17 Oct, 2015

How Facebook plans to get you to spend all your time on Facebook – Sydney Morning Herald

There seems to be a lot going on at the big blue social network these days. A spate of headlines from the past several weeks have outlined some very ambitious plans: Facebook is building a real-time news tool that could kill Twitter. Facebook’s testing shopping products that could take on Amazon. Facebook’s making its own […]

17 Oct, 2015

Sikh community organizes inter-faith langar at Amritsar mosque – TOI Blogs

As tales of communal discord and intolerance continue to dominate the news in India, this story will help restore your faith in humanity. On October 8, volunteers of Sikh Press Association and Basics of Sikhi organized a langar at the historic Jama Masjid in Amritsar. Close to 400 people including madrassa students, Sikhs, Christians, and […]

15 Oct, 2015

The blood-dimmed tide of fascism is loosed in Modi’s India | Asia Times

By M.K. Bhadrakumar, Asia Times News & Features Seldom does adrenaline flow so instinctively the moment one begins reading the morning newspapers in the Indian capital, but today is one such day. I am not entitled to claim friendship with Sudheendra Kulkarni but do have an acquaintance going back by several years. I hold him […]

15 Oct, 2015

Goa Sahitya Akademi Award winning writers condemn “cultural Talibanism” – The Hindu

A group of Sahitya Akademi award winner writers from Goa on Thursday condemned the silence of Sahitya Akademi over the rising trend of intolerance in the country and recent murders of some writers. “We demand from Sahitya Akademi the official condemnation of the threat to our fundamental rights that is more imperative at this juncture. […]

15 Oct, 2015

Indian activists to boycott RTI conclave to protest govt security curbs – Hindustan Times

New Delhi – Prominent RTI activists, including Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy, will boycott the transparency law’s 10th anniversary celebrations to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, terming security restrictions on civil society members as an attempt to muzzle dissenting voices. The boycott of the high-profile function came amidst growing nationwide outrage against what […]

15 Oct, 2015

Trolled, Naseeruddin Shah says being targeted for being Muslim – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Veteran Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah, who was trolled on Twitter for his comments during former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri’s book launch two days ago, on Wednesday said he was targeted for being a Muslim. He said he was proud to be an Indian and he would not allow anybody to question his […]

15 Oct, 2015

Writers have “manufactured” a controversy & protest: Finance Minister – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday hit back at writers who have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the alleged spike in intolerance under the Modi government, saying the agitators had manufactured a protest and were indulging in politics by other means due to their ideological intolerance. While terming the killing […]

15 Oct, 2015

Writers protest: Indian government should respect The Word | The Indian Express

Why should unarmed writers, singers and dancers worry a government that has been voted to power through a popular mandate of proportions not seen in 30 years? History tells us they need to worry. The ruling establishment does not have to look any further than the manner in which UPA 2 handled the entire anti-UPA […]

15 Oct, 2015

Whistleblowing investigator fired by whistleblowing agency for whistleblowing – The Independent

A whistleblowing investigator who went public about a dysfunctional witness protection programme has been fired for whistleblowing. Darrell Whitman put his job as an investigator for the federal Whistleblower Protection Programme on the line to claim that the agency had failed to defend workers who reported illegal activity and corporate safety infringements in the San […]

15 Oct, 2015

How women make peace: Muslim woman ends anti-Islam protest by giving protester a hug – Sydney Morning Herald

An anti-Islam protest being staged by a lone woman outside a mosque in the United States ended after members of the community came to engage her in a discussion about her views, and one Muslim woman walked over to give her a hug and invite her inside. Photos of the hug have gone viral around […]

15 Oct, 2015

In India, dancing to a divisive tune – The Hindu

By Vishakha Desai What I find particularly distressing about this trend of sharper focus on caste, religion, and ethnicity is the promotion of divisiveness rather than the idea of “E Pluribus Unum”, one in many. Just when the world desperately needs the idea of mutual respect necessary for living side by side by in an […]

15 Oct, 2015

Govt tacitly enabling attacks on writers: Amitav Ghosh | The Indian Express

Author Amitav Ghosh Wednesday said that while he “appreciated the courage” of writers who had returned their Sahitya Akademi awards, he would not return his own as that would “amount to a repudiation of the institution’s history”. He also said the government was “tacitly enabling attacks (on writers)” and accused the Akademi of “dereliction of […]

14 Oct, 2015

Korean casino lures Chinese gamblers with models and C-listers

By Yuan Can

(People’s Daily Online), October 13, 2015 – A gambling house located on Jeju Island, South Korea is always ablaze with lights even during the daytime. The house is full of gamblers. VIP rooms are located on the second floor for clients with greater stake. Taking advantage of a visa exemption policy for Chinese visitors, casinos […]

