Cameron’s fury at thousands who joined Facebook tributes to ‘callous murderer’ Raoul Moat By Daniel Martin Downing Street is to contact Facebook to express the Prime Minister’s dismay after hundreds of people left messages of sympathy on the website for gunman Roaul Moat. David Cameron said yesterday that he simply could not understand why anyone would feel sorry for a ‘callous murderer’. Flowers have been left at the scene of Mr Moat’s death in Northumberland, and more than 30,000 people have joined a group on the social networking site Facebook to pay tribute to the gunman. Now Mr Cameron has … Continue reading Raoul Moat – Why is he a hero?

Put… me… DOWN! The elephant who took a fancy to a very unfortunate lizard By Mail Foreign Service Swinging mid-air like a rag doll, this monitor lizard was in for a rough time when a playful elephant took a fancy to it. The unlucky creature had been swept off the ground and was carried around for a number of days by Madhuri, an Indian elephant. With tail firmly clamped in the animal’s trunk the lizard was swung around and occasionally put back on the floor. This is not the beginning of a beautiful friendship: Madhuri, an Indian elephant, swings a … Continue reading The elephant who fancied a lizard!

dawn.com In this photo taken June 9, 2010, Iraqi painter Muayad Muhsin gestures towards a painting while in his studio during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq’s artists are using their work to try to process the turmoil since the 2003 US-led invasion, and what they are producing shows a profound anger over their country’s traumas and uncertainty over its future. – AP Photo BAGHDAD: Iraq’s artists are using their work to try to process the turmoil since the 2003 US-led invasion, and what they are producing shows a profound anger over their country’s traumas and … Continue reading Iraq’s artists reflect pain, trauma of the war

Who will cast the first stone? By Irfan Husain dawn.com Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. –AP Photo First, the good news: the Bangladesh High Court has abolished all physical punishments based on the scriptures. Thus, people will no longer be sentenced to lashing, chopping off their hands, or stoning to death. Unfortunately, Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is an Iranian widow, and was sentenced to be stoned to death in her country for alleged adultery before her husband was murdered. She has already been lashed 99 times in 2006 for “illicit sex”. The Iranian penal code is very explicit about how the sentence … Continue reading Muslims need to grow up?

Inspiring leaders by Guest As the room filled up with bright young faces, a girl with a huge smile walked up to the podium to introduce me to the audience. “I am very excited about today’s session,” said Zainub Riaz who was one of the organisers, her voice booming through the microphone. And so began the Young Leader’s Conference (YLC), a six-day residential conference where people from all around Pakistan attend workshops and inspiring talks to learn leadership skills from the world of business, development, academia and culture. Essentially, the place to be if you want to start off young … Continue reading Young Leader’s Conference – Inspiring leaders

In the shadows by Faisal Kapadia at dawn.com A new corporate mini-documentary featuring our new superstar Naseem Hameed is all over our television screen these days. It shows a girl sprinting at school races as her parents cheer her on. Cut to the South Asian Games and that girl now a woman, still a sprinter, who wins the 100-metre event gold medal for Pakistan. What a triumph! What a blow for feminism in Pakistan – the fastest woman is South Asia is a Pakistani. Now a household name in the country, she is adored by the media and has become … Continue reading In the shadows the heroines arise

Spinwatch must offer right of reply David Miller’s Spinwatch websites exploit free speech and those profiled, as I was, should be able to disassociate themselves Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 13 July 2010 10.30 BST Article history On Cif last week, David Miller wrote a piece complaining that I had his website, SpinProfiles, shut down. As his article argues, he does indeed have the right to free speech, but this is not a one-way street, and the people who his projects target have a right to object to witch-hunts and harassment. About a year and a half ago, I was contacted … Continue reading David Miller’s Spinwatch websites exploit free speech and do not offer right of reply

War, or Peace Poverty or Prosperity It’s our choice. http://www.theartofgoodgovernment.org/ We as human beings have within us, the potential for unlimited growth. We also have within us the seeds of self-destruction.The use of God-given talents to initiate real wealth creates prosperity. The use of those talents to exploit others, to enrich oneself by impoverishing others, produces only conflict and dissension. We need to create new wealth, not expropriate the wealth of others. We need government which will identify and prohibit those actions which are harmful to or exploitive of others. Then, we will have Peace, and Prosperity. A wise and … Continue reading The Art Of Good Government