25 Sep, 2013

Neo-Nazis form expanding networks beyond national borders – DW.DE

The murder of Pavlos Fyssas seems to have served as a wake up call for the Greek authorities. An antifascist activist and rapper, Fyssas was stabbed to death on Wednesday (September 18) near Athens. The suspected offender was a member of the neo-Nazi political party Golden Dawn. The party, which gained nearly 7 percent of […]

25 Sep, 2013

‘Germany must wake up to neo-Nazi threat’ – DW.DE

Released in the midst of Germany’s federal election campaign, David Crossland’s “The Jewish Candidate” poses the timely question of whether or not the country is ready for a Jewish leader. While the page-turner affirms that it is, it also depicts an extremely violent, well-organized and well-financed neo-Nazi scene, which plans an assassination attempt on the […]

25 Sep, 2013

Breaking U.N. Protocol, Brazil Lambastes U.S. Spying | Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 24 2013 (IPS) – Throwing diplomatic protocol to the winds, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff launched a blistering attack on the United States for illegally infiltrating its communications network, surreptitiously intercepting phone calls, and breaking into the Brazilian Mission to the United Nations. Departing from a longstanding tradition of closed-door diplomacy on bilateral […]

25 Sep, 2013

Indian Police harassment of “The Hindu” continues – The Hindu

Police intimidation of The Hindu continued for the seventh consecutive day on Monday when they resolved to make the Resident Editor S. Nagesh Kumar run around the Punjagutta police station for as many times as possible. As the Punjagutta police had declined to receive his bail sureties on Sunday, Mr. Nagesh Kumar, along with his […]

24 Sep, 2013

Sinister Motive Behind Uptick in Communal Riots – Indian Home Minister

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NEW DELHI, Sept 23 (NNN-PTI) — Voicing concern over rise in incidents of communal violence, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said frequency of riots has suggested that there is a sinister motive behind such clashes and attempts are being made to polarise the society. He said statistics on the communal violence show an increasing trend in […]

24 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: Report tracks how I.T. can transform lives of the disabled

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Geneva/New York, 24 September, 2013 – A new report released today demonstrates how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), have become a positive force of transformation and a crucial element of any personal development, empowerment and institutional framework for inclusive development. While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent a concerted effort to address global poverty, there is […]

24 Sep, 2013

Thailand Chapter Chief Calls for PATA Overhaul to Put Chapters in Driving Seat

Imtiaz Muqbil

BANGKOK – The chairman of the PATA Thailand chapter, Mr. Bert van Walbeek, has called for an overhaul of the PATA management and administrative structures in order to better prepare the association for the challenges of rapidly changing times. “I don’t think that those who had the foresight to move the headquarters to Asia (in […]

24 Sep, 2013

NSA surveillance goes beyond Orwell’s imagination – theguardian.com

The potential of the surveillance state goes way beyond anything in George Orwell’s 1984, Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian’s editor-in-chief, told an audience in New York on Monday. Speaking in the wake of a series of revelations in the Guardian about the extent of the National Security Agency’s surveillance operations, Rusbridger said: “Orwell could never have […]

24 Sep, 2013

Gallup Poll: Americans’ Belief That Gov’t Is Too Powerful at Record Level

by Joy Wilke

PRINCETON, NJ, (Gallup Polls) September 23, 2013 — Six in 10 Americans (60%) believe the federal government has too much power, one percentage point above the previous high recorded in September 2010. At least half of Americans since 2005 have said the government has too much power. Thirty-two percent now say the government has the […]

24 Sep, 2013

Too much time on social media may affect short-term memory – Indian Express

Always online? Take a break!People who spend too much time browsing social media could be squandering their memories or losing important information, a new study has warned. Contrary to common wisdom, an idle brain is in fact doing important work – and in the age of constant information overload, it’s a good idea to go […]

24 Sep, 2013

Why Modi is no panacea for India | Arab News

The school students who attentively listened to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi’s “never run after high position” sermon on Teachers’ Day must be a confused lot. Did they expect Modi, widely believed to be the Hindutva brigades’ talisman, to take a U-turn within days and lobby for his name to be […]

23 Sep, 2013

Free Muslim Hospital Offers Hope in Burma

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Muqbil

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 23 September 2013 (18 Dhul Qa’dah 1434). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story.

