18 August 2011, Colombo, Sri Lanka – According to a new survey conducted by Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lankans are divided in opinion on the topic of reconciliation – about whether the government has done enough with regard to addressing the root causes of the conflict. Download the top line report here. Download …

Allegations of Libyan civilian deaths as a result of NATO bombing have often been covered in the corporate media as an opportunity to scoff at the Gadhafi regime's unconvincing propaganda (FAIR Blog, 6/9/11). But dramatic new allegations that dozens of civilians were killed in Majer after NATO airstrikes on August 8 have been met with near-total media silence. According to Libyan …

  For the very first time in Oman, the Eid holidays have been declared 10 days in advance, which is a record braking history.    It seems that finally the people out here are getting advanced/educated gradually unlike during the previous years. This is also for those who aren't aware or not had the opportunity to read the newspaper.  

The crowd stretched as far as the eye could see. By the very strength of their numbers they provided a dramatic tribute to three men who died defending their community from rioters. Around 20,000 turned out in Birmingham yesterday for the open-air funeral of 21-year-old Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31. The trio suffered fatal …

DUBAI — Scoring 92 per cent, Libyan contestant Khalid Mohamed Algardouz has bagged the top position and the Dh250,000 prize money in the 15th edition of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, pushing Qatari Abdulla Hamad Abu-Sharida and Turkish Ahmet Sarikaya to second and third spots, respectively. While Abu-Sharida won Dh200,000, Sarikaya bagged Dh150,000. The other top seven contestants are …

  BRUSSELS: A French businessman paid fines on Wednesday for two women in Belgium who wore full-face veils in public and said he would take Belgium and France to court over laws banning Muslim niqabs and burqas. Property dealer Rachid Nekkaz has set up $1.4 million fund to cover fines and paid the first $72.38500 penalties imposed in Belgium on two women …