14 Oct, 2015

Beijing police bust global smuggling ring, $4m wildlife parts seized

By SU ZHOU

Beijing, (China Daily) 2015-10-13 – A three-month police investigation has led to the seizure of a large haul of endangered wildlife parts and the disruption of an international smuggling ring, the Beijing Forest Police Bureau announced on Monday. The wildlife trafficking case, which was code-named “May 21”, led to the confiscation of illegal wildlife parts, […]

14 Oct, 2015

Is “Islamic Terrorism” A Myth? – Interview with Elias Davidsson, Countercurrents.org

13 October, 2015 Countercurrents.org – Not many people have the guts to question the official narrative of the attacks committed on 9/11 in the United States of America, in London, Madrid, Mumbai or elsewhere, which governments attribute to Islamic terrorists. Elias Davidsson is one of those, who in 2002 became skeptical of the official account […]

13 Oct, 2015

Rise of intolerant India threatens PM Modi’s global image – Vir Sanghvi, The Hindustan Times

Images of Sudheendra Kulkarni, his face and body blackened by the ink flung at him by protesters, are now being flashed all over the world. As the protest was over Kulkarni’s willingness to help a former Pakistan foreign minister launch a memoir, the message that has gone out is this: How can there ever be […]

13 Oct, 2015

Boycott Zionism, protesting Palestinian students tell India – The Hindu

President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Al Quds University here in Palestine met with protests by students who urged India to “boycott Zionism.” Mr. Mukherjee went to the university to inaugurate a Centre for Excellence in Information Communication and Technology before wrapping up his Palestine visit, the first-ever by an Indian President. As soon as Mr. […]

13 Oct, 2015

Shiv Sena going back to its violent past – The Hindu

Shiv Sena’s reprehensible attack on Observer Research Foundation’s Sudheendra Kulkarni yesterday (October 12), for organising former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri’s book launch in Mumbai, is another step back for a party desperately trying to remain relevant both to its voting constituency as well as in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government in Maharashtra. […]

13 Oct, 2015

Punjabi writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana returns Padma Shri – The Hindu

Punjabi writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana on Tuesday announced that she will return her Padma Shri in protest against the ‘rising communal tension’ in the country. “In this land of Gautama Buddha and Guru Nanak Dev, the atrocities committed on the Sikhs in 1984 and on the Muslims recurrently because of communalism are an utter disgrace […]

13 Oct, 2015

Liberty is my only party, Rushdie to ‘Modi Toadies’ – The Hindu

Author Salman Rushdie, who came under attack for backing authors protesting against ‘rising intolerance’ in the country, rubbished the criticism by ‘Modi Toadies’, saying he supported no political party but was against ‘thuggish violence’. The author was flooded with a barrage of hate messages following his tweet in support of Nayantara Sahgal and other writers, […]

13 Oct, 2015

AirBnB and eDreams pinged by Australian consumer watchdog over undisclosed fees

Lodging website Airbnb and online travel agency eDreams have been told to clean up their act after running afoul of Australian consumer law for slugging customers with service and other fees that were not properly disclosed when they were booking accommodation. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement both companies misled and deceived customers by failing to adequately disclose to […]

13 Oct, 2015

Holy cow: India’s bovine protectors are milking an old script – DAWN.COM

The recent mobilisations around the cow in India have little to do with religion and everything to do with politics. The expanded ban on beef in Maharashtra, the vigilante violence in Punjab against those transporting cows, and the shameful lynching of a man suspected of possessing beef in Dadri, are chillingly resonant of the cow […]

13 Oct, 2015

Indian activist Sudheendra Kulkarni hit by Shiv Sena ink attack – BBC News

Far-right Hindu nationalists in Mumbai have doused the head of an Indian think-tank in black ink in protest at the launch of a book by a former Pakistani foreign minister. The Shiv Sena party said the ink attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni was a form of “peaceful protest” against Pakistan. The party later cancelled a planned […]

13 Oct, 2015

Salman Rushdie backs authors who returned Sahitya Akademi awards – The Hindu

Author Salman Rushdie on Monday joined the growing chorus of protests by leading writers against spread of “communal poison” and “rising intolerance” in the country even as seven more authors decided to return their Sahitya Akademi awards. “I support Nayantara Sahgal and the many other writers protesting to the Sahitya Akademi. Alarming times for free […]

13 Oct, 2015

Now Kashmiri writer Ghulam Nabi Khayal returns Sahitya Akademi award – The Hindu

Noted Kashmiri writer and poet Ghulam Nabi Khayal has joined the bandwagon of authors returning their Sahitya Akademi awards, saying the minorities in the country today feel “unsafe and threatened”. “I have decided to return the award. The minorities in the country are feeling unsafe and threatened. They feel their future is bleak,” Khayal said […]

