3 May, 2014

Australian retirement age rise to 70 by 2035 – Sydney Morning Herald

Australians born after 1965 will have to work until they are 70 before they are eligible for the age pension, Treasurer Joe Hockey has announced, as he warned there was “no such thing” as a free visit to a doctor or free welfare. Mr Hockey confirmed on Friday that while nobody currently on the pension […]

2 May, 2014

Global Media Freedom Loses Ground in 2013

by Cynthia English and Lee Becker

WASHINGTON, D.C. May 2, 2014 (Gallup Polls) — Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Saturday, Gallup’s global surveys show perceived media freedom declining in many countries. A median of 63% of adults across 132 countries polled last year say the media in their country have a lot of freedom — on the low side […]

2 May, 2014

Apple, Facebook, others defy authorities, notify users of secret data demands – Washington Post

Major U.S. technology companies have largely ended the practice of quietly complying with investigators’ demands for e-mail records and other online data, saying that users have a right to know in advance when their information is targeted for government seizure. This increasingly defiant industry stand is giving some of the tens of thousands of Americans […]

2 May, 2014

Using Mobile Technology for Work Linked to Higher Stress – Gallup Polls

by Dan Witters and Diana Liu

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 2, 2014 (Gallup Polls) — U.S. workers who email for work and who spend more hours working remotely outside of normal working hours are more likely to experience a substantial amount of stress on any given day than workers who do not exhibit these behaviors. Nearly half of workers who “frequently” email […]

2 May, 2014

Xinhua Insight: Online travel agencies capitalize on China’s smart tourism boom

By Xinhua writer Zhang Zhongkai

HAIKOU, May 1 (Xinhua)– On the eve of the three-day long Workers’ Day holiday, IT engineer Feng Yue from south China’s Hainan Province is planning a trip to southwestern province of Yunnan with his girlfriend. While his parents consult local travel agencies for a group tour, Feng, 26, gets all the itinerary, tickets and accommodation […]

2 May, 2014

Who’s really ‘presenting lies as facts’? — RT Op-Edge

Mr. Richard Stengel, the US Under Secretary of State who wrote such an impassioned “takedown” of RT in the US State Department blog, did get one thing right. Propaganda IS the deliberate dissemination of information that you know to be false or misguided. And boy, does Mr. Stengel make a valiant attempt at propagandizing, because […]

1 May, 2014

Modi victory will see ideology of hate penetrate Indian govt machinery: Nandita Das

May 1, 2014, STOCKHOLM: Actress and social activist Nandita Das has warned that a victory for Narendra Modi in the ongoing general elections will result in an ideology of hate to penetrate into the government machinery and influence institutions and policies. Nandita, who showcased her hard hitting and poignant film Firaq at the India Unlimited […]

1 May, 2014

Hindu seers say Modi a ‘grave sinner’, not fit to be PM – Hindustan Times

Two of Hinduism’s key religious heads attached to traditional monasteries knowns as ‘mutts’ have opposed BJP leader Narendra Modi’s bid for prime-ministership, calling him a “grave sinner” trying to “mislead” the nation. The two pontiffs – one heads the Puri peeth (seat) of the Advaita school of Hindu philosophy, while the other leads its Dwarka […]

1 May, 2014

900,000 crimes, including rape, not pursued by UK police in 2013

Nearly a million criminal offences including rape have gone unrecorded by police in a single year, according to a damning report that could see the 20-year decline in recorded crime reversed when accurate statistics are calculated. Inspectors said they suspected “discreditable and unethical” behaviour by some officers and said they had discovered 14 reported rapes […]

1 May, 2014

Is this not apartheid? – Gideon Levy – Haaretz

The naysayers can find countless differences between the apartheid of Pretoria and that of Jerusalem. Pretoria’s was openly racist and anchored in law; Jerusalem’s is denied and repressed, hidden beneath a heavy cloak of propaganda and messianic religious faith. But the result is the same. Some South Africans who lived under the system of segregation […]

1 May, 2014

The truth, off the record – Haaretz

At a G-20 conference in Cannes in November 2011, then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy termed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “liar” and said he “can’t stand” the Israeli leader. U.S. President Barack Obama responded, “You’re tired of him; what about me? I have to deal with him every day.” These rare quotes, revealing truths that are […]

1 May, 2014

WSJ/NBC Poll: Americans Want Less Interventionist Foreign Policy

The Wall Street Journal of 30 April 2014 has the following headline on the front page: “Americans Want to Pull Back From World Stage, Poll Finds.” Americans in large numbers want the U.S. to reduce its role in world affairs even as a showdown with Russia over Ukraine preoccupies Washington, a Wall Street Journal/NBC News […]

