The Banana Republic with very few Bananas
The Saudis are feeling offended that another country might criticize their dismal record of human rights. Last August Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted that a Canadian citizen, Raif Badawi, and his sister Samar should be released from a Saudi prison. Their arrest was due to their promotion of human rights, a clear wrong in the Wahhabi More...
How many Children have to die?
The exact number of Yemeni children killed by Saudi bombing and malnutrition caused by the war has yet to be officially determined, but the number is certainly in the thousands. Overall the fighting and its consequences More...
Talking about Peace
One thing seems clear after over three years of an unwinnable war in Yemen that has created the worst humanitarian disaster in the world: it is past time to find a way out for all sides. The UN envoy Martin Griffiths More...
Where is Princess Latifa of Dubai?
Princess Latifa has alleged that her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, abused her since she was a minor and severely restricted her personal freedom. She attempted to escape in More...
Socotra and Little Sparta
While the war on the Yemeni mainland drags on with daily deaths from violence inflicted from all sides and a largely ignored humanitarian crisis, there is a new twist in the overall dreadful scenario. The island More...
Minister for Foreign Affairs calls on Israel to respect the right to peaceful protest
The Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström calls on Israel to respect the right to peaceful protest. Every state, Israel included, has a right to defend its borders, but all measures taken must be proportionate More...
Fast from sunrise to nightfall
Islam is the world’s second largest religion, after Christianity, with more than 1 billion followers. Islam originated in Arabia and has spread all over the world. Countries with the largest Muslim populations More...
It takes a liar…
There is a saying, and a song by the American rock group “Taking Back Sunday”, that it takes a liar to know a liar. In the case of Oliver North, the newly elected president of the National Rifle Association More...
A Kingly look at Islamic Astronomy
All societies have star lore, using the movements of stars and other celestial phenomena to tell time and direction. The formal science of astronomy, with roots in ancient Mesopotamia and Greece, evolved in the More...
Popular Costumes of Turks in 1873
In 1873 the Turkish Imperial Commission for the Universal Exposition in Vienna published a beautifully illustrated, large-sized book entitled Les Costumes Populaires de la Turquie en 1873. It was published in Constantinople More...