13 Oct, 2015

Tamil Sahitya Akademi winners condemn the Akademi – The Hindu

Sixteen Sahitya Akademi award winning Tamil writers have condemned the Akademi for not adequately condemning the killing of Kannada writer M.K. Kalburgi and its failure to bring pressure on the Centre to protect freedom of expression. “The situation has come to such pass that there was no security for the life of a writer not […]

12 Oct, 2015

Facebook paid only £4,327 in UK tax last year, less than the average worker – The Independent

Facebook’s UK operations paid only £4,327 in taxes last year, less than the average worker. The small bill was despite the company being able to pay its 362 UK-based employees an average of £210,000 in pay and bonuses. It gave its London staff Facebook shares worth £35.4 million, according to the report, pushing its losses […]

12 Oct, 2015

Inglis, Florida: home to the 1,000th US mass shooting since Sandy Hook – The Guardian

Just before sundown on Thursday 1 October, an old man charged across the main street of the little town of Inglis, Florida. He was expecting trouble. Someone had recklessly fired a pistol in public, and Buzz Terhune intended to have words about it. The horror that unfolded in the next few minutes has become so […]

12 Oct, 2015

Ancient footwear exhibition to open at Egyptian Museum in Cairo

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 12 October 2015 (28 Dhul Ḥijjah 1436). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ A WORD FROM MY SPONSORS: TOURISM MALAYSIA MALAYSIA CELEBRATES A YEAR OF GREAT FESTIVALS […]

12 Oct, 2015

20 Years since the Jewish terrorist assassination of Yitzhak Rabin – Haaretz Bookshelf

For a large segment of the population, Yitzhak Rabin was the man who was selling the country out to the Arabs. Most of his rivals among the Israeli right­wing respected Rabin the soldier, the statesman, while despising his peace policies. A tiny fringe of right-wing religious extremists, however, went further. At protest rallies, they portrayed […]

12 Oct, 2015

No, This Land And Country Is Not Ours Anymore: An Open Letter From An Indian Student – Countercurrents.org

I am Aslah, 21 years old, a post-graduate student in history. I have few things to tell this world. During our school days, we had history to study learn. World’s largest country Russia, smallest country Vatican, most populated country China – all these we had by hearted then. Also when asked about the largest democracy […]

12 Oct, 2015

Bisada Hindus fund Muslim wedding – The Times of India

BISADA: The two daughters of Hakeem, a Muslim villager in Bisada, will get married on Sunday morning, and some Hindus from the village are bearing the wedding expenses. The family of Mohammad Akhlaq, who was lynched in the same village on September 28 over rumours that he had beef at home, had always maintained that […]

12 Oct, 2015

Writers from Punjab, Gujarat return Sahitya Akademi awards – Hindustan Times

Three Punjabi writers and an author from Gujarat announced on Sunday they will return their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the government’s “onslaught on freedom of expression”. Playwrights Ajmer Aulakh and Atamjit and author Waryam Sandhu joined the dissenters in the literary fraternity who have either surrendered their coveted awards or quit the Akademi […]

11 Oct, 2015

I wear a burqa to avoid attracting attention: Indian film star | The Indian Express

Mallika Sherawat may have made stunning fashion statements during her many media appearances in India and abroad but guess what. The stunner dons a burqa if she has to travel alone. Revealing this secret was the actress herself. Said Mallika, “Usually when I travel I have my staff with me. But on occasions when I […]

11 Oct, 2015

VIDEO: Is Palestine the Exception to Free Speech Rights in the U.S.? – TRUTHDIG

University campuses are the front line of Palestinian human rights advocacy in the U.S., but a new report by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Palestine Legal documents hundreds of cases in which students and scholars have been punished for expressing themselves. Watch the testimony of some of those who have dared to speak out, […]

11 Oct, 2015

Malayalam novelist Sarah Joseph returns her Sahitya Academy award | The Indian Express

Noted Malayalam novelist Sarah Joseph on Saturday said she has decided to return her Kendra Sahitya Academy award in protest against the ‘terror-like’ situation prevailing in the country. Joseph had bagged the academy award in 2003 for her novel Aalahayude Penmakkal (Daughters of God, the father). Joseph said the prevailing situation in the country was […]

11 Oct, 2015

Forget Hindu, Muslim – Let’s talk state responsibility for the Dadri lynching | The Indian Express

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sweet homily to the nation over the lynching of a Muslim in Dadri amounts to nothing more than preaching to the converted. That too reluctantly so, after 10 days of cajoling from innumerable quarters urging the country’s prime communicator to break his silence, and a day after President Pranab Mukherjee felt […]

11 Oct, 2015

Indian Poet quits Sahitya Akademi posts over MM Kalburgi’s murder | The Indian Express