30 Apr, 2014

Singapore, Ireland top havens for multinational tax dodgers

Australian companies sent almost $60 billion to related parties in tax havens in 2012, with payments to Singapore and Ireland featuring high on the list, according to new data. The data, never before released by the Australian Tax Office, provides an insight into how multinational groups shuffle money between countries and comes amid an international […]

28 Apr, 2014

Gallup Polls: Average U.S. Retirement Age Hits 62 as Baby-Boomers Opt to Work Longer

by Rebecca Riffkin

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2014 (Gallup Polls) — The average age at which U.S. retirees report retiring is 62, the highest Gallup has found since first asking Americans this question in 1991. This age has increased in recent years, while the average age at which non-retired Americans expect to retire, 66, has largely stayed the same. […]

28 Apr, 2014

Japanese consultants made 100 kickback payments for development aid work – Japan News

Japan Transportation Consultants, Inc. made 100 payments of illicit kickbacks totaling ¥160 million to 13 officials from the governments of Vietnam, Indonesia and Uzbekistan from 2009 to 2014, in return for orders received to conduct projects under Japanese official development assistance, a third-party committee investigating the incident said Friday. The JTC practice of making such […]

28 Apr, 2014

Photo exhibition highlights “Cairo: The Crossroads of Faith”

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Shamsi

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 28 April 2014 (28 Jumaada al-Thaani 1435). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story. ============ THE ISLAMIC IMPERATIVE — SUPPORT MALAYSIA IN ITS TIME OF NEED The tragedy of MH370 […]

28 Apr, 2014

China finally identifies its biggest challenge: Money worship

Global Times

April 26, 2014 – Mao Xiaobing, party secretary of Xining, Qinghai Province, was added to the investigation list on April 24. He is the eighth provincial or ministerial-level official in trouble this year, an average of two a month. The fall of the high officials shows the determination of China’s endeavor in fighting corruption, though […]

28 Apr, 2014

People’s Daily Editorial: Asia’s “trust deficit” will hurt regional progress

People's Daily Online

April 27, 2014 – In the course of almost 70 years that have passed since the second world war, no one can overlook the birth of a new Asia, where the rise of industrialized countries and regions, as well as burgeoning emerging markets, has created a powerful engine for global economic growth. However, we can […]

28 Apr, 2014

Chinese see easier visa formalities as outbound travel surges

By Zheng Xin and Huang Yiming

Sanya, Hainan (China Daily), 2014-04-27 – As China is expected to surpass the United States as the world’s largest travel and tourism economy in 2027, experts and industry insiders expect visa barriers targeting Chinese tourists to be eased in the near future. One of the major inhibitors of the tourism industry is the fact that […]

28 Apr, 2014

The French economist forcing America to wake up to the end of The Dream – The Independent

The central thesis of Capital in the 21st Century is that, left to its own devices, the capitalist system will increase the gap between rich and poor, as it always has done. Since the dawn of the industrial era, in countries such as Britain, France and the US, the return on investment and capital has […]

28 Apr, 2014

Delayed flights may cost airlines billions after test case rulings | The Observer

Airline passengers could be entitled to billions of pounds’ worth of compensation, depending on the outcome of two flight delay cases at the court of appeal next month. Rules state that passengers who reach their destination more than three hours late can claim up to €600 (£494) plus expenses, per person, if the delay is […]

26 Apr, 2014

Business Travel Coalition: “George Orwell Would Recognize This Airline Legislation”

BTC INDUSTRY BRIEF

Friday, April 25, 2014 – The Orwellian-titled bill, the Transparent Airfares Act of 2014 (H.R. 4156), was designed to respond to airlines’ objections to a 2012 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) rule that requires them to prominently display total ticket prices in advertising, including government taxes and fees. H.R. 4156 would reverse that DOT rule […]

26 Apr, 2014

Robert Fisk: Yet another betrayal of the Palestinians – The Independent

Dead in the water. Just as the entire world predicted – with the exception of Messrs Barack Obama and John Kerry and, I suppose, our favourite “peace” envoy Tony Blair – the whole fandango of an Israeli-Palestinian “peace” has collapsed again. US President Obama, walking away from the car crash for which his own political […]

26 Apr, 2014

Laos’ coffee giant eyes Thailand for expansion – The Nation

Bangkok – Dao-Heuang Group, a leading coffee producer in Laos, is set to enter Thailand next year via a contract to grow coffee on a 1,000-rai plot of land in the North. This move is part of the company’s plan to boost its production capacity to meet rising demands once the Asean Economic Community (AEC) […]

