Workweek Changes in the UAE
What if you were only expected to work half of each Friday? Would you like it? Workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are about to find out. The UAE has announced that it will transition from the five-day work week to a 4.5-day work week. Weekends will include Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday. But […]
Stuff YOU Should Know
A Pilgrimage in a Pandemic The Hajj is a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia that every adult able-bodied Muslim is expected to complete at least once in his or her lifetime. The Hajj journey lasts five days and follows the ancient path of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad to various locations around […]
New Zealand Grapples with Mass Shooting
On March 15, fifty people were killed and another fifty wounded when a 28-year-old Australian shooter attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Here, btw takes a closer look at the tragedy. What Happened? At about 1:40 pm on March 15, the shooter, a white supremacist dressed in military gear, walked into the Al Noor […]
Tlaib Wins Surprise Victory in Primary
This week’s story update on the Election Central Web site recounts a historic achievement for a Muslim-American politician in Michigan. Last week, Election Central brought you the story of the extremely close special election in Ohio’s 12thCongressional District. But Ohio wasn’t the only state with an important election last week. In Michigan’s 13th District, a woman […]
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California Wildfires Worst Ever The six wildfires blazing across Southern California continue to rage, leaving death and widespread destruction in their path. As of Sunday evening, the six fires combined had claimed nearly 200,000 acres, destroyed 792 structures, and were responsible for the deaths of 43 people. The largest of the six fires is the […]
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The 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio The Paralympics ended in Rio de Janeiro last week and over 4,000 athletes from more than 160 nations competed to earn the honor and the glory of Olympic medals while overcoming some amazing challenges. The Paralympic Games are focused entirely on athletes with physical challenges that would make some of […]
Understanding the Hajj
Every year, devout Muslims who are able undertake the pilgrimage to the Islamic faith’s holiest city–Mekkah in Saudi Arabia. As one of the cornerstones of Islam, every Muslim is expected to fulfilll this journey at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is known as hajj. This year’s hajj began this past weekend. It is expected that approximately two million […]
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Boehner Resigns as Speaker The last five years has been a tumultuous one for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner. But the Republican politician from Ohio surprised everyone by announcing that he would step down as Speaker and retire from the House altogether. In a public statement, he said that he believed that, […]
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More on Amazon Vs. Hachette In the last edition of Stuff You Should Know, btw brought you news of a dispute between the online retailer Amazon.com and book publisher Hachette. In a follow-up, Amazon, who had said very little in initial reports, have now spoken up. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Senior […]
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Kickstarting Space Exploration? Crowdfunding is becoming a very popular alternative to finding traditional investors. Individuals and companies with projects or products ask the public at large people for money, usually through crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter. Project creators set up an account, then choose a deadline and a minimum fund-raising goal. Projects must meet their goals […]