23 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: MasterCard Study Says Cash Heading for Extinction

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PURCHASE, N.Y.-September 23, 2013, -(BUSINESS WIRE)–MasterCard (NYSE:MA) today unveiled a new global report, “The Cashless Journey,” that tracks how 33 major economies are progressing from cash-based to cashless societies. The report, produced by MasterCard Advisors, identifies new technologies, government programs and consumer preferences as key factors that are driving this shift, creating more productive and […]

23 Sep, 2013

China Promotes Golf as a Game of Peace

By Gao Qihui

Beijing, 2013-09-19 (chinadaily.com.cn) – The consensus that sports can play an important role in promoting world peace was echoed by participators in a charity golf event on Wednesday in Beijing. The 14th “Peace Cup” International Golf Tournament, a non-professional event, attracted a lot of golf lovers from different circles and countries to promote world peace […]

23 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: Nielsen report on African-American consumer behavior, lifestyle trends

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WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–African-American buying power continues to increase and is expected to rise from its current $1 trillion level1 to $1.3 trillion by 2017, according to Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: The African-American Consumer 2013 Report. The report was released today by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, […]

23 Sep, 2013

Paedophile ring used boys home – Sydney Morning Herald

An ”organised ring” of paedophiles believed to include Anglican and Catholic clergy used a Sunday afternoon ”children’s Christian program” in the 1970s to sexually abuse boys at a church-run Wallsend boys home. ”These men just came, got the boys, used them, and put them back,” said a Hunter woman whose husband has told the Royal […]

23 Sep, 2013

Sikh Professor Beaten in U.S., Called ‘Osama,’ ‘Terrorist’

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(NEW YORK, N.Y., 9/22/13) — The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on state political and religious leaders to speak out against bias-motivated crimes after a Sikh professor was attacked Saturday night in Manhattan while being called “Osama” and “terrorist” by his alleged assailants. That same day, a Muslim […]

23 Sep, 2013

‘Brazil Uncovered:’ CCTV America launches weeklong special on Brazil

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — CCTV America, the US production arm of CCTV News, the global English Channel of China Central Television, from Monday, September 23rdwill feature a week of special, in depth, programming on Brazil, South America’s largest nation. China is its largest trading partner. In this special series, a team of CCTV […]

22 Sep, 2013

HSBC global survey: 63% of retired people fear not having enough money to live on

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18 Sep 2013 (HSBC media release) – Nearly one in eight workers think they will never be able to afford to retire fully, according to HSBC’s latest report, The Future of Retirement: Life after work? Among those already retired, many have less money than they expected, and some feel they were too hasty in giving […]

22 Sep, 2013

A fatal flaw when choosing the right leader – BBC – Capital

In the face of change, executives who stick to the same playbook that got them to the top is almost always a failing formula. The inability of senior executives to adapt and adjust is the real reason companies such as Blockbuster and Kodak went out of business — and the reason companies like Google and […]

22 Sep, 2013

Past present: Hegemons and hypocrisy – DAWN.COM

As the most powerful force in world history over the last four or five centuries, imperialism has carved up whole continents while oppressing indigenous peoples and obliterating entire civilisations. Related to power, it may be an individual endeavour where talent, skill and professionalism are deployed to achieve greatness and glory through conquests and occupation. An […]

22 Sep, 2013

Indian yoga guru stopped, questioned at Heathrow – Indian Express

Yoga guru Ramdev was today cleared by UK authorities following a second round of questioning at Heathrow Airport here, a day after he was detained and quizzed by customs officials for over six hours on landing in Britain. Though UK immigration cleared Ramdev and allowed him to carry on with his programmes in Britain, the […]

22 Sep, 2013

Hospitals may be forced to hand cancer patient information to state | Japan Times

JIJI, Sep 21, 2013 – A nonpartisan group of Diet lawmakers has drafted a bill that would oblige hospitals to provide the state with cancer patients’ personal information, including their condition, in an effort to improve treatment quality, sources said Saturday. The group, which includes members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, junior coalition ally […]

22 Sep, 2013

PressTV – Bolivia plans legal action against Obama over ‘crimes against humanity’

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales plans to file legal action against the US president for crimes against humanity, condemning Washington’s intimidation tactics after it denied Venezuelan presidential jet entry into US airspace. “I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit against [US President] Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity,” President […]

22 Sep, 2013

American Express OPEN Launches CEO BootCamp for Women Entrepreneurs

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 20, 2013  – Today, American Express OPEN, the small business division of American Express, announced OPEN for Women: CEO BootCamp, a first-of-its-kind program that teaches women entrepreneurs some of the fundamental pillars for successful ventures – confidence, competence and connections as recognized by a number of renowned experts in entrepreneurship. According to […]

