VIEW: The future of South Asia —Mohammad Jamil So far, SAARC has been little more than a talk-shop since its inception in 1985, where speeches are delivered and leaders express their determination to convert the region into a South Asian Union Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held their first meeting in nine months on Thursday on the sidelines of the SAARC summit, with a view to ending the diplomatic stalemate lingering since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. According to a local TV report, both sides have decided, in principle, to resume the Composite Dialogue. According … Continue reading An ‘Asian Union’ to join the ‘European Union’ within next 50 years?

For Blair Peach, a little justice I always knew the police killed my partner Blair Peach. Now all can see the scale of the lies they told Celia Stubbs The Guardian In 1979 the family and friends of Blair Peach called for the Cass report into his death to be made public and for a public inquiry to be held into the events of Southall on the day that he was killed. This week, after 31 years of campaigning, we received the Cass report, albeit with all the police officers’ names redacted, or, as I would rather say, censored. We … Continue reading Do British Police Lie, Frame and Kill people?

dawn.com British opposition Conservative party leader, David Cameron (L), opposition Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg (C), and Prime Minister, and leader of the ruling Labour Party, Gordon Brown (R), participate in the final of three live televised debates, at the University of Birmingham, in Birmingham, central England on April 29, 2010. — AFP LONDON: Whoever wins Thursday’s general election, one success of the campaign is already clear: the first ever TV debates between party leaders, which have galvanised voters and thrown the race wide open. While some had predicted that social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook would take centre … Continue reading TV debates transform Britain’s election landscape

Former ISI official Khalid Khwaja found dead in NW dawn.com Former ISI official Khalid Khwaja. — File photo Front Page ‘Pakistan has moved 100,000 troops from eastern border’ ‘Pakistan has moved 100,000 troops from eastern border’ DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A former Pakistani intelligence officer abducted by an alleged militant group last month was found shot dead Friday in a northwest tribal region, officials said. Khalid Khawaja went missing in late March along with another ex-intelligence official known as Col. Imam and a filmmaker. There was no word on the fate of the two others. Khawaja’s body was found on the … Continue reading Khalid Khwaja found dead

By David Derbyshire With its aggressive behaviour and appetite for young chicks, the magpie doesn’t have a particularly good image when it comes to compassion. But according to some experts, the predator may have a tender side, feeling grief and routinely holding ‘funerals’ for fallen friends. Dr Marc Bekoff claims the rituals  –  which involve birds laying ‘wreaths’ of grass alongside roadside corpses  –  are proof animals feel complex emotions. Four for sorrow: Magpies are said to hold funerals for fallen friends and even bring along wreaths The claims are likely to reignite the debate about whether emotions are a … Continue reading Magpies grieve for their dead (and even turn up for funerals)

‘Get Gordon’ is gathering speed The marketing in this election has been a spectacularly negative, and right now it seems nobody likes Gordon Brown Steve Henry guardian.co.uk Gordon Brown has seen his popularity nosedive during this election campaign. Photograph: Conservative Party/PA Wire I’m supposed to be writing about the marketing in this general election – but where does marketing start and end in all this? Even policies are marketing – since, like a lot of marketing, they bear only a tenuous relation to the truth. As Samuel Johnson said: “Promise … is the soul of an advertisement.” And we all … Continue reading Time to show Big Brother Labour The Door?

Wearing ties is not a bind The necktie is a stylish tool of self-expression, not a symbol of oppression Stuart G Millar guardian.co.uk Whether you’re Colonel Buftington-Tuftington or Peter H Author, there’s bound to be a tie for you. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian Aside from gin-soaked Hollywood princesses sardonically flirting with Philip Marlowe, no one ever said “you look smart” and meant it in a bad way. It’s why we dress up for the most important things in our lives – job interviews, weddings and funerals. It’s why fashion designers send model after model down the catwalk decked … Continue reading Should Men Burn Ties?

Wildlife TV infringes animals’ privacy, says academic By Tom Morgan, Press Association Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Sir David Attenborough, whose BBC programme Nature’s Great Events was scrutinised in Brett Mills’s research Wildlife documentaries deny animals their “right to privacy”, an academic claimed today. Producers of nature shows ignore privacy ethics when considering the mechanics of filming, argues Brett Mills, of the University of East Anglia. Related articles More Environment News Search the news archive for more stories BBC show Nature’s Great Events – narrated by Sir David Attenborough – was scrutinised in his research. Dr Mills said: “Human notions of privacy … Continue reading Wildlife TV infringes animals’ privacy – (New Labour – New Laws?)