VIEW: Greece and the European Union —S P Seth Tensions between the two giants of the European project, France and Germany, reportedly reached a point where President Sarkozy of France allegedly threatened to quit the euro currency zone unless the German Chancellor came around and accepted the rescue package Who would have thought that a small country like Greece would become the barometer of the European, if not the world’s, economy? But this is how things are panning out. It so happens that Greece is a member of the 16-nation European Monetary Union (EMU), with the euro as their common … Continue reading Greece and the European Union

WASHINGTON DIARY: More than meets the eye —Dr Manzur Ejaz In the garb of performing a pious act by banning the most popular internet sites, the government has knocked out its critics. Now, Pakistanis are left at the mercy of the government or corporate media overwhelmed by religious ideologues Pakistan has done it once again. From Morocco to Indonesia, nowhere did the public come out against the abominable act of depicting cartoons of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) except in Pakistan. Other than Pakistan, no other government, including theocracies in Saudi Arabia and Iran, keen on condemning the US in … Continue reading Governments banning the internet may get those governments banned online?

COMMENT: Jihadi public schools? —Ali K Chishti Unnecessary and often misplaced emphasis on religious education is nothing more than a clever ruse to deflect attention from the real issue: the general state of education in Pakistan One of the misconceptions about the jihad phenomenon is regarding the role played by the madrassa in propagating the jihadi culture inside Pakistan. While there is no doubt that madrassas sponsored by certain countries in the past have played an important role in inculcating hateful vehemence among their students, they were not alone in their endeavours. The public and private schools have been equally … Continue reading Jihadi public schools – ask no questions or we will blow you up?

Internet censorship Dawn Editorial Pakistani women affiliated with a local religious party rally against the Facebook page “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!” A Pakistani court ordered the government to block the popular social networking site because of the controversial page that encourages uses to post images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, a senior legal official said. – AP Photo Sci-Tech Facebook told to set up warning system Facebook told to set up warning system The furore over the websites blocked last week by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority on the instructions of the Lahore High Court refuses to die down, and for good … Continue reading Internet censorship – how the mullah mindset is destroying the future of Pakistan

Hubble discovers planet being devoured by star The Hubble space telescope has discovered a planet in our galaxy in the process of being devoured by the star that it orbits. telegraph uk An artist’s image showing planet WASP-12b which is being eaten by a star. Photo: NASA/AFP/Getty Images The doomed planet, dubbed WASP-12b, has the highest known surface temperature of any planet in the Milky Way – around 2,800F (1,500C). But it could be enveloped by its own parent star over the next ten million years, the paper’s authors have concluded. Related Articles Science predictions for 2009 Nasa space telescope … Continue reading Planet being devoured by star

Facebook, Google and Twitter: custodians of our most intimate secrets We’ve handed our personal database to internet companies with hardly any questions asked Aditya Chakrabortty The Guardian Google CEO Eric Schmidt . . .’If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.’ Photograph: Paul Sakuma/AP The next time you hear the phrase “internet privacy”, don’t think of teenage infatuations heatedly committed to Facebook, of lads puking down their Ted Bakers and sticking the cameraphone footage on YouTube, or of some hack writer tweeting about the progress of his … Continue reading Facebook, Google and Twitter – need to break free from the big brother rut

Troubling reality behind facade of Uzbek ‘princess’ The glitter, glamour and philanthropy of Gulnara Karimova hides the truth of an Uzbekistan regime that engenders fear Henrietta Foster guardian.co.uk Gulnara Karimova has contributed to US foundation for Aids research amFAR, yet homosexuality is illegal in Uzbekistan. Photograph: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images If it wasn’t so bizarre and genuinely troubling, the extravagant character of Gulnara Karimova would almost be a tremendous joke. One of those hyper-real women that grace the pages of Tintin or Asterix in harem pants and jewels with secret compartments stuffed with poison. She may have been played by … Continue reading Gulnara Karimova

Even picnics in Israel are political Our farewell picnic to Ezra Nawi before his prison term for peaceful protest carried a new message to most Israeli picnics Neve Gordon guardian.co.uk Picnics, like almost everything else in Israel, are often political. Oz Shelach underscores this point in his collection of short stories, Picnic Grounds, where he describes how a history professor takes his family on a picnic in the pine forest near Givat Shaul, a Jerusalem neighbourhood. The professor teaches his son some of the camping skills he learned while serving in the Israeli military, using old stones to block the … Continue reading Israels political picnics!

Afghans believe US is funding Taliban Intellectuals and respected Afghan professionals are convinced the west is prolonging conflict to maintain influence in the region Daniella Peled guardian.co.uk It is the common belief among Afghans that the west has no intention of ending the conflict in Afghanistan. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images It’s near-impossible to find anyone in Afghanistan who doesn’t believe the US are funding the Taliban: and it’s the highly educated Afghan professionals, those employed by ISAF, USAID, international media organisations – and even advising US diplomats – who seem the most convinced. One Afghan friend, who speaks flawless English … Continue reading Is US funding the Taliban?