22 Sep, 2013

Pakistan, India lawmakers back sustained dialogue – DAWN.COM

ISLAMABAD: Indian and Pakistani parliamentarians have called for a sustained dialogue process and expressed the hope that prime ministers of the two countries would meet in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. They were speaking at the concluding session of the fifth round of dialogue between parliamentarians of Pakistan and […]

22 Sep, 2013

Are currency speculators now manipulating the rupee? – The Hindu

We may be reaching a point where the artificial situation in which a country with a large current account deficit has a relatively stable and even occasionally appreciating currency because of large capital inflows cannot hold anymore. But the timing of the rupee’s collapse is not easily explained only by the conventional fundamentals. Enter, therefore, […]

22 Sep, 2013

BSP, BJP legislators arrested for inciting rioters in Muzaffarnagar – Times of India

LUCKNOW: A day after the arrest of BJP MLA Suresh Rana, two more MLAs, Sangeet Singh Som of the BJP and Noor Salim Rana of the Bahujan Samaj Party, were arrested for inciting communal violence in west UP. All three were sent to 14-day judicial custody by a Muzaffarnagar court on Saturday. The Muzaffarnagar administration […]

22 Sep, 2013

Indus water treaty talks begin today – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The much awaited Indo-Pak talks on the Indus Water Treaty will begin here on Sunday. During the four-day talks, both sides will discuss contentious issues of water sharing in the context of operational and proposed hydroelectric projects on Indian side. Pakistan’s objection on four hydroelectric projects (combined generation capacity of 2,018 mw) — […]

22 Sep, 2013

Never Too Late To Say Thank You On This Wife Appreciation Day

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(PRWEB) September 21, 2013 – Join millions of husbands around the world on Sunday, September 22, 2013, as they celebrate their wives on Wife Appreciation Day. Regardless of whether she works at home or in the office, this is a good time to thank her for all the things she has done, and with 3.6 […]

22 Sep, 2013

No Narendra Modi effect in Odisha as BJD sweeps civic polls – Indian Express

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday swept the civic polls in Odisha, winning 45 of the 66 urban local bodies. The opposition BJP could manage to win only one local body despite campaigning hard, with their billboards and other campaign material projecting the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s face prominently. The results, […]

22 Sep, 2013

How ‘Big Data’ pings you as a spender – Sydney Morning Herald

You might think ”junk mail” but the pamphlet in your letterbox addressed ”to the homeowner” is probably there for a reason. It may not name you but the company behind the pamphlet trying to win your business knows about your suburb, and your spending habits. “Big Data” is the latest technological advance in how companies […]

21 Sep, 2013

New rules to improve Chinese government transparency

By He Dan

Beijing, 2013-09-19 (China Daily) – The State Council, China’s Cabinet, on Wednesday announced that the procedures by which government information is disclosed will be improved. Government departments at all levels will be required to improve the quality of the spokesperson system, and to hold more media briefings to respond to public concerns, according to an […]

21 Sep, 2013

Americans Fault Mental Health System Most for Gun Violence – Gallup Polls

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ, September 20, 2013 (Gallup Polls) — Forty-eight percent of Americans blame the mental health system “a great deal” for mass shootings in the United States, unchanged from January 2011. At the same time, fewer blame easy access to guns now (40%) than two years ago (46%), making the mental health system the perceived top […]

21 Sep, 2013

German Far-right party calls on immigrants to “go home” – DW.DE

“Heimwandern statt einwandern,” which translates to “go home instead of immigrating,” read the headline of a recent letter sent out by the German right-wing extremist party National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). The letter was sent to candidates for German parliament who have a migration background as a means of intimidation. “Your political influence on […]

21 Sep, 2013

Chinese MA60 aircraft set to fly Nepalese skies

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KATHMANDU, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese-made MA60 aircraft is all set to enter Nepali skies after the government of Nepal decided to issue the type certificate to it for the first time. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) last Tuesday formally decided to award the type certificate to Chinese MA60 aircraft. A type certificate […]

21 Sep, 2013

Tougher penalties to hit Chinese outbound travel agencies

By Hou Liqiang

Beijing, (China Daily), September 20, 2013 – Travel agencies organizing overseas trips and group guides who buy fake admission tickets face stricter penalties, according to the China National Tourism Administration. The moves follow an incident where a group of Chinese tourists tried to use fake tickets to visit the Louvre Museum in Paris. In a […]

21 Sep, 2013

Tri-cultural Indian leaders say development impossible without communal harmony

Imtiaz Muqbil

New Delhi, 20 Sept 2013 – India’s top leadership is a unique blend of cultures. Its President Pranab Mukherjee is a Hindu, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is a Sikh and Vice President Prof M. Hamid Ansari is a Muslim. This tri-colour of cultures is also reflected in the Indian flag. No wonders that all […]

