-
West Asia
British help academics escape war
A British foundation created in 1933 to help academics flee Nazi Germany started helping Syrian and Iraqi academics escape in the hope that one day they will return and rebuild. In their headquarters in London’s South Bank University, Five full-time employees helped by interns work to make it easier for refugees to…
Read More » -
West Asia
Ancient Egyptian manuscript pieced together
During the recent International Congress of Egyptologists in Florence,Wael Sherbiny the Belgium-based independent scholar, unveiled his findings on the oldest Egyptian leather manuscript that has been found in the shelves of the Egyptian museum in Cairo, where it was stored and forgotten for more than 70 years. Dating from the…
Read More » -
West Asia
Yemen’s exiled government returns to Aden
Yemen’s prime minister Khaled Bahah and several of hos ministers traveled to Aden from exile in Saudi Arabia, two months after loyalist forces pushed Iran-backed rebels out of the city. “The government has moved its base from Riyadh to Aden,” government spokesman Rajeh Badi told AFP. There was no indication…
Read More » -
West Asia
Baba ghanoush: Arabic eggplant caviar
Baba ghanoush or baba ghanoug is a Levantine dish of cooked eggplant mixed with onions, tomatoes, olive oil and various seasonings. The Arabic term means “pampered papa” or “coy daddy”, perhaps with reference to a member of a royal harem. The name has become integrated in the Middle-Eastern kitchen that…
Read More » -
West Asia
Binladin Group’s projects halted after Mecca mosque disaster
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has issued a decree halting all Saudi Binladin Group construction projects in the kingdom until a full investigation of last week’s deadly crane collapse at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, a report on state-run Saudi Arabian radio said. On Friday, a construction crane…
Read More » -
West Asia
Israeli authorities re-arrest hunger striker Mohammed Allan
The Israeli authorities have re-arrested Mohammed Allan, who had staged a hunger strike to protest against his detention without charge. Mr.Allan was taken back into detention on his release from hospital. He had suffered brain damage after spending 65 days without food. Mr.Allan, an alleged member of the militant group Islamic Jihad,…
Read More » -
West Asia
Ancient Egyptian calendars shaped by faith
Over than 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians came up with their own calendar and months and it holds a lot of similarities to the way we perceive a typical year these days. The Ancient Egyptian calendar was originally based on twelve lunar months, grouped into three seasons of four months…
Read More » -
West Asia
Qatar sign a memorandum to help Nepali migrants
IOM and the State of Qatar have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will see them working together over the next two years to provide voluntary return and reintegration assistance to Nepali migrant workers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and Malaysia. The new project, to be run…
Read More » -
South Asia
Indian Muslim cleric issues ‘fatwa’ against A.R. Rahman for Muhammad film
A Muslim group, The Raza Academy in Mumbai, India said it has issued a “fatwa” against the Oscar-winning Indian music composer A.R. Rahman and Majid Majidi, the Iranian director of the film Muhammad: The Messenger of God. The institute also wrote to the Indian government, seeking a ban on…
Read More » -
South Asia
Teacher who educates Afghan refugee girls wins UN prize
Aqeela Asifi, 49, a teacher who has dedicated her life to educating Afghan refugee girls, challenging cultural sexism by setting up classes in a temporary tent, has been named the 2015 Nansen Refugee Award winner by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Asifi left Kabul with her…
Read More »