Eminent Indian poet and writer K Satchidanandan on Saturday resigned from all committees of the Sahitya Akademi, saying the literary body had “failed” in its duty to stand with writers and uphold freedom of expression. Satchidanandan was serving in the General Council, Executive Board and Financial Committee of the Akademi. “I am sorry to observe […]

11 Oct, 2015

Shiv Sena demands cancellation of Kasuri’s book launch – The Hindu

After ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali, Shiv Sena on Saturday asked management of a city-based convention centre here to call off former Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri’s book launch function. Citing the neighbouring country’s support to terrorism as the reason behind the opposition, the party warned that the function will be disrupted if not cancelled. […]

11 Oct, 2015

BJP’s leading anti-beef crusader owned a meat exporting company – The Hindu

Sangeet Singh Som, the fiery BJP MLA at the forefront of the frenzied anti-beef protests and an accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots, founded one of India’s leading halal meat export companies, according to documents available with The Hindu. The company, Al-Dua Food Processing Private Ltd, was founded by Mr. Som, along with Moinuddin Qureshi and […]

11 Oct, 2015

Investigation uncovers coercive tactics Hindutva groups use to battle ‘love jihad’ – DAWN.COM

“Look, there is some truth in these cases of love jihad around here… There is someone or some organisation behind it. For instance, in the beginning, boys would roam around on motorcycles in front of schools or colleges or plus-two schools wearing a kalawa (a red thread around the wrist), using names like Sonu, Monu, […]

11 Oct, 2015

Japan, South Korea, Thailand most popular Chinese Golden Week destinations

By Liu Jing

Beijing, (chinadaily.com.cn), 2015-10-09 – The number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad has seen a fast-paced rise during the National Day holiday with surrounding countries including Japan, South Korea, and Thailand among the most popular destinations, according the National Tourism Administration (NTA). Data from the Nationwide Tourist Group Services Management System shows that outbound tourists (except […]

11 Oct, 2015

In India, beefed-up curbs, feeble resistance – The Hindu

by Anup Surendranath Invariably, there are times in a Constitution’s life when its very fundamentals are under threat, times when the technicality of laws made under the powers of that Constitution are the very weapons used to undermine its foundations. Rarely do foundational threats to Constitutions come as sudden events, they often build up as […]

11 Oct, 2015

WikiLeaks Reveals How the US Aggressively Pursued Regime Change in Syria, Igniting a Bloodbath

In 2010, WikiLeaks became a household name by releasing 251,287 classified State Department cables. Now, a new book collects in-depth analyses of what these cables tell us about the foreign policy of the United States, from authors including Truthout staff reporter Dahr Jamail and Truthout regular contributors Gareth Porter, Robert Naiman, Phyllis Bennis and Stephen […]

11 Oct, 2015

Traditional Chinese Medicine gaining recognition and respect in the West

By Xu Jingxi In Guangzhou And Wang Xiaodong In Beijing

(China Daily) 2015-10-06 – Traditional Chinese medicine has won more recognition in Western countries in recent years, but the 5,000-year-old medical science still needs a modern interpretation to break into the mainstream Western market. According to the Beijing-based World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, more TCM clinics have opened in the West and more colleges […]

11 Oct, 2015

Hindu group Shiv Sena forces cancellation of Pakistan singer’s concert in Mumbai – The Indian Express

The Shiv Sena Wednesday forced the cancellation of a concert by Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, who was scheduled to perform at Mumbai’s Shanmukhananda Hall Friday as a tribute to Jagjit Singh on his fourth death anniversary. This prompted Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene and call Sena’s actions “unfortunate”. “My government is willing […]

11 Oct, 2015

Inside the Indian village where a mob killed a man for eating beef – The Guardian

The minister has arrived. The motorcade fills the unpaved street. Policemen who were slumbering in the early autumn midday heat stir, straighten, then spring into action, clearing the way with their canes for this most important visitor. Mahesh Sharma, India’s minister of culture, is preceded by a small aide in a purple shirt and followed […]

11 Oct, 2015

Rationalist thinkers under attack in India – Asia Times

By Sudha Ramachandran Rationalists in India are under fire from Hindu right wing organizations. A little over a month ago, noted litterateur and rationalist, Malleshappa M Kalburgi was shot dead at point-blank range at his house in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Kalburgi had several run-ins with Hindu groups over his remarks on idol […]

11 Oct, 2015

Whatever created the impression that Narendra Modi was a moderate?