21 Sep, 2013

HRW Warning to Governments: Unchecked Mass Surveillance Threatens Human Rights

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Geneva, (Human Rights Watch media release), September 20, 2013 – Governments around the world should aggressively protect online privacy through stronger laws and policies as pervasive electronic surveillance increases. There is an urgent need to overhaul national surveillance practices to protect everyone’s privacy, or risk severely limiting the potential of the Internet. Global growth in […]

21 Sep, 2013

Why are so many Westerners homeless in Thailand? – The Independent

Steve is homeless. The 59-year-old isn’t living rough on the streets of London or his home town of Manchester though. He’s sleeping rough thousands of miles away in Thailand. For most people, spending months on a Thai beach sounds too good to be true. But the dream has turned sour for some foreigners in this […]

21 Sep, 2013

Venice residents to stage canal-bank protest over cruise ship invasion – The Guardian

Residents of the beautiful, fragile city of Venice are preparing to stage a canal-bank protest on Saturday over an invasion of up to 13 cruise ships in the space of 24 hours, which they say will turn St Mark’s Basin into a motorway. The particularly busy weekend, apparently caused by a quirk in the cruise […]

21 Sep, 2013

Asia Times Online: Arab society fails to grasp its destiny

The Arab world needs to come to its senses and realize that the changing world will usher in surprises more catastrophic than what the Crusaders brought few a centuries earlier. The foreign plan is designed to ensure Arab people do not gain any unity of purpose. All the Arab states, have strong military institutions trained […]

20 Sep, 2013

Cut Water Usage, Waste Disposal: Key Messages of World Tourism Day, Sept 27

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With one week left until World Tourism Day (WTD) on 27 September, preparations are on the final stretch in the Maldives, the host of this year’s official celebrations, and in many countries around the world around the 2013 theme, “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future”. As the most important international observance day for tourism, […]

20 Sep, 2013

FREE Download: ADB, ESCAP report can help travel & tourism meet MDGs by 2015 deadline

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With less than 1,000 days to go before the 2015 deadline for meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals, two of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading development organisations have issued a report assessing the “state of the union” and the work that still lies ahead in the limited time left. The report is relevant to the Asia-Pacific […]

20 Sep, 2013

Know Your Net: Internet Safety Education Campaign Launched

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Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 19, 2013 – The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) Wednesday announced a public awareness campaign to educate businesses and consumers about Internet safety, particularly with the expected addition of more than one thousand top-level domains – the text to the right of […]

20 Sep, 2013

World Migration Report: Immigrants work hard, create new businesses, remain optimistic

by Neli Esipova, Julie Ray, and Anita Pugliese

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 19, 2013, (Gallup Polls) — Some migrants may be born entrepreneurs. Migrants living in high-income economies are more likely than the native-born to have three characteristics that differentiate entrepreneurs from the rest: they feel optimistic even when things go wrong, they never give up, and they are willing to take risks. There are […]

20 Sep, 2013

Fragility of tolerance in India – Indian Express

The logic of communal politics is gathering momentum. There have been major clashes across UP. But worryingly, this trend is beginning to appear, albeit at a low level, in Bihar as well. There has been much discussion of the immediate political antecedents of the violence in UP: the deadly combination of criminality, communalism and administrative […]

20 Sep, 2013

Gathering saffron storm and a confused Congress – Arab News

Interestingly, in the excited debate in the run up to Modi’s anointment and ever since, few in what Amit Baruah calls the Television India appear troubled by the troubling past of their hero. It’s understandable considering Television India is in the pocket of the Corporate India, which is indebted to the man who grants them […]

19 Sep, 2013

Eco Trailblazers Awarded Top UN Prize for Inspirational Environmental Action

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New York, 18 September 2013 (UNEP media releases) – Pioneers and trailblazers whose work has had a significant and positive impact on the environment were given the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, the Champions of the Earth Award, at a ceremony hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) at the Museum of Natural History in […]

19 Sep, 2013

China’s female billionaires on the rise

By WU YIYAO

Shanghai (China Daily), 2013-09-18 – Yang Huiyan, 32, has become China’s richest woman of 2013 with a fortune of 51 billion yuan ($8.33 billion), according to Hurun China’s Women Rich List 2013, released by the Hurun Research Institute in Shanghai on Tuesday. More than half of the world’s richest self-made female entrepreneurs are from China, […]

