Asia

Jirga declares 13 girls vani in Dera Bugti

Source: ET The decision was taken to settle murder-related conflict between Bagirani and Shahwani tribes. PHOTO: FILE DERA BUGTI: A jirga in Dera Bugti, Balochistan declared 13 girls vani on Monday while settling a murder-related conflict between two tribes, Express News reported.  The conflict was between the Bagirani and Shahwani tribes […]

Happy and clueless

Source: ET Out of the blue there comes news of hope. In a survey conducted by the till-now-unknown New Economics Foundation, we are told that Pakistan ranked 16th among 151 countries of the world on the Happy Planet Index (HPI) 2012, beating India and the United States, which ranked 32nd […]

Syria widens Hezbollah’s contradictions

STORY SUMMARY Reports that a Hezbollah member, Ali Hussein Nassif, was killed in Syria last week, along with other party members, should not surprise us. As Hezbollah’s role in Syria becomes clearer, and as the party continues to contribute to the Assad regime’s viciousness, its vulnerabilities will increase. However, the […]

Sanctions hurt Syria and Iran but regimes can ride on regardless – One of the small but immensely wealthy states which may suffer from Iran’s crisis is Dubai

by Robert Fisk, The Independent The Tehran “bazaaris” – the men who have shouted for an end to Iranian subsidies to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad – have to be taken seriously. They were the rich boys of the souk who supported the Islamic revolution against the Shah, the […]

Boy chained for not studying Arabic:

Source: TOI Police on Saturday booked the authorities of a madrassa for allegedly beating up a 12-year-old boy and holding him captive for not showing interest in studying Arabic in Andhra Pradesh’s Medak district. Police said the boy had joined Minhajul Uloom Madrassa two years ago. In his complaint, the […]

Palestinians need a one-state solution

Palestinians need a one-state solution Palestinian autonomy is an illusion. A plan B involving a struggle for equal rights would expose the reality of occupation by Israel by Ghada Karmi The Guardian, Thursday 20 September 2012 It is one year this week since the Palestinians applied for UN membership. President […]