26 Apr, 2014

Xinhua Insight: China’s tourism sector needs steady, sustainable growth

By Xinhua writer Zhang Zhongkai

SANYA, Hainan, April 25 (Xinhua) — With more Chinese willing to pack their bags and travel, the tourism boom has potential to reshape the country’s economy, but steadiness and sustainability are needed, experts said at an international tourism summit on Friday. China’s decision to make tourism a strategic pillar of the national economy in 2009 […]

26 Apr, 2014

The world’s boozing habits revealed – Washington Post

Does booze play a part in world events? Don’t tell your kids — or your parents — but probably yes. Take Britain, a proud kingdom of saucing. Over the past year, the number of people seriously hurt by violence plunged 12 percent to roughly 235,000 cases. Though the decrease mirrors trends across the Western world, […]

26 Apr, 2014

America has taken our sovereignty from us: former Australian PM

Australia risks being pulled into a disastrous war against China because successive Australian governments have surrendered the nation’s strategic independence to Washington, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser has warned. With tensions rising in the East China Sea between China and Japan, Mr Fraser said there was a real danger of conflict and that he […]

26 Apr, 2014

Connecticut student killed in attack at school

A high school student in Connecticut was killed Friday morning after an attack by another student that led to a lockdown, an evacuation and yet another nightmarish scene at a school. The attack occurred at around 7:15 a.m. at Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Conn., according to Keith L. Mello, the chief of police […]

26 Apr, 2014

Bhavnagar, Gujarat: Muslims free to live – if they change their name to a Hindu one

The bungalow on Bhavnagar’s Sanatorium Road needs a lick of paint but its spacious plot and location in a quiet residential area would draw the eye of many a prospective buyer. It certainly caught the attention of Ali Asghar Zaveri, a Muslim scrap metal dealer, who completed the purchase at the beginning of the year […]

26 Apr, 2014

Russian state company employees told to holiday at Russian resorts – RT News

State corporations have been advised to send their staff on vacations to Russian resorts, and President Vladimir Putin has told reporters that in his view private Russian companies should follow suit. The president was speaking at a media forum in St Petersburg organized by the United People’s Front – a relatively new political movement uniting […]

26 Apr, 2014

Tiny Pacific nation sues 9 nuke powers | Manila Bulletin

New York — The tiny Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands is taking on the United States and the world’s eight other nuclear-armed nations with an unprecedented lawsuit demanding that they meet their obligations toward disarmament and accusing them of “flagrant violations” of international law. The island group that was used for dozens of US […]

26 Apr, 2014

White supremacists still a danger, experts say – Jewish World News

The recent shootings at a pair of Kansas City-area Jewish facilities illustrate the persistent threat of white supremacist violence, even as broad measures of anti-Semitism continue to decline. Suspected gunman Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. had a long history in the white supremacist movement, dating back to the 1970s, before the recent rampage that killed three […]

26 Apr, 2014

TOEIC, TOEFL axed as route to U.K. visa | The Japan Times

Apr 25, 2014 Two of the most popular English-language proficiency tests in Japan can no longer be used to obtain student visas to Britain after a British TV program exposed fraud in the test-taking process. The visa ban applies to the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) and the TOEFL (Test of English as […]

25 Apr, 2014

10 Corporate Behemoths Stifling Competition | Alternet

April 24, 2014 | One of the fundamentals of free-market capitalism is that consumers benefit when competition is plentiful. If a business is selling a weak or inferior product, consumers can turn to the competition for a better deal. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood that, which is why a key element of his New Deal […]

25 Apr, 2014

Cuba warns Asia: Young people target of US regime change agenda via “social media”

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok, 24 April 2014 – If geopolitical instability is now well recognised as a primary cause of travel & tourism disruptions, Cuba has issued a formal warning that the U.S. government has become a major instigator of such instability. At a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on 24 April, Cuban Ambassador […]

25 Apr, 2014

Kalidas would have applauded Indian drama epic “Shakuntala” in Karachi

Imtiaz Muqbil

Karachi – It is not often that one gets the privilege of watching an epic drama written by one of India’s most revered poets, Kalidas, in the Pakistani commercial capital of Karachi. I am fortunate to have seen “Shakuntala” performed by some of Pakistan’s young generation of dancers during a festival of arts, culture and […]

25 Apr, 2014

Indians, Asians fast becoming politically relevant in US: Report – The Times of India