19 Sep, 2013

UNESCO DG deplores looting of museums, damage to cultural heritage in Egypt

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Paris, UNESCOPRESS- The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has expressed grave concern for Egypt’s cultural heritage following the reported looting of the Malawi National Museum in the Upper Egypt city of Minya, and the destruction of several monuments of religious importance, including churches and mosques, in Upper Egypt, Fayoum and Cairo. “I firmly condemn the […]

19 Sep, 2013

Australian hotel group’s ex-CEO convicted of submitting false info to Securities Commission

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Canberra, 18 September 2013 (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) – The former Chief Executive of West Australian hotel chain Compass Hotel Group Ltd (CHGL), Bryan Raymond Northcote, has been convicted of breaching directors’ duties and submitting false and misleading documents to ASIC. Mr Northcote was the chief executive and executive director of CHGL which floated […]

19 Sep, 2013

After Amartya Sen, author Amitav Ghosh says his vote won’t go to Modi

Amitav Ghosh: What happened in Gujarat in 2002 is absolutely… it was a defining moment. It was horrifying to see what happened. It was one of the moments again when the whole world looked on and was completely appalled and I was completely appalled by what happened there. How much of that responsibility devolves on […]

19 Sep, 2013

Greece’s Birthrate Decreases as Austerity Measures Increase – Truthdig

The number of live births has fallen by a whopping 10 percent in Greece in the last four years as the country suffers the worst economic conditions in the entire European Union, and continues to exercise austerity in order to receive loans from the likes of the European Bank and the IMF. Because of these […]

19 Sep, 2013

Chris Hedges: The Dead Rhetoric of War – Truthdig

The intoxication of war, fueled by the euphoric nationalism that swept through the country like a plague following the attacks of 9/11, is a spent force in the United States. The high-blown rhetoric of patriotism and national destiny, of the sacred duty to reshape the world through violence, to liberate the enslaved and implant democracy […]

19 Sep, 2013

Revealed: Extensive Koch Links to New Right-Wing $250 Million Mega Fund

Freedom Partners (FP) — a funding group previously unheard of before it shared exclusive and highly selective details about itself with Politico last week — has extensive hidden connections to Koch Industries and to charities connected to Charles Koch, according to new research by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). Politico reporters Mike Allen […]

19 Sep, 2013

Is Opposition to Syria Attack an Opportunity to End American Empire Responsibly? – Truthout

In 2003 in the run-up to the Iraq War, tens of millions protested around the world. The New York Times was forced to take note and acknowledge there were two superpowers in the world – the United States and the people. The people failed to stop that war, but the people are playing a critical […]

19 Sep, 2013

Mischa Hiller brings Palestinian heroes alive in stylish spy thriller | The Electronic Intifada

There are few works of fiction about Palestine or Palestinians that compare in quality, purity and control as those written by Mischa Hiller. Shake Off is the accomplished second novel of a writer who won a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for his equally haunting debut Sabra Zoo. In both Sabra Zoo and Shake Off worlds of […]

19 Sep, 2013

Farmer in Palestinian “breadbasket” works in Israeli settlement to survive | The Electronic Intifada

JIFTLIK, Occupied West Bank (IPS) – In the Jordan Valley, contrasts are stark. Lush agricultural fields and fenced-in greenhouses belong to the Israeli settlements that dot the landscape and benefit from the area’s abundant water supply. Yet Palestinian farmers, denied access to their lands and other resources by the Israeli authorities, struggle to cultivate the […]

19 Sep, 2013

Say goodbye to welfare state, Dutch king says – The Times of India

AMSTERDAM: King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government Tuesday in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone. In its place will be a “participation society” in which people must save and invest to create their own social safety net with less help from the […]

18 Sep, 2013

First conference to promote Buddhist-Muslim understanding as key to ASEAN integration

Imtiaz Muqbil

BANGKOK – Although the travel & tourism industry is preoccupied with the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community, it is being alerted to the fact that the creation of “an economically dynamic, politically plural and peaceful ASEAN community will depend on the future of Buddhism-Islam relations.” Precisely in order to promote such relations, the first […]

18 Sep, 2013

Brazil plans to go offline from US-centric internet – The Hindu

Brazil plans to divorce itself from the US-centric internet over Washington’s widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward politically fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments. President Dilma Rousseff has ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and […]

18 Sep, 2013

Indian hospitality floors Pak students – The Hindu

A week-long stay in Delhi and Agra for these Pakistani students has been like a home away from home. They discovered that the two nations share the same culture, language and cuisine. For the 36-member Pakistani delegation that crossed over from the Wagah border on September 10, the parting gift was the birthday celebration of […]

