterday asked the government to explain why the section of the eighth amendment to the constitution giving Islam the status of state religion should not be declared illegal. The court appointed 12 senior lawyers as amici curiae (friends of court) to give their opinions on the issue. […]
Hedge fund managers have been called plenty of names. Now, they can add another: local banker. When Rentech, a clean energy business in Los Angeles, was rejected by its long-time banker last year, it asked a hedge fund for money instead. “You have to take what’s available at the time,” […]
TEL AVIV, June 9, 2011 (WAFA) – The Planning and Construction Committee of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem Thursday gave approval to build the Museum of Tolerance on the site of an ancient historic Muslim cemetery in Mamilla, an area outside Jerusalem’s Old City west of the Jaffa Gate, according to Haaretz newspaper. The project is […]
The Muslim population in the Middle East and North Africa region is expected to grow by 37 per cent in the next 20 years, while the world’s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35 per cent in the same period. Meanwhile, among the Muslim majority countries of the world, the […]
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today expressed grave concerns over increasing violations of religious freedom in Indonesia, and called on the Government of Indonesia to take action to protect religious minorities, curb radical Islamist activity, bring the perpetrators of religious hatred and violence to justice, and defend the country’s tradition of […]
A prosecutor is asking that Deden Sujana, a member of Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia and one of the victims in a recent attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik, Banten, be sentenced to six years in prison. The attorney made the request during a trial at the Serang District Court in Banten […]
MIRAMSHAH: Around 150 militants armed with rockets attacked a security checkpost in Pakistan’s Waziristan on Thursday, killing eight soldiers, intelligence officials said, as tensions rise in the border region. Twelve militants were killed in retaliatory firing by security forces. The attack came on the heels of stepped-up missile strikes by […]
By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) – In case you were wondering about all the balloons and cake: CNN’s Belief Blog has just marked its first birthday. After publishing 1,840 posts and sifting through 452,603 comments (OK, we may have missed one or two) the Belief Blog feels older than its 12 months would […]
By TOVAH LAZAROFF According to a study fromthe United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees, the number of jobless Palestinians is up to 25 percent. Palestinian unemployment went up in the second half of 2010, according to a study published Wednesday by the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees. The economic […]
By YOUSUF MUHAMMAD | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh rewarded Muhammad Al-Rashoud, a Saudi, for informing the ministry about an endowment property valued at SR1.74 million in Makkah. The minister thanked Al-Rashoud for his cooperation in uncovering the unknown endowment property, spread on an area of 858.42 […]
AMMAN – Lying in a hospital bed flanked by two compatriots who were injured during the ongoing violence in Libya, Hani Mustafa said he hopes his injury will improve after receiving treatment in Jordan. “I had shrapnel and bullets in my leg. I received primary treatment in Libya, but still […]
By Nicolas Cheviron Agence France-Presse ANTAKYA – The last thing Selim remembers from a security crackdown in his Syrian hometown are the two sniper shots that pierced his body. A day later, he woke up in a Turkish hospital across the border. The 28-year-old worker was among several dozen wounded […]
A new Senate report says billions of dollars in aid go to waste in Afghanistan, where the president is about to make a decision about troop levels. But as Andrew J. Bacevich argues, the question is a distraction from a far more fundamental choice. Once the capital of a nation […]
A bizarre event in Islamic history Between 833 and 848 AD, a bizarre event took place in Islamic history which was to change the face of scholarship and law for ever. It was the agressive inquisition by the ‘secular’ Caliph Al-Ma’mun (yes, the one who also established the Bait al-Hikma) […]
Pravda. Ru. A group of specialists from the Moscow State Automobile and Road Technical University have developed a project of a new type of transport – the air metro. According to them, cable ways are much faster, more comfortable and environment-friendly than conventional types of transportation, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper […]
Pravda. Ru. The authorities of Sevastopol, Ukraine, claimed that the Russian Black Sea Navy owes the city. In addition to that, Russia and Ukraine are trying to solve another “eternal” issue in their relations – the gas problem. How long will the two countries be fighting on these two subjects? […]
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers are “playing with fire” by contemplating even a brief debt default as a means to force deeper government spending cuts, an adviser to China’s central bank said on Wednesday. The idea of a technical default — essentially delaying interest payments for a few days — […]
By RFI The plaintiff’s lawyer the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case has appealed on French TV for other women to come forward if they complaints against the former International Monetary Fund chief. “If there is any woman out there, whether in France or in Africa, who have been sexually assaulted […]
By RFI The worst of the E coli outbreak is over, German Health Minister Daniel Bahr said on Wednesday ahead of a European meeting on the crisis. But one case has been confirmed in France and 12 other possible ones are reported. The number of new infections from the E […]