By Yameen Rasheed | January 22nd, 2011 | Category: Politics, Society | 15 comments It is a little known fact that many of the brightest, well-known stars in the sky have Arabic names. The luminous Aldebaran of Taurus, the majestic Rigel of the Orion constellation the night sky is studded with shining reminders of an age where the early Muslim astronomers mapped the heavens and the Earth, and committed the knowledge to thousands of paper manuscripts and stored them in the worlds first public lending libraries.In the early centuries following the Prophets death, Muslims made tremendous intellectual and scientific breakthroughs in areas as varied as astronomy, arts, science, math, philosophy and literature: a period accurately portrayed as the Golden Age of Islam.Referring to what he called civilizations debt to Islam, US President Barack Obama said in his famous speech at Cairo University in June 2009, It was Islam that carried the light of learning t...
By JJ Robinson | January 24th, 2011 | Category: Society, Travel & Arts | 1 Comment Ambitious plans by Lithuanian mega-brand Olialia to develop an all blondes resort in the shape of a gigantic high-heeled shoe have entered phase two, after the company reported that a delegation had visited the Maldives and selected three islands suitable for the project.Olialia did not reveal the name of the islands, but did publish CGI images of the planned resort, designed by famous Lithuanian architect Valerijus Starkovskis, and claimed it that construction would begin in a few years with a grand opening in 2015.Tenders for operators of the hotel, restaurants and serivce providers would be announced soon, the company said, also claiming that it would hold a worldwide competition to select the manager of the blonde island, which every citizen in the world will be able to participate in.Aside from reclaiming an island in the shape of womens footwear, the pres...
The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), led by former Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed, has released a statement saying that the party fully supports Addu becoming a city, but only if it was accomplished through lawful procedure. Following the President’s first declaration that Addu would become a city prior to the local council elections, DQP Deputy leader Imad Solih filed the issue in the Civil Court stating that the President had not followed correct procedures and that therefore his declaration was invalid. On Sunday, the Civil Court ruled in DQP’s favour and overturned the President’s decision to make Addu a city. Adduans and ruling-party activists gathered near Dr Hassan Saeed’s house after the court ruling, and called for DQP to be abolished. Saeed is himself a prominent Adduan. ”The Decentralisation Act was drafted by the government and was ratified by the president,” observed DQP in a statement today. ”The Act very clearly states how cities should be determined in different parts of ...
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