18 Sep, 2013

Riots, violence and the power of perception -The Times Of India

Recently a town called Muzaffarnagar in Northern India has been torn apart by what is labeled Hindu-Muslim sectarian violence. Many people are outraged but sadly, behind a lot of the outrage are the calculations of people who already know how they want to view what happened. Therefore the sad fact is that the conversation about […]

18 Sep, 2013

Muzaffarnagar: Barber’s family with eight children adopts abandoned girl – Hindustan Times

A mother of eight, Rabia Begum of village Paldi near Shahpur, has adopted a few-days’ old baby girl she found abandoned in the bushes two days ago. “On September 15, just when police was removing barricades after the chief minister’s visit, I went to Shahpur for some work. As I was passing near the Basi […]

18 Sep, 2013

Who is the right Hindu and who is the wrong one – Hindustan Times

By Sitaram Yechury This column is being filed on Onam, the universal festival of all Keralites. The Aryavarta tradition informs us that Mahabali is the king of the Asuras, whose elimination was necessary for humans to survive. Hence, Vishnu descends as Vamana avatar to the audience of king Mahabali. The guest is accorded the warmest […]

18 Sep, 2013

Snowden in running for European rights prize – Indian Express

Fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden is in the running for a European human rights prize whose past winners include Nelson Mandela and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Snowden, who is in hiding in Russia, is one of seven nominations made by members of the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize for freedom […]

18 Sep, 2013

9 of 10 Indian travellers prefer holiday over luxury spending: study

A study has shown that 90% of Indians would be willing to forego luxuries to fund their vacation, which is in line with global consumers’ willingness to make sacrifices in order to go on holiday (88%). But fewer Indian travellers are planning to increase their travel budget next year, compared to 2013, despite more than […]

18 Sep, 2013

Impact of 2008 global economic crisis on suicide: time trend study in 54 countries

There were an estimated 4884 (95% confidence interval 3907 to 5860) excess suicides in 2009 compared with the number expected based on previous trends (2000-07). The increases in suicide mainly occurred in men in the 27 European and 18 American countries; the suicide rates were 4.2% (3.4% to 5.1%) and 6.4% (5.4% to 7.5%) higher, […]

18 Sep, 2013

Cutting working week would improve well-being and boost economy, say experts – The Independent

It may be the excuse long-suffering commuters have been waiting for, as new research suggests that working fewer hours each week can be good for your health, protect the environment and even boost the economy. A group of economists believes the working week should be reduced from an average of 40 hours to just 30 […]

18 Sep, 2013

Spike in suicide rate in Europe and US linked to financial crisis – The Independent

Thousands of suicides are linked to the global financial crisis, with particularly high numbers of people killing themselves in countries suffering heavy job losses as austerity bites, an international study has concluded. The research found there were about 5,000 more self-inflicted deaths in Europe and North America in 2009 – the first year after the […]

18 Sep, 2013

FBI’s No-Fly List cited as one of “Ten Most Disturbing Things You Should Know Since 9/11”

Imtiaz Muqbil

Washington DC, 18 Sept 2013 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has issued another blistering report attacking the 12-year “radical transformation” of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation “into a domestic intelligence and law enforcement agency of unprecedented power and international reach” which is now chalking up “a record of extraordinary abuse—particularly targeting racial […]

17 Sep, 2013

Why’s Modi silent about Muzaffarnagar? Hindustan Times Blogs

Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind general secretary Mahmood Madani has already flagged the issue. He said it’s for Modi to reach out to the community to dispel the impression that he cared little for Muslim support. That Modi isn’t planning a visit to the riot affected areas was explicit in the way BJP made light of the PM’s visit […]

17 Sep, 2013

Hope Modi doesn’t give up hardline Hindutva: Uddhav Thackeray

The response among the people to his anointment as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate has been positive and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra should now ensure that he did not give up “hardline” Hindutva, old ally Shiv Sena said here today. “We expect Modi will not keep hardline Hindutva aside. He shouldn’t compromise on the issue of […]

17 Sep, 2013

In Muzaffarnagar, back to the future – The Hindu

Generally, Hindu-Muslim relations are a great deal more robust today than they were in the 1970s when tension was always simmering under the surface — and a riot waiting to happen. While researching a book on the subject, I found a refreshing change in the attitudes of both communities. Young Hindus and Muslims say they […]