WASHINGTON: With Indians and other Asian-Americans and Pacific-Islanders growing in number at a fast pace, people of colour will be in the majority in the US by mid-century, according to a new report. They are also quickly reaching the critical mass needed to be politically relevant, says the report from the Centre for American Progress […]

25 Apr, 2014

India’s poll season brings out the worst in itself – Hindustan Times

At a time when the world needs to expand the horizons of its young people to prepare them for its changing realities, especially a tough job market, India is spending an election season bringing out the worst in itself. Let’s see. For all the talk of development, jobs and reviving a moribund economy, the primary […]

25 Apr, 2014

US NGO helps Palestinian newlyweds rebuild their home in an occupied, divided land

By: Jameel Dababat

TUBAS, April 20, 2014 (WAFA) –  In any part of the Middle East, Sadeq Subeih’s wedding day would have been just very normal, but with an international intervention, this young Palestinian man’s wedding became more as an international battle. Sadeq, 27, is one of dozens of people who live in Al-Aqaba, a village located on […]

24 Apr, 2014

UK e-Borders programme unable to help track immigration – The Guardian

The UK Home Office’s £500m e-Borders programme, which is designed to check everybody coming in and out of Britain and has taken more than 10 years to develop, cannot be used to estimate immigration, ministers have admitted. They told MPs on the public administration select committee (PAC) that data from the programme cannot be used […]

24 Apr, 2014

This war on ‘Islamism’ only fuels hatred and violence – The Guardian

The neocons are back. That toxic blend of messianic warmongering abroad and McCarthyite witch-hunting at home – which gave us Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo and the London bombings – is coursing through our public life again. Yesterday the liberal interventionists’ hero, Tony Blair, was once more demanding military action against the “threat of radical Islam”. Reprising […]

24 Apr, 2014

Indian embassy reverses visa denial after eminent Muslim professor protests

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The Indian Embassy in Thailand has reversed the rejection of visas for four family members of one of Thailand’s best-known Muslim academics after the professor dispatched a strong letter of protest, along with a demand for an explanation. Asst. Prof. Dr. Imtiyaz Yusuf, Director of the Center for Buddhist-Muslim Understanding, College of Religious […]

23 Apr, 2014

Hotel group COO: Why no travel advisories against U.S.?

Imtiaz Muqbil

BANGKOK – The COO of the Bangkok-based Minor Hotel Group, owner/operator of more than 100 hotels across Thailand and the Asia-Pacific, has demanded to know why there are no travel advisories against the United States in spite of the numerous shootings in its public places. In remarks during a panel discussion at the Thailand Travel […]

23 Apr, 2014

Guardian’s Edward Snowden revelations receive backing in poll

A public opinion poll has found that more Britons think it was right for the Guardian to publish Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks about surveillance than think it was wrong that the paper did so. According to the YouGov poll, 37% of the British people thought it right to publish while 22% thought it wrong. Asked […]

23 Apr, 2014

China’s frugality policy slows catering industry to 20-year low

By XU WEI

Beijing, 2014-04-21, (China Daily) – China’s catering industry registered its slowest growth in 20 years in 2013 as the country’s anti-corruption campaign targeting official excess took its toll on high-end businesses, an industry report shows. According to the report, released on Saturday by the China Cuisine Association, the total revenue of the country’s catering sector […]

22 Apr, 2014

Sultans of spin: Elite election strategists coming to Britain | The Observer

There have been two kinds of responses within the Labour party to the decision to appoint David Axelrod, former senior adviser to Barack Obama, to help run Ed Miliband’s general election campaign. One is driven by cynicism: a view that this is just an expensive stunt that will have no real positive effect; that someone […]

22 Apr, 2014

Believe it or not, Laos generates biggest growth in 1Q 2014 visitors to Thailand

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – In what will go down as one of the most stunning reversals of fortune in the history of global travel & tourism, the landlocked country of Laos has recorded the largest growth in arrivals to Thailand in the first quarter of 2014 over the same period of 2013. A sharp growth of 62.8% […]

21 Apr, 2014

The New York Times wrestles with Israel’s gag orders – Haaretz

The New York Times newspaper acknowledged late last week that it complies with court-ordered gag orders when reporting from Israel. The acknowledgement followed the publication of a report on the lifting of a gag order dealing with the arrest of Majd Kayyal, an Israeli Palestinian journalist, who was held incommunicado for a week after an […]

21 Apr, 2014

Shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan’s family refuses to be Modi’s proposer | The Indian Express

The family of late Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan has refused to become a proposer for Narendra Modi when he files nomination for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat on April 24. Bismillah’s grandson Affaq Haider said they do not want to be associated with any political party on this ‘hot seat’. Varanasi will go to […]

