THE ROVING EYE The BRIC post-Washington consensus By Pepe Escobar The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) got together in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, on Thursday with a bang. After meeting Chinese President Hu Jintao, and once again condemning an “asymmetric, dysfunctional globalization”, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was at his ebullient best: “A new global economic geography has been born.” Well, not quite. Not yet. Anyone across the world fed up with Somali pirates in Zegna suits disrupting global trade is interested in what the BRICs are (potentially) up to. The world’s largest developing countries, bound … Continue reading BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) got together in the Brazilian capital

US backtracks on Kandahar shuras By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON – The United States military has now officially backtracked from its earlier suggestion that it would seek the consent of local shuras, or consultative conferences with those elders, to carry out the military occupation of Kandahar city and nearby districts – contradicting a pledge by Afghan President Hamid Karzai not to carry out the operation without such consent. Lieutenant Colonel Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops in Afghanistan, told Inter Press Service on Tuesday that local tribal elders … Continue reading Kandahar shuras?

Syria smarts over Israeli accusations By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – On April 12, the United States celebrated the 65th anniversary of the passing of its war-time president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Memorable quotes of the leader were published in mainstream media, reminding the world of a man who tried – at all costs – to shake off the Great Depression and prevent his country from venturing into World War II. At the same time, talk of war began to surface in the Middle East when Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Syria of supplying missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Syrian Embassy … Continue reading Syria smarts over Israeli accusations

The flying Sikh and the peacenik By M K Bhadrakumar Senior Indian officials in their private briefing insist there was “almost a Zen-like spiritual quality” to the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United States President Barack Obama in Washington last Sunday. However, the question being posed by the Indian strategic community is still: “Does Obama care about India?” At the bottom of such poignantly contrasting characterizations of statecraft lie two factors. First, the residual feudal mindset of the Indian invariably attributes what are in reality flaws in policies to personal vagaries in the thinking of the leader. … Continue reading India feel jilted!

China earthquake: Tibetan vulture sky burials abandoned as bodies pile up Tibetan monks are forced to cremate bodies as the death toll from Wednesday’s earthquake continues to climb. Malcolm Moore reports from Jiegu. By Malcolm Moore in Jiegu telegraph.co.uk A Tibetan Buddhist monk waters down the deceased at the Jiegu Monastery Photo: AFP / GETTY Tibetan monks look for survivors amidst the rubble in Jiegu Town Photo: EPA The corpses are piled three-deep at Jiegu’s Tibetan Buddhist monastery, perched on the mountain above the earthquake-ravaged town. “More than a thousand bodies were brought here,” said Ge Laidanzeng, a 20-year-old Tibetan … Continue reading Tibetan vulture sky burials abandoned as bodies pile up

Nuclear manoeuvres By Cyril Almeida dawn.com It’s unclear to what extent the credit for the nuclear programme goes to Kayani, but it is noticeable that on his watch the army has become more forthright. –Photo by AP Occasionally, very occasionally, the military mind here hits upon a good idea. The offer to supply nuclear fuel cycle services under IAEA safeguards may be one of those ideas. Let’s begin with the science bit in this maze of scientific jargon and high-stakes international politics. What Pakistan has offered is analogous to an oil-refining facility. If you have a generator and barrels of … Continue reading Nuclear manoeuvres in Pakistan

Shrek producers left red faced after authorising ‘saucy’ men’s magazine shoot The Hollywood studio behind the Shrek franchise has been left embarrassed, after allowing the film’s characters to feature in a racy men’s magazine photo-shoot with half-naked models. By Andrew Hough Published: 6:30AM BST 15 Apr 2010 telegraph.co.uk This scene with Donkey is in apparent reference to a ménage a trois between the characters. Photo: ELLEN VON UNWERTH/VMAN MAGAZINE Princess Fiona poses with male and female models wearing barely-there leather and denim outfits. Photo: ELLEN VON UNWERTH/VMAN MAGAZINE Model Emma Dumont with Shrek (L) while The Ginger Bread man has … Continue reading Shrek producers left red faced in ‘saucy’ men’s magazine shoot

India has more mobile phones than toilets: UN report Far more people in India have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet, according to a UN study on sanitation. telegraph.co.uk A sadhu uses a mobile phone during Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayag in Allahabad Photo: EPA India’s mobile subscribers totalled 563.73 million at the last count, enough to serve nearly half of the country’s 1.2 billion population. But just 366 million people – around a third of the population – had access to proper sanitation in 2008, said the study published by the United Nations University, a UN … Continue reading India has more mobile phones than toilets

Apple iPad proves popular with pets The Apple iPad has proved so popular with technology fans in the US that its international launch has had to be delayed by a month due to a shortage of stock. By Georgia Graham telegraph.co.uk Link to this video However the gadget has also also won a following among cats – perhaps surprisingly as it comes without a mouse. Pet owners wishing to pamper their animals with the ultimate toy when it becomes available in Britain next month will have to spend more than £700. Related Articles iPad international launch delayed by a month … Continue reading Should I get my cat an iPad?

Men accused of kidnapping Sahil Saeed killed in police shoot-out Three men accused of kidnapping the six-year-old British boy Sahil Saeed from his family’s home in Pakistan have been killed in a shoot-out with police, according to regional officers. By Rob Crilly in Islamabad telegraph.co.uk Sahil Saeed with his father Raja Naqqash Saeed Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES Tariq Abbas Qureshi, a district police officer, told the Dawn newspaper that two gunmen had tried to free a third man as he was being driven from an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi. Policemen guarding Safeer Hussain returned fire and the three suspects were killed. … Continue reading Sahil Saeed kidnappers EXECUTED!