Unveiling Hidden Facts

DOHA, Qatar -- Just two days before the World Cup opener, host nation Qatar banned the sale of beer at stadiums in a sudden U-turn that was criticized by some and welcomed by others. Qatari officials have long said they were eager to welcome soccer fans from around the world to the tournament but that visitors should also respect their culture and traditions. Alcohol consumption, impermissible in Islam, is one of the areas where the country has been attempting to strike a delicate balance. Here’s a look at some of the issues related to alcohol and Muslim beliefs. WHAT DOES THE QURAN SAY ABOUT ALCOHOL? Drinking alcohol is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam. As proof of the prohibition, Islamic scholars and Muslim religious authorities typically point to a verse in the Quran, the Muslim holy book, that calls intoxicants “the work of Satan” and tells believers to avoid them. Additionally, they cite sayings of Prophet Muhammad and the negative effects that alcohol can have. Beyond ab

The last battles of the European Theatre of World War ² continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf Hitler's suicide and handing over of power to grand admiral Karl Dönitz in May of 1945, the Soviet troops conquered Berlin and accepted surrender of the Dönitz-led government. The last battles were fought as part of the Eastern Front which ended in the total surrender of all of Nazi Germany’s remaining armed forces such as in the Courland Pocket in western Latvia from Army Group Courland in the Baltics surrendering on 10 May 1945 and in Czechoslovakia during the Prague offensive on 11 May 1945.Red Army soldiers from the 322nd Rifle Division liberated Auschwitz concentration camp on 27 January 1945 at 15:00. Two hundred and thirty-one Red Army soldiers died in the fighting around Monowitz concentration camp, Birkenau, and Auschwitz I, as well as t

Sweden maintained its policy of neutrality during World War II. When the war began on 1 September 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear. But by a combination of its geopolitical location in the Scandinavian Peninsula, realpolitik maneuvering during an unpredictable course of events, and a dedicated military build-up after 1942, Sweden kept its official neutrality status throughout the war. At the outbreak of hostilities, Sweden had held a neutral stance in international relations for more than a century, since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814 and the invasion of Norway.At the outbreak of war in September 1939, twenty European nations were neutral. Sweden was one of only nine of these nations to maintain this stance for the remainder of the war, along with Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the microstates of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Vatican City, and San Marino. The Swedish Government made a few concessions, and sometimes breached the nation's neutrality in favor of bot

Imagine you were given the task of concocting a controversial topic from scratch. You would probably throw in some religion, add a dash of politics and, to really spice things up, include a heaping portion of sex. To help generate heated debate, you could also sprinkle a few human rights issues on it. Next stir in a whole pot of health claims — some sound, some spurious (just to keep things interesting). Oh, and it couldn’t hurt to somehow work helpless babies into the mix to get parents all riled up. Well, you don’t need to create that topic. It already exists. It’s called circumcision. And just because it is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in human history doesn’t mean people have reached a consensus on the health benefits of slicing off foreskins. Far from it. About a third of the world’s males aged 15 years and older are circumcised, according to the World Health Organisation. Most undergo the procedure for religious reasons: 68.8% of the world’s circumcised men are

World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in history; it resulted in an estimated 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massacres, and disease. In the wake of the Axis defeat, Germany and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders. The causes of

The mid-sierra zone (5,000-8,000 ft or 1,524-2,438 m) creates ideal conditions for giant sequoia growth. Mild winter and summer temperatures, deep winter snowpack, and a rich fire history have made it possible for the world's largest tree to get its biggest in these parks. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks boast many of the world's largest trees by volume. The General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world at 52,508 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters). The General Grant Tree is the second largest at 46,608 cubic feet (1,320 cubic meters). It is difficult to appreciate the size of the giant sequoias because neighboring trees are so large. The largest of the sequoias are as tall as an average 26-story building, and their diameters at the base exceed the width of many city streets. As they continue to grow, they produce about 40 cubic feet (one cubic meter) of wood each year, approximately equal to the volume of a tree that's 50 feet (15 meters) tall and one foot in diamet

With the world’s largest economy, hundreds of overseas military bases, and leadership positions in various international institutions, the United States is an undeniable global power. The U.S. government is not transparent about the location of all of its overseas military bases, but this map shows bases with confirmed coordinates as of May 2020.But this was not always the case. For much of the country’s history, presidents shielded the nation from international affairs. The first U.S. president, George Washington, declared in his farewell address, “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.” In particular, he feared the consequences of involving the United States in Europe’s great power conflicts. Instead, early American leaders focused on developing the young nation’s economy, expanding domestic territory, and getting Europe’s imperial powers to withdraw from the Western Hemisphere. In their worldview, the Atlantic and Pacific oc