By Girish Shahane During an interview with LK Advani during the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first full term in power, Prannoy Roy asked him about growing extremism in the party, and how moderates like the Indian deputy prime minister planned to clamp down on it. For those such as myself who associated Advani primarily with his […]

11 Oct, 2015

Fukuoka honors Asians for work to preserve and reinvent culture – Japan Times

More than a century and a half after Commodore Matthew Perry’s “Black Ships” forced open the country to Western trade, vestiges of the sakoku (closed country) mentality arguably still linger on in the Japanese psyche. Although kokusaika, or internationalization, has been a buzzword since the 1980s, few cities along the archipelago seem to be able […]

11 Oct, 2015

Gallup Polls: U.S. Public Remains Wary of Federal Government’s Power

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 9, 2015, (Gallup media release)– Six in 10 Americans think the government has too much power, marking the third year in a row that at least 59% of the public has voiced this view. The 60% recorded in this survey ties the previous high from 2013 for the question, which Gallup has […]

11 Oct, 2015

The unmaking of India | The Indian Express

The RSS is allergic to democracy. M.S. Golwalkar, the most prominent ideologue of the organisation, while delivering a speech at the RSS Resham Bagh headquarters in Nagpur in 1940, demanded that India be governed by “one flag, one leader and one ideology of Hindutva”. We need to know from Madhav, who is learning from whom. […]

11 Oct, 2015

To ‘protect’ Hindu girls, Muslims barred from Gujarat Garba event – Hindustan Times

A right-wing group on Sunday said it has issued a “diktat” barring entry of Muslims at Garba events during the upcoming Navratri festival at Mandvi town in Gujarat’s Kutch district to prevent “love jihad” incidents. “We have issued a diktat barring the entry of Muslims at Garba events in Mandvi,” said president of Hindu Yuva […]

11 Oct, 2015

White supremacists a bigger problem in U.S. than “Islamic extremists”

Tehran, Oct 5, IRNA – While there is a high tendency in the United States to portray Muslims as a threat for international peace, figures suggest that white supremacy is a bigger problem. “There’s an acceptance (in the US) now of the idea that the threat from jihadi terrorism in the United States has been […]

11 Oct, 2015

Politics of beef: Modi’s vision scuttled by extremists from among his own followers | The Indian Express

Sartaj said he was part of the Indian Air Force family. He owed his allegiance to that family. The elders in that family would advise him what he should do next to ensure security and he would abide by their advice. He appealed for calm, understanding and communal harmony. He asked fellow-Indians to pray for […]

11 Oct, 2015

Digital India Rising, Democratic India Dying

Everybody expected the 21st century to be characterised by communal harmony, mutual brotherhood and greater tolerance. Rajiv Gandhi envisioned an India without communalism, casteism, hatred and violence. As ill luck would have it, he did not live long enough to give practical shape to his vision. Successive governments belonging to varied political formations ruled this […]

9 Oct, 2015

Hindu nationalist MPs attack Kashmir assembly member for serving beef at party – The Guardian

Politicians from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party in Kashmir kicked and punched an independent member of the state assembly on Thursday for hosting a party where he served beef. Inside the Indian village where a mob killed a man for eating beef Read more Bharatiya Janata party members beat Rashid Ahmed, a Muslim, in the […]

7 Oct, 2015

Golden Week Chinese Travel Hits 750mln, Equal to Half the Population

By Chen Shen

Beijing (People’s Daily Online)  October 06, 2015 – Transportation statistics in China shows that during the “Golden Week” over 750 million Chinese people are expected to use either railway or highway to travel domestically. This figure accounts for half of the population in China. Chinese Ministry of Transport anticipated some 640 million people use the […]

7 Oct, 2015

Indian poet Ashok Vajpeyi also returns Sahitya Akademi award – The Hindu

A day after writer Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi award against what she described “unmaking of India, poet Ashok Vajpeyi also handed back the prestigious literary honour to the government, criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking up against the recent spree of violence. Mr. Vajpeyi said that “it’s high time that writers […]

7 Oct, 2015

People being killed for not agreeing with “ruling ideology”, says Indian writer – The Hindu

Noted Indian writer Nayantara Sahgal has returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in protest against what she called the “vanishing space” for diversity. In a telephonic interview, the niece of the former Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru also said people were being “killed for not agreeing with the ruling ideology.” Excerpts: What made you take this […]

7 Oct, 2015

China: Old indexes do not present true image of economic growth

By Chen Jia

Beijing (China Daily) Updated: 2015-09-26 – In response to analysts’ and media questions about the reliability of China’s economic data, a government spokesman said on Friday it is no longer appropriate to use only the old indexes to measure the country’s performance during its rapid transition. This is because, for the first time, the service […]

7 Oct, 2015

How No-Fly Lists Are Used to Punish Political Protesters | Alternet

It was August 2002. My partner Jan Adams and I were just beginning our annual pilgrimage to Massachusetts to visit my father and stepmother. At the check-in line at San Francisco International Airport, we handed over our driver’s licenses and waited for the airline ticket agent to find our flight and reservation. Suddenly, she got […]

