How we turned a Cold War into a hot potato By Jawed Naqvi dawn.com The mother of a missing Kashmiri youth, cries during a demonstration by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in Srinagar. On the tenth of every month, members of APDP assemble in a park in Srinagar to highlight the issue of missing persons in Kashmir and remember their loved ones. The APDP says that more than 8,000 people have gone missing, most of them after their arrest by Indian security forces in the troubled Kashmir region since a rebellion broke out at the end of 1989. … Continue reading Sorting out Kashmir with honour to all?

Posted by Guest dawn.com I watched the much talked about My Name is Khan the other day. The brilliant depiction of an autistic person by Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar’s surprisingly taut direction made for a good film. I had been warned by friends to keep tissues handy, as many friends had their eyeliners washed away as they sniffled through the film. I have never been emotionally vulnerable and usually don’t cry in public, so although the film was stirring, it did not send me scrambling through my handbag for those back-up tissues. That is, except for one scene. … Continue reading Confessions of a hijabi!

Netanyahu and the Christian Zionists:  A Marriage of Convenience or Ideology? Coverage of the recent tiff between Netanyahu and the Biden-Clinton team rarely touches on an issue that Christian Zionist watchers have been well aware of ever since Netanyahu became prime minister.  The issue is the long term symbiotic relationship he has maintained with the most extreme element of the American Christian Zionist movement,  presently led by the bombastic TV evangelist, John Hagee.  Rachel Tabachnik, writing in the most recent edition of the Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture, shows that this relationship dates back to at least 1998, when … Continue reading Nethanyahu is asking these death-cult fanatics for support in the US

Improbable even as fiction Zafar Hilaly The writer is a former ambassador. When doomsday occurs and the world dissolves, and all places shall be hell that is not heaven, there will be an Indian standing amidst the ruins yelling that Pakistan is to blame. True, delusions and the ability to indulge in them are a part of a man’s life. “If you take away the life-lie from the average man you take away his happiness,” said Ibsen. But what if states have delusions? Can they too afford to indulge them? India feels that it can. Home Minister P Chidambaram served … Continue reading Dancing to Al Qaedas tune?

Arabs throw in their lot with ‘global terrorists’ in war against the infidel On patrol: the Pakistan Army is fighting a disparate group of “global terrorists” in large areas of the lawless tribal lands of the North West Frontier Province Anthony Loyd in Peshawar They have been attacked from the air by American drones and on the ground by the Pakistan Army. Hundreds have been killed or injured on the battlefields of Afghanistan — but the foreign fighters, or “global terrorists” of the North West Frontier Province, remain a formidable presence. First-hand accounts from locals in the lawless areas of … Continue reading Arabs with ‘global terrorists’ in war against Pakistan?

Sceptic challenges guru to kill him live on TV Pandit Surender Sharma tries to kill Sanal Edamaruku live on television: the rationalist didn’t look too worried Jeremy Page, Delhi thetimes.co.uk When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers either gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku’s response was different. “Go on then — kill me,” he said. Mr Edamaruku had been invited to the same talk show as head of the Indian Rationalists’ Association — the country’s self-appointed sceptic-in-chief. At first the holy man, Pandit … Continue reading Guru killing sceptic on TV

Married people ‘twice as likely to be fat’ Married people are twice as likely to become obese than their single counterparts, scientists claim. By Andrew Hough telegraph.co.uk Previous 1 of 3 Images Next Single people were more likely to excercise in order to find themselves a partner, the researchers found. Photo: CORBIS Daisy and Onslow from the BBC comedy Keeping Up Appearances, were overwieght but happy. The study found that married people ‘let themselves go’. Photo: BBC The study advised that married people took up more exercise. Photo: ALAMY Greek researchers found that married couples were more likely to become fat due to … Continue reading Marriage makes you fat – proof!

Neighbour with sex Asbo arrested for noisy sessions Nightmare neighbour Caroline Cartwright who was given a sex Asbo to prevent noisy sessions has been arrested after failing to keep the lid on her lovemaking. Steve Cartwright and wife Caroline leave Newcastle Crown Court Photo: PA Mrs Cartwright avoided jail in January when a judge at Newcastle Crown Court handed her a suspended prison sentence after she was caught breaching a four-year Asbo which bans her from having loud sex sessions. But two months after her court case Caroline, of Hall Road, Washington, is said to be at it again and … Continue reading British couple arrested over noisy sex session at own home!

Lib Dems’ Vince Cable ‘ready to be chancellor’ in hung parliament after talks with Treasury By Gerri Peev Vince Cable has put himself forward to be chancellor in a hung parliament Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat’s high profile deputy leader, has broken the party’s vow of silence on coalition government by declaring he is ready to serve as chancellor. Mr Cable, who is also the Lib Dem’s Treasury spokesman, revealed he would be ready to step into the role if called upon. His statements have all the more poignancy as the latest polls point towards a hung parliament, which could … Continue reading Should Vince Cable be chancellor in a hung parliament?