All God’s creatures A US company, run by atheists, is offering to take care of your pets during the second coming. But are they serious? Susan McCarthy guardian.co.uk, Suppose you were liable to be called away at a moment’s notice – for a long time – and you couldn’t take pets along. What if you suddenly got that chance to go to the Antarctic and inspect its wildlife? (Oh please, National Science Foundation.) Perhaps you hope for a last-minute berth to visit the International Space Station. Or maybe you fear arrest. In any of these cases, you won’t be able … Continue reading Atheists take money from baptist fanatics

Islam4UK to be banned, says Alan Johnson Membership of Islamist group Islam4UK and al-Muhajiroun to become criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years’ jail Alan Travis, home affairs editor guardian.co.uk, Article history Radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad founded al-Muhajiroun, which is to be banned, along with its offshoot Islam4UK, under a new terrorism law. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images The Islamist group Islam4UK, which planned a march through Wootton Bassett, and its “parent” organisation, al-Muhajiroun, will be banned under new legislation outlawing the “glorification” of terrorism, Alan Johnson announced today. The order, which will come into effect on Thursday, … Continue reading Islamist group Islam4UK /al-Muhajiroun membership to become criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years’ jail

The Interior Ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell has warned that the Taliban have been angered by their depiction by the media as villains, and could be out to bomb them. The bomb hoax at the building housing this newspaper, ‘Geo’ TV and other publications of the ‘Jang Group’ in Lahore Sunday night as well as at the nearby WAPDA building could be a warning of things to come. There is indeed growing evidence that the media is becoming a key target. The attack on the press club in Peshawar late last year indicates the threat is in earnest. Tougher security … Continue reading Mullahs hit between the eyes by Pakistans media

Dr Maleeha Lodhi The writer is a former envoy to the US and the UK, and a former editor of The News. Barack Obama completes his first year as president with his public approval ratings having fallen from a high of 68 per cent when he entered office to 47 per cent. Is this common to American presidents after their first 365 days in power? Does this set a trend line that will persist? Can Obama turn this situation around? The answer to the first two questions is no, not necessarily. The first year certainly sets the momentum and direction … Continue reading Obama: rhetoric vs reality

S Khalid Husain In the eyes of the world, in no other field has Pakistan achieved a pre-eminence such as it has in producing terrorists. Out of “modesty,” perhaps, no government of the day has tried to usurp “credit” for this singular achievement. All incoming governments of the country have either “invited” their predecessor governments to take the bow, or conceded the “credit” to the army. There has not been a calculated, sustained effort to crush terrorism. The present effort has come just in time. But the question is how effectively the democratic government can continue to back the army … Continue reading The parallel ‘battle