21 Apr, 2014

India does not need a govt that makes Hindus fight Muslims: Rahul Gandhi

Making a strong pitch for a “pro-poor, secular government” at the Centre, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said India does not need a government that “makes Hindus fight Muslims” in an apparent dig at BJP. Addressing an election rally here, he said that since these were Lok Sabha elections, local Tamil parties, with […]

21 Apr, 2014

The second mystery around MH370 – English pravda.ru

Why hasn’t the United States been in the forefront of providing information about it? The implications of this question are massive. America has a fleet of the most sophisticated spy satellites, called “keyhole” satellites, covering the earth’s surface daily with imaging systems comparable to those of the Hubble Space Telescope, but instead of data from […]

21 Apr, 2014

Extravagant CEO pay doesn’t reflect performance – it’s all about status | The Observer

Even American eyes are starting to pop at the sheer extravagance of executive pay. Last week, the New York Times published its annual league table of chief executive pay at the US’s top 100 publicly quoted companies. The average has now climbed to $13.9m (£8.3m). That is nearly twice the average of £4.4m for CEOs […]

21 Apr, 2014

Six Dubai Metro stations to be transformed into museums of Islamic art, culture

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Shamsi

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 21 April 2014 (21 Jumaada al-Thaani 1435). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story. ============ THE ISLAMIC IMPERATIVE — SUPPORT MALAYSIA IN ITS TIME OF NEED The tragedy of MH370 […]

21 Apr, 2014

How Lobbyists erode politics in the US: “Ugly world of guanxi and influence buying”

By Chen Weihua (China Daily)

2014-04-10 – As a Washington D.C.-based journalist, I have been asked by friends from China about how real is the political TV drama series, House of Cards. Drama is drama. Certain plots do exist somewhere at certain times, but it would be wrong to generalize it as daily life on Capitol Hill and in the […]

21 Apr, 2014

Being Muslim Under Narendra Modi – NYTimes.com

It was on his watch as chief minister that more than 1,000 people, many of them Muslims, were killed throughout Gujarat in 2002, when rioting erupted after some 60 Hindus died in a burning train in Godhra. A Human Rights Watch report that year asserted that the state government and local police officials were complicit […]

20 Apr, 2014

​The costs and the price of U.S. wars: Record suicides by Special Ops forces

US special forces have been committing suicide at record levels for the last two years, the head of the US Special Operations Command (SOCom) admitted in a speech on Thursday. He blamed the high numbers on the length and difficulty of combat. “There is a lot of angst. There’s a lot of pressure out there. […]

19 Apr, 2014

The AAP after the election – The Hindu

The strong signal that Mr. Kejriwal and AAP have sent out to the established political class across parties is this: ‘we don’t play by your rules; that we will challenge, and confront you on political practices in the country.’ Whatever else AAP may or may not have done — and there are many questions on […]

19 Apr, 2014

8 Terrifying Facts About NSA Surveillance | Alternet

As the American Civil Liberties Union noted, surveillance laws themselves “are extraordinarily permissive,” so it’s doubly troubling that the agency is surging way past what it is already allowed to do. The ACLU adds that these reported incidents are not simply cases of one person’s rights being violated — but thousands of Americans being snared, […]

19 Apr, 2014

India needs a thinker, not a despot on its peacock throne – Hindustan Times

Aurangzeb the unmusical, merciless, illiberal and ravenously ambitious Narcissus is slouching towards that helm, in the garb of his opposite number. And we, we Indians, who do not believe in the rule of the sharpened scimitar or of the pointed trisul, are the adherents of Dara Shukoh, waiting for the denouement. The Doldrums lie motionless […]

18 Apr, 2014

Indonesia issues first “Happiness Index” – The Jakarta Post

For the first time in history, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) issued late on Wednesday a survey that measured the level of happiness among Indonesians. The timing of the survey, which was conducted last year, could not have come at a worse time, as unemployment was high and poverty soared following the subsidized fuel price […]

18 Apr, 2014

Laos dam-building spree threats Mekong River – Thanh Nien Daily

Construction of a giant controversial dam in Laos has been well underway since it began in late 2012. Laos is also set to push ahead with a second hydropower dam on the Mekong River this year in the face of growing concerns among its neighbors. Opponents of these projects said their commencement would also kick […]

18 Apr, 2014

Ancient Buddhist center in India seeks Chinese investments

PATNA, India, April 16 – (Xinhua) – Crossing a 15-kilometer bridge over the Ganges in the northern part of this Indian city, a group of Chinese guests felt like crossing the Yellow River in a remote northern Chinese province 30 years ago. On the northern side of the Ganges here, the landscape is nothing but […]