7 Oct, 2015

Violence as the new normal – The Hindu

In directing States to show “zero tolerance” to attempts to “weaken the secular fabric” of the country, the Union Home Ministry was voicing its concern at the widening social acceptance of communal violence as a normal part of everyday life. The lynching in Dadri of Mohammad Akhlaq for “eating beef” was an extreme case, but […]

6 Oct, 2015

Chinese Palace Museum cracks down on visitor misbehavior

By Sun Xiaochen

Beijing, (China Daily) 2015-10-05 – Following a spate of uncivilized behavior related to the tourism market, the Palace Museum has blacklisted 2,500 visitors since June for misbehaving, part of an effort aimed at protecting ancient relics as well as restoring market order by eliminating illegal vendors and ticket scalpers. As the weeklong National Day holiday […]

6 Oct, 2015

Rationalist thinkers under attack in India | Asia Times

Rationalists in India are under fire from Hindu right wing organizations. A little over a month ago, noted litterateur and rationalist, Malleshappa M Kalburgi was shot dead at point-blank range at his house in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Kalburgi had several run-ins with Hindu groups over his remarks on idol worship.] Youth Congress […]

6 Oct, 2015

India witnessing a return to medieval Brahminical values – The Hindu

Ever since Mandal and Mandir in the early 1990s, conflicts arising from caste politics and from religious politics have been treated as separate types of problems, with distinct causes, logics and effects. This separation of “casteism” and “communalism” can be seen both in the specialist discourses of social science and in popular perception. So we […]

6 Oct, 2015

Holy cow, unholy violence – The Hindu

If you love cows and care for them, you have three choices: Choice A: Build goshalas or cow shelters where the animals can be taken care of. But this is an expensive proposition. There is heavy investment and no returns whatsoever, despite all the talk of the great medicinal value of cow urine and cow […]

6 Oct, 2015

India clamping down on critics of Modi, activist groups

NEW DELHI: It takes courage to accuse a powerful politician ─ a man who would go on to become India’s prime minister ─ of encouraging riots against a minority. Police officer Sanjiv Bhatt did just that. And he says he is paying the price for it. Bhatt was arrested months after he filed an affidavit […]

6 Oct, 2015

How to be a whistleblower – Sydney Morning Herald

It takes a lot of guts to be able to stand up at your place of work and make a call that something’s not quite right. For most people, it’s a seriously career-limiting move. But not for Sylvain Mansotte​, CEO of Fraudsec, an app that lets staff report internal fraud anonymously. Sylvain’s is an example […]

5 Oct, 2015

Sports Illustrated Dedicates “Sportsman of the Year Legacy Award” to Muhammad Ali

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 05 October 2015 (21 Dhul Ḥijjah 1436). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ A WORD FROM MY SPONSORS: TOURISM MALAYSIA MALAYSIA CELEBRATES A YEAR OF GREAT FESTIVALS […]

5 Oct, 2015

BJP leader’s son held in Dadri lynching case – The Hindu

Five days after Mohammad Akhlaque Saifi was lynched over rumours about cow slaughter in this Uttar Pradesh village, Vishal, accused of inciting the mob, was arrested on Saturday. Vishal is the son of Sanjay Rana, a local BJP leader associated with the party for the past two decades. Mr. Rana is reportedly close to Union […]

4 Oct, 2015

At Awards Ceremony, Thai Tourism SMEs Get Crash Course in Creative Marketing

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bangkok – The Tourism Authority of Thailand prefaced its biannual Tourism Awards ceremony on 27 September 2015 by inviting about 150 small and medium sized enterprises for a crash course on enhancing their marketing and branding skills. Owners, operators and senior management executives of the emerging generation of Thai tourism products and services nationwide attended […]

4 Oct, 2015

Liberal Hindus, arise: Reclaim your faith from extremists – TOI Blogs

The brutal Dadri lynching, the unspeakably tragic, numbing, and horrifying death of the innocent Akhlaq and the grievous injury to his 22-year-old son Danish should make every Hindu bow his head in shame, to cry out loud, to scream in anguish and demand to know, what is happening to Hinduism? Where is the philosophy of […]

28 Sep, 2015

New Muslim Travel Guide to Australia Launched

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 September 2015 (14 Dhul Ḥijjah 1436). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ A WORD FROM MY SPONSORS: TOURISM MALAYSIA MALAYSIA CELEBRATES A YEAR OF GREAT FESTIVALS […]

28 Sep, 2015

New Global Agenda: Out – Seven P’s of Marketing; In – Five P’s of Sustainable Development

Imtiaz Muqbil

After years of hyping up the Seven P’s of marketing, the travel and & tourism now has an opportunity to jettison them in favour of the Five P’s of the Sustainable Development Goals, the newly adopted global agenda designed to balance the economic, social and environmental dimensions of human progress by the year 2030. The […]