17 Sep, 2013

China Focus: Halal food helps Ningxia explore int’l market

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(Xinhua), September 15, 2013 – Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is showing its ambition ahead of Sunday’s China-Arab States Expo, to build itself into a global halal food center. The government of Wuzhong City, the home of Islamic Hui ethnic group, is building a halal industrial park to integrate research, design, manufacture, processing and […]

17 Sep, 2013

NSA ‘Follow the Money’ branch spied on Visa customers, SWIFT transactions – report — RT News

The NSA has been widely monitoring international banking and credit card transactions, a new report says referencing Edward Snowden’s leak. The agency targeted Visa customers and global financial service SWIFT and created its own money flows database. Referring to information leaked by Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee and NSA contractor, German Der Spiegel reports […]

17 Sep, 2013

Chinese President’s trip boosts economic ties with Silk Road states

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Xinhua, September 15, 2013 – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s just-concluded trip to four Central Asian nations has contributed to upgrading relations between China and these countries on a full scale, said analysts and media organizations in various countries. Xi paid state visits to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from Sept. 3 to 13, and attended […]

17 Sep, 2013

Time to rethink development advice, create more stable global economies – new UNCTAD chief

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Geneva, 16 September 2013 – The development advice that in the past was given to developing countries about the benefits of liberalised financial markets will now have to be rethought, and UNCTAD plans to be a key resource in this process, the organization’s new Secretary-General said this morning. Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi spoke at the opening […]

16 Sep, 2013

First China-Arab States Expo opens in Ningxia

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YINCHUAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — The first China-Arab States Expo, a key platform to promote the relationship between China and the Arab states, kicked off on Sunday morning in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, attended the exposition, which runs until […]

16 Sep, 2013

Global Unions launch website to mark Oct 7, World Day for Decent Work

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12 September 2013: The International Trades Union Congress has today launched a special website for this year’s October 7 World Day for Decent Work (WDDW). Click here: http://www.wddw.org/ Trade unions and other groups holding events on the day can use the site to download WDDW materials, get updates and upload information about their October 7 […]

16 Sep, 2013

Americans express record-low trust in Govt’s ability to solve int’l or domestic problems

by Joy Wilke and Frank Newport

PRINCETON, NJ, September 13, 2013 (Gallup Polls) — Americans’ trust and confidence in the federal government’s ability to handle international problems has reached an all-time low, with 49% saying they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence, two percentage points below the previous low of 51% recorded in 2007. These new data come […]

16 Sep, 2013

Indonesia Plans “Muslim Miss World”: Young Women Have a Choice

Compiled by Imtiaz Muqbil & Sana Muqbil

A compilation of progressive, positive, inspiring and motivating events and developments in the world of Islam for the week ending 16 September 2013 (11 Dhul Qa’dah 1434). Pls click on any of the headlines to go to the story. ============ Registration Fee: ONLY US$100. Great Opportunity for Muslim Entrepreneurs: Attend the 4th Global Entrepreneurship Summit, […]

16 Sep, 2013

Hispanic Heritage Month 2013 Launched in U.S.

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, observed during the week that included Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. The observance was expanded in 1989 by Congress to a month long celebration (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), America celebrates the culture and […]

15 Sep, 2013

Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh: “We live in an age of universal deceit”

Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh

We just concluded a conference in Warsaw, Poland on Arab Revolts, two years later. Speakers included people from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Russia, France, US and more including Zionists and orientalists (list with biographies here http://www.geremek.pl/index.php?id=408&lang=en). It was a very good discussion anyway. The following is the full text of my talk. […]

15 Sep, 2013

How PATA’s slick CEO “salesman” missed a chance to become a visionary “statesman”

Imtiaz Muqbil

Nearly two years after becoming CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Mr. Martin Craigs has proved to be a formidable “salesman” but has a long way to go to attain “statesman” status. With his contract up for renewal, Mr. Craigs will have to work a lot harder to put the “Asia” back into the […]

15 Sep, 2013

China warns: US phase-out of QE to ‘split’ emerging markets, destablise currencies

By WEI TIAN

Beijing, 2013-09-14, (China Daily) –  The United States plan to taper its quantitative easing policy will “split” emerging economies, with some — including China — better-placed to withstand the change while others will face currency depreciation and capital flight, experts said. “QE tapering by the US will be the single biggest uncertainty for the world economy,” […]

15 Sep, 2013

Dutch apologise 66 years after atrocities – Al Jazeera Blogs

“She is more than 100 years old.” Relatives point at the frail old lady staring blankly from a flowery sofa in her house in Bulukumba in South Sulawesi. When she sees me 93-year-old Nani I find out her real age later starts hugging me. A weird feeling for a journalist from the Netherlands to be […]