18 Apr, 2014

Deepa Kumar’s new book: Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire

In response to the events of 9/11, the Bush administration launched a “war on terror” ushering in an era of anti-Muslim racism, or Islamophobia. However, 9/11 did not create Islamophobia, an ideology which has become the handmaiden of imperialism. This book examines the historic relationship between Islamophobia and the agenda of empire-building. About the author […]

18 Apr, 2014

MH370: Where’s the outrage over the information void? – The Hindu

By K.S. Narendran As I look back over the 40 days since the day MH370 sent out its last pings, I sense fatigue. It is as if all that had to be discussed has been done repeatedly and all the consolation that had to be offered has been exhausted. Yet, we are no closer to […]

17 Apr, 2014

New Study Confirms: “The United States Is No Democracy… But An Oligarchy”

Those convicted of petty non-violent crimes like possession of marijuana could spend a lifetime in prison, while the individuals responsible for wiping away 40% of America’s wealth in the 2008 crash have not only avoided prosecution, but are rewarded within their respective organizations. Whistle blowers spreading the truth to the masses about the the duplicitous […]

16 Apr, 2014

Latent and manifest Islamophobia: An inception of ideas – Al Jazeera English

By Dr Hatem Bazian I am utilising the concepts developed in “Inception” to argue that the Islamophobia industry has successfully used fear and hate-mongering to lull our intellect to sleep and has implanted negative and racist ideas about Muslims and Islam in our collective consciousness. The “architect” and the professional Cobb in this real case […]

16 Apr, 2014

Google admits Gmail does scan all emails – theguardian.com

Google has clarified its email scanning practices in a terms of service update, informing users that incoming and outgoing emails are analysed by automated software. The revisions explicitly state that Google’s system scans the content of emails stored on Google’s servers as well as those being sent and received by any Google email account, a […]

15 Apr, 2014

Global Drug Survey 2014: UK has the most delusional drinkers – The Independent

The UK has the most delusional drinkers, drug-takers and ‘reckless youths’ than any other country in the world, according to a survey. One in three dependent drinkers in the UK thinks they consume less than the average amount – a figure that decreases to a quarter when considered globally. Worryingly, one third of people in […]

15 Apr, 2014

Rise and shine: Why getting up at 5am will make you happy

If an early start has you rolling back under the duvet, forget about sleep deprivation and get out of bed – morning people are happier and more successful than night owls. Laura Vanderkam, the US author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, says getting up early can hold the key to improving […]

15 Apr, 2014

Australian government cyber snoops scouring social media

Federal government departments are using increasingly powerful cyber-snooping equipment to monitor the social media lives of millions of Australians. A dramatic public confrontation between the Immigration Department and a Sydney political activist over her Facebook page has resulted in accusations that mass-electronic surveillance is being used to keep tabs on political dissent. Other large government […]

15 Apr, 2014

Maori haka protest against auction of a slice of their history – Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney Maori let loose their traditional ancestral war cry on Monday night to warn the discreetly upmarket auction house Sotheby’s to back off selling one of their proudest heirlooms. The Te Pahi silver medal may be one of the most outstanding vestiges of the early story of Australia and New Zealand. Philip Gidley King, the […]

15 Apr, 2014

A Palestinian Christian Reflects on Easter: The City We Love Most and Visit Least

By Rifat Odeh Kassis

Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true.” Then Jesus had his disciples bring him a colt, and they threw their cloaks over it for him to ride. The news of his arrival rippled through […]

15 Apr, 2014

Obsessed with selfies? You may be mentally ill | GulfNews.com

London/Toronto: Taking lots of selfies is not an addiction but a symptom of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), psychologists warn. “Two out of three of all the patients who come to see me with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) since the rise of camera phones have a compulsion to repeatedly take and post selfies on social media […]

15 Apr, 2014

Locals are overrated: Travel’s eight biggest myths busted – Sydney Morning Herald

Anthony Peregrine’s manifesto for a happier holiday remakes all the old rules. Slow-travel websites and publications are all in the hands of ideologues hectoring people about carbon footprints, interacting with communities, eating local organic food, travelling by yak and wearing only natural materials. There is nothing specifically evil about any of that. It is just […]

14 Apr, 2014

Islamic “Halalywood” Film Industry Set for Global Launch

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Shamsi

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 14 April 2014 (14 Jumaada al-Thaani 1435). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ THE ISLAMIC IMPERATIVE — SUPPORT MALAYSIA IN ITS TIME OF NEED The tragedy of MH370 […]