28 Sep, 2015

Done with North India’s Golden Triangle? Try the eye-popping wonders of South India, by Luxury Train

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bengaluru — Although North India’s famous Delhi-Agra-Jaipur Golden Triangle tour is arguably the country’s most popular tourism circuit, the South Indian state of Karnataka is equally blessed in terms of history, heritage, nature and spiritual spots. It may be home to India’s best-known I.T. city of Bangalore, but it is also home to a city […]

26 Sep, 2015

Rabin in 1976 Interview: Settlements Are a Cancer – Ha’aretz

Former (Israeli) Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called the settlers “a cancer” and warned against Israel’s becoming an apartheid state in an interview recorded during his first term as prime minister in 1976. The recording was included in segments of a new film, titled “Rabin in His Own Words,” which were screened on Israeli TV on […]

25 Sep, 2015

Higher alcohol taxes can help meet UN Sustainable Development Goals – IOGT Report

Imtiaz Muqbil

Arusha, Tanzania, September 24, 2015 (IOGT International media release) – A new report by the Swedish-based global advocacy group IOGT International provides an overview of independent scientific evidence showing that alcohol taxation is a powerful tool for both improving public health as well as for boosting sustainable development. This week, global leaders will gather at […]

25 Sep, 2015

Modi embraces modernity everywhere but India – Victor Mallet, Financial Times

Narendra Modi is India’s first tech-savvy, social media-enabled Prime Minister. He has 15 million followers on Twitter. He won last year’s election with the help of 10-feet holograms that allowed him to make live addresses to more than 100 election rallies simultaneously in the world’s largest democracy. This week, he will be the first Indian […]

25 Sep, 2015

Modi’s new India emerges – Al Jazeera English

Behind the extraordinary transformation of India’s landscape promised, but not yet delivered, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a parallel development is taking place. It is an alteration in what might be called “the common-sense of the republic”, and if not exactly presided over by Modi, it has been greatly enabled by him. The relationship is […]

24 Sep, 2015

India’s Freedom of Speech Under Siege – TOI Blogs

Seven months after CPI leader and social activist Govind Pansare was gunned down in Kolhapur Samir Gaekwad, a member of a fundamentalist organisation called Sanatan Sanstha, has been arrested in connection with the crime. According to the police, senior journalist Nikhil Wagle is also on the Sanstha’s hit list. This is a sobering reminder, if […]

23 Sep, 2015

Indigenous and local groups from 19 countries recognized with UN Equator Prize

Imtiaz Muqbil

New York, 21 Sep 2015 (UNDP media release) – Leaders from the United Nations joined Academy Award-nominated actor and activist Alec Baldwin to announce the 21 winning initiatives of this year’s Equator Prize, an international award that recognizes outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty, protect nature and strengthen resilience in the face of climate change. […]

22 Sep, 2015

Meet the first international Muslim hijabi model | MENAFN.COM

(MENAFN – Daily News Egypt) A week ago, the world woke up to an exceptional image, a beautiful young lady elegantly posing with her veil. The image in itself was not shocking; yet, the fact that it was included in the highly anticipated international H&M look-book almost stopped the world spinning. The international high-end fashion […]

22 Sep, 2015

When Travel Impact Newswire Leads, ITB Berlin Follows

Imtiaz Muqbil

Messe Berlin, organiser of the ITB Berlin, on 21 Sept 2015 issued a press release announcing that its next annual event in March 2016 will include a session focussing on the importance of water for the global travel industry. Glad to see that the organisers of the world’s biggest travel trade show have finally awoken […]

22 Sep, 2015

Indian IT companies among world’s worst paymasters

NEW DELHI, Sept 21, 2015: Indian IT companies are among the 10 worst paymasters in the world, says a survey — a mid-level IT manager draws an average salary of $41,213 while his Swiss counterpart gets over four times more. According to recruitment platform MyHiringClub.com’s Worldwide IT Salary 2015 survey, India was ranked 7th on […]

21 Sep, 2015

Macau organizes Islamic Culture in Tourism Workshop

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 September 2015 (07 Dhul Ḥijjah 1436). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ EID UL ADHA MUBARAK TO ALL MY READERS A WORD FROM MY SPONSORS: TOURISM […]

21 Sep, 2015

Next on PATA’s reform agenda: Revamping the roster of unproductive meetings

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bengaluru — As the PATA turnaround gains steam, charting the future of its legacy committees, colloquiums and councils is emerging as a priority item on the reform agenda. The long overdue need for this became obvious during the many meetings accompanying the Bengaluru PATA Travel Mart. They were hugely disparate in terms of attendance, relevance […]

