Tag: international

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From poo politics to rubbish disposal: 5 big questions about the International Space Station becoming a movie set

Mohammed Abbasi

Alice Gorman, Flinders University On October 5, an unusual crew will fly to the International Space Station. Director Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild will spend a week and a half on the station shooting scenes for the Russian movie Challenge. Peresild plays a surgeon who must conduct a heart operation on a sick cosmonaut. This is an exciting — if controversial — development for the station, which orbits around 400 km above Earth. Commercial use of its facilities could be a funding avenue to keep it in orbit. A Japanese documentary and an American movie, starring Tom Cruise, are … Continue reading From poo politics to rubbish disposal: 5 big questions about the International Space Station becoming a movie set

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Chinese Muslims & China-Arab Expo

Mohammed Abbasi

Disparate fortunes in China’s Muslim ‘heartland’By Haiyun Ma  For three years running, the China-Arab Economic Forum has held its annual gatherings in Yingchuan, the capital city of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in Northwest China – a region with the third-smallest GDP in China.  The meetings, held in this “Muslim heartland”, attracted 18 national leaders, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 195 ministerial officials, and 93 diplomats from 76 countries – and resulted in trade contracts worth about US$42 billion. Some 5,000 foreign and Chinese enterprises and 3,000 businesspeople from China and abroad participated in these forums, which were held in … Continue reading Chinese Muslims & China-Arab Expo

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The Afghanistan Report the Pentagon (And Pakistani Government) Doesn’t Want You to Read

Mohammed Abbasi

Due to the following piece being blocked in Pakistan, I have decided to ‘cut and paste with links on my blog – please share (naturally I have some nice pics and videos at the end for my friends :)) Truth, lies and Afghanistan How military leaders have let us down BY LT. COL. DANIEL L. DAVIS I spent last year in Afghanistan, visiting and talking with U.S. troops and their Afghan partners. My duties with the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force took me into every significant area where our soldiers engage the enemy. Over the course of 12 months, I covered … Continue reading The Afghanistan Report the Pentagon (And Pakistani Government) Doesn’t Want You to Read

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Deferred Dreams, Self-Destruction, and Suicide Bombings

Mohammed Abbasi

By Shaykh Hamza Yusuf There was a story in the New York Times a few days ago about how the “revolution” in Tunisia was sparked in December by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old, befuddled roadside green grocer. Like so many young Arabs, he was born poor and only dreamed of providing for his siblings and his mother. He had been to college, where he studied law, but had found no employment possibilities. So, given the basic dignity often found in people in places like Tunisia, he chose to humble himself and find a halal means to generate some … Continue reading Deferred Dreams, Self-Destruction, and Suicide Bombings