14 Sep, 2013

India’s Tourist Visa on Arrival issuance +29.4% in Jan-Aug

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Ministry of Tourism, 13-September, 2013 – A growth of 29.4 percent has been recorded in the number of tourists availing of the tourist Visa on Arrival (VoA) Scheme during the period January to August, 2013. A total number of 12,176 VoAs have been issued in this period as compared to 9,412 VoAs during the corresponding […]

14 Sep, 2013

US security agency masqueraded as Google to spy on web users – report — RT News

The NSA used ‘man in the middle’ hack attacks to impersonate Google and fool web users, leaks have revealed. The technique circumvents encryption by redirecting users to a copycat site which relays all the data entered to NSA data banks. Brazilian television network Globo News released a report based on classified data divulged by former […]

14 Sep, 2013

Hindutva Marches Ahead As Modi Named Prime Ministerial Candidate – CounterCurrents.org

Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat and a strong proponent of Hindutva was anointed by BJP as its candidate for Prime Minister in 2014 Indian Parliament elections. Conspicuously absent, was the BJP’s senior-most leader LK Advani, a hardline Hindutva adherent and another prime ministerial aspirant, who refused to support the decision, holding out till the […]

14 Sep, 2013

On Yom Kippur, Rabbi Michael Lerner Pens a Prayer for Jews to Atone for their Sins

A Prayer by Rabbi Michael Lerner, Network of Spiritual Progressives

Many people report feeling that the sins listed in traditional prayer books don’t really confront what people need to confront, and that even many of the alternative religious communities end up avoiding the most controversial and provocative issues (which are often where the issues about which we are in denial often reside). So we invite […]

14 Sep, 2013

US Retail Federation raps swipe-fee ruling which “rewards perpetrators and traps victims”

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WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 12, 2013 – The National Retail Federation today asked a federal judge to “right or reject” a proposed settlement of an antitrust lawsuit over credit card swipe fees, saying the measure needs to be rewritten to do more to bring the soaring fees under control and that retailers who don’t support it should […]

14 Sep, 2013

Headhunters Association Protests Impact of US Immigration Bill on Executive Hiring

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New York, 09/11/2013 – The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), the worldwide trade association representing the retained executive recruitment industry, responded in a letter to United States Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), highlighting the impact of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, also known as or S. 744, […]

14 Sep, 2013

India Releases ‘Economic Outlook 2013-14’ Report

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Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister released the document ‘Economic Outlook 2013-14’ at a Press Conference in New Delhi on 13 Sept. Following are the highlights of the document: Ø  Economy to grow at 5.3% in 2013-14 Agriculture projected to grow at 4.8% in 2013-14 as against 1.9% in 2012-13. […]

14 Sep, 2013

Pakistan preparing to take up US drone attacks at UN

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 12 (NNN-APP) — Pakistan on Thursday said preparations are underway to raise the issue of drone attacks at the United Nations in accordance with the recommendation of the resolution adopted in the All Pakistan Conference hosted by the government. Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry at the weekly briefing Thursday said necessary directives […]

14 Sep, 2013

FAO report: 1.3 billion tonnes of food, worth $750 billion, wasted annually

fao media release

Rome, 11 September 2013 – The waste of a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes of food per year is not only causing major economic losses but also wreaking significant harm on the natural resources that humanity relies upon to feed itself, says a new FAO report released today. Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources is […]

13 Sep, 2013

Largest Post-9/11 Veterans Study shows U.S. Ill-Prepared for Rising Tide of Long-Term Care

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. & WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–September 10, 2013 – Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) today released the findings of their 2013 Annual Alumni Survey based on responses from nearly 14,000 Iraq and Afghanistan service members – a resounding 52 percent response rate. Working in conjunction with RAND and Westat research organizations for this multi-year study, WWP’s data […]

13 Sep, 2013

First Sree Narayan Guru Global Secular & Peace Award Conferred on Dr. Shashi Tharoor

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Vice President’s Secretariat, 10-September, 2013 – The Vice President of India Prof M. Hamid Ansari has said that Secularism and Democracy are the fundamental principles on which the Indian republic is founded. They are enshrined in the preamble of our Constitution. So are the principles of justice social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, […]

13 Sep, 2013

U.N. Forum Cites Role of Credit Rating Agencies as Arbiters of Global Risk

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United Nations, 10 September 2013, Department of Public Information – Reform of the international financial system should include reducing its overreliance on credit rating agencies and increasing competition among them, speakers said today, as the General Assembly held its first ever thematic debate on the role of those institutions as arbiters of creditworthiness. “Over the […]