20 Sep, 2015

Night out for girls not in our culture, says Indian culture minister – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: After his remark on APJ Abdul Kalam that the late former President “was a nationalist despite being a Muslim’ created a row, Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma has stoked another controversy by saying that girls wanting a night out is not acceptable in India. “Girls wanting a night out may be all right […]

20 Sep, 2015

Benefits system for China’s disabled to start in 2016

by He Na

Beijing,  (China Daily) 2015-09-19 — A new benefits system for disabled people living in poverty and those who are severely disabled and need long-term nursing will begin nationwide on Jan 1, 2016, according to a news briefing at the State Council Information Office on Friday. “The new system was approved by the State Council Executive […]

20 Sep, 2015

FTII Strike 100th Day: A Battleground To Preserve The Secular Polity Of India

Today is the 100th day of the heroic strike of the Film and Television institute of India (FTII), Pune students. For the last nine days three students are on hunger strike. Their hunger strike is now on for 200 hours. Lives are at stake, yet the Government of India doesn’t move. The strike started by […]

18 Sep, 2015

PressTV – ‘US banks rigged $12.8 trillion market’

Dealers including top American banks which control the $12.8 trillion US Treasury market rigged bond auctions for years, Bloomberg reports. Citing a federal antitrust lawsuit, the financial data and news provider says the likes of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley coordinated to manipulate Treasury auctions. The 115-page lawsuit has been filed in Manhattan federal […]

18 Sep, 2015

US tourist accuses 2 men of raping her in Dharamsala – Hindustan Times

An American tourist has accused two men of raping her in the popular Himalayan hill station of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, the latest in a string of sex attacks involving foreigners. The 46-year-old woman filed a complaint at the women’s police station in Dharamsala on Thursday in which she said she was assaulted by two […]

17 Sep, 2015

Bereaved brother’s appeal to leaders: “Australia is an alcoholic, needs to rethink the way it drinks”

It was the speech that moved a room of Sydney’s most powerful people to tears. Stuart Kelly, the brother of 18-year-old “one punch” victim Thomas Kelly, has revealed the moment he and his family learned their beloved Tom was on life support at St Vincent’s Hospital following an attack by an intoxicated stranger in Kings […]

16 Sep, 2015

Building the Business: PATA Travel Mart 2015 finds its SME niche

Imtiaz Muqbil

Bengaluru, Karnataka — The 38th PATA Travel Mart, held here between Sept 6-8, was a small but largely successful show that has strengthened the possibility of positioning it as the Asia-Pacific’s leading event for niche-market, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. With a record 78 first-timers amongst the 200 hosted buyers, and not a single multinational brand-name […]

14 Sep, 2015

Australian designers launch Islamic fashion collections in Indonesia

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 September 2015 (30 Dhul Qa’dah 1436). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ A WORD FROM MY SPONSORS: TOURISM MALAYSIA MALAYSIA CELEBRATES A YEAR OF GREAT FESTIVALS […]

12 Sep, 2015

FBI says ‘Australian IS jihadist’ is actually a Jewish American troll named Joshua Ryne Goldberg

A young Jewish American man has been charged with pretending to be an Australian-based Islamic State jihadist after a FBI joint investigation with the Australian Federal Police based on information provided by Fairfax Media. Joshua Ryne Goldberg, a 20-year old living at his parents’ house in US state of Florida, is accused of posing online […]

12 Sep, 2015

Modi blows his cover – and the loss is India’s | Asia Times

India recently witnessed a strange spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues subjecting themselves to an intense scrutiny by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the Hindu nationalist organization, regarding their ‘performance’ in office. Modi himself used to be an activist of the RSS. But an elaborate charade was kept so far […]

11 Sep, 2015

The Israeli lobby in the U.S. has become the “noonday clown” – Mondoweiss

The rightwing Israel lobby has just doused itself in gas and set itself afire, with the assistance of Benjamin Netanyahu. The lobby will never be the same. They are no longer the nightflower, they’re the noonday clown. New York Magazine has a huge article about Sheldon Adelson trying to buy the election — New York […]

8 Sep, 2015

Hate crimes against Muslims in London ‘up by 70%’, police figures show – The Independent

London’s Muslims have faced a 70% increase in Islamophobic attacks over the past year, according to figures from the Metropolitan Police. The Met’s statistics record a total of 816 Islamophobic hate crimes in the 12 months to July 2015, up from 478 over the same period in 2013-14. Racist and religious hate crimes in London […]

7 Sep, 2015

Global Ad Campaign to Highlight Malaysia’s Stunning Mosques

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 07 September 2015 (23 Dhul Qa’dah 1436). Pls click on any of the headlines below to go to the story. ============ A WORD FROM MY SPONSORS: TOURISM MALAYSIA MALAYSIA CELEBRATES A YEAR OF GREAT FESTIVALS […]