13 Apr, 2014

Top Australian research body CSIRO braces for budget cut of up to $150 million

Australia’s peak science body is bracing for a May budget cut of up $150 million, or more than 20 per cent of its total government funding. Fairfax Media can reveal the CSIRO’s top executive team has been modelling a range of scenarios that would see the scientific agency lose up 20 per cent of its […]

13 Apr, 2014

Indian PM: BJP has always divided the country – The Hindu

Hitting the campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday made a scathing attack on BJP by describing its ideology as against the composite culture of the state and said the party had always “divided the country.” “BJP leaders want to give a turn to the Lok Sabha elections on communal issues, […]

13 Apr, 2014

Ex-US President Carter uses snail mail to avoid NSA monitoring — RT USA

Former American president is aware his emails could be monitored by US intelligence agencies excessively “liberalized” under President Obama so he prefers to send letters via ‘snail mail’ to ensure the privacy of correspondence. In an interview with the NBC TV channel dedicated to the publication of his new book, ‘A Call to Action: Women, […]

13 Apr, 2014

Australian Navy Sailors sacked over racist and anti-Muslim Facebook posts

Up to six Navy sailors have been sacked or ordered to justify their jobs over racist and anti-Muslim Facebook posts. But despite suspicions raised by Fairfax Media in January, a formal investigation has found that no sailor belongs to the racist Australian Defence League. Chief of Navy Ray Griggs said in a statement on Tuesday […]

13 Apr, 2014

​Big Brother’s Facebook: UK, US intelligence ‘infiltrating’ social media — RT News

American and British intelligence hope to take advantage of social media platforms, like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, in an effort to spread disinformation and propaganda, as well as potentially foment public protests, recent Snowden leaks claim. According to Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who first broke the news on the Snowden NSA leaks, an Orwellian-style dystopia […]

13 Apr, 2014

Snowden and Greenwald: Metadata monitoring more intrusive than eavesdropping — RT News

Whistleblower Edward Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald joined forces via video link at an Amnesty International event in the US to speak to a packed hotel ballroom about the dangers of government metadata collection. Both Snowden and Greenwald stated that governmental collection of metadata – that is, monitoring timings of calls, to whom calls were […]

13 Apr, 2014

Stop Blocking Palestinian Rights, Human Rights Watch Tells U.S.

April 6, 2014 — (Jerusalem) – The US government should support rather than oppose Palestinian actions to join international treaties that promote respect for human rights. On April 1, 2014, the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, signed accession instruments for 15 treaties, including the core treaties on human rights and the laws of war. On April […]

13 Apr, 2014

Why Jews must oppose muzzling of Palestine solidarity activists – By Martin Federman

Northeastern University’s administration recently suspended its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a recognized student group whose mission is to educate about the plight of Palestinians living under more than half a century of Israeli occupation. The administration also initially threatened some members of SJP with expulsion from the university. As a former […]

13 Apr, 2014

PM to break promise of ‘no-cuts’ to Australian Broadcasting Corp

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is poised to break a key election promise by cutting funding to the ABC, with the question now being how much money should be cut. In a pledge his colleagues are now wishing he never made, Mr Abbott said on the night before the 2013 election: “No cuts to education, no […]

13 Apr, 2014

Epic fail: Singapore tourism ad pulled after ridicule – Sydney Morning Herald

Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) aim to customise content for different markets proved to be an epic failure in a recent campaign designed to attract Filipino tourists to Singapore. People took to social media to mock the badly filmed, dubbed, acted and scripted piece, which was pulled from the government agency’s official YouTube channel and Facebook […]

13 Apr, 2014

IMF Chief: huge government and bank debts risk new financial crash – theguardian.com

Head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde issued a warning to world leaders on Thursday that they need to do more to deal with huge government and bank debts that continue to drag on growth and undermine the stability of the financial system. Ahead of a set-piece address at the organisation’s spring conference in […]

13 Apr, 2014

Domestic violence: NSW reports 94 assaults a day – Sydney Morning Herald

Domestic violence in December reached its highest level in 15 years, bucking a statewide decline in all other major offences. Figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research show, on average, 94 domestic violence assaults were reported to police each day. Annual crime data released on Thursday showed a 1.9 per cent rise […]

13 Apr, 2014

AsiaTimes Online: Broken-down US could go any minute

The greatest dangers for the United States do not lurk in terrorist cells in the mountains surrounding Kandahar that are planning assaults on American targets. Rather, the vulnerabilities are homegrown. The United States plays host to thousands of nuclear weapons, toxic chemical dumps, radioactive waste-storage facilities, complex pipelines and refineries, offshore oil rigs, and many […]

13 Apr, 2014

UK Police officers despise fiddling crime statistics, says expert | The Observer

A significant number of police officers and government officials “despise” their role in the widespread practice of massaging official crime figures, according to a leading criminologist. Marian FitzGerald, a visiting professor of criminology at the University of Kent’s crime and justice centre, said many ethically minded senior officers were “scandalised” and detested their part in […]

13 Apr, 2014

Second UK army officer quits to reveal ‘human cost of Afghan War’ – The Independent

A second Army officer has resigned his commission so he can publish an eyewitness account of the human cost endured by the British Army in Afghanistan. Former reserve Captain Christian Hill has written a book on his experiences with the Media Operations Group, where his main role was to “promote” the war to the public […]

12 Apr, 2014

A Perfect Storm of Online Fraud Disasters Looms – Report

Cork, Ireland (PRWEB) April 11, 2014 – Online retailers lost $3.5 billion in sales last year through avoidable fraud, according to the first Global Fraud Briefing from Trustev, the global leader in real-time identity verification. As of April 2014, more than 250 million compromised credit-card numbers are being offered for sale online – a growing […]

12 Apr, 2014

Big Data frenzy: Beware the hype-cycle – Japan Times / The Observer

by John Naughton Apr 11, 2014 LONDON – Concepts of enduring utility rarely emerge from the market-research business, but the Gartner hype cycle is an exception that proves the rule. It is a graph that describes the life cycle of a technological innovation in five phases. First, there’s the “trigger” that kicks off the feverish […]

12 Apr, 2014

Eisenhower’s military-industrial warnings ring as true as ever | The Japan Times / The Oberver

by John Naughton Mar 27, 2014, LONDON – On Jan. 17, 1961, the outgoing U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, went on TV to deliver his valedictory address to the American people. Ike had been a relatively uncontroversial president. He had overseen a period of astonishing prosperity and economic growth. He had impeccable military credentials, having […]

12 Apr, 2014

Smog clouds tourists’ appreciation of big Chinese cities

By Jin Haixing (China Daily)

Beijing, 11 April 2014 (China Daily) – Smog is being blamed for a drop in the Chinese domestic tourism satisfaction index. The tourist satisfaction index for domestic destinations stood at 72.6 in the first quarter, down five points from the same period last year, according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy, affiliated […]

12 Apr, 2014

BBC News: Leading artists, academics, MPs warn against Modi

Prominent Indian artists and academics have written an open letter warning against the possible election of Hindu nationalist politician Narendra Modi. The letter – signed by writer Salman Rushdie and sculptor Anish Kapoor among others – attacked Mr Modi’s record in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Mr Modi, a candidate for the opposition BJP in the […]

11 Apr, 2014

How Israel’s war industry profits from violent US immigration “reform” | The Electronic Intifada

Im/migrant rights advocates in the US organized a national day of action on 5 April, the day they expected President Barack Obama’s record-breaking rate of deportations to reach a total of 2 million during his administration. But scant attention has been paid to the list of global benefactors awaiting the profits from legislation escalating border […]

11 Apr, 2014

Indigenous Leaders Targeted in Battle to Protect Forests – Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON, Apr 9 2014 (IPS) – Indigenous leaders are warning of increased violence in the fight to save their dwindling forests and ecosystems from extractive companies. Indigenous representatives and environmental activists from Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas met over the weekend here to commemorate those leading community fights against extractive industries. The conference, called […]

11 Apr, 2014

When Medicines Don’t Work Anymore – Inter Press Service

by Martin Khor GENEVA, Apr 10 2014 (IPS) – The growing crisis of antibiotic resistance is catching the attention of policy-makers, but not at a fast enough rate to tackle it. More diseases are affected by resistance, meaning the bacteria cannot be killed even if different drugs are used on some patients, who then succumb. […]

11 Apr, 2014

BBC misreports John Kerry quotes on Mideast talks failure

For once, US Secretary of State John Kerry was not mincing his words when he blamed Israel for the breakdown of talks with the Palestinians. But you would not have known this if you were following the story from the BBC News website. Read the rest: BBC misreports John Kerry on talks failure | Redress […]

11 Apr, 2014

UK spy agency monitored reservations at 350 top hotels worldwide – Snowden leaks

By Gerald Greenwald One of the programs described by the newly released GCHQ document is dubbed “Royal Concierge,” under which the British agency intercepts email confirmations of hotel reservations to enable it to subject hotel guests to electronic monitoring. It also contemplates how to “influence the hotel choice” of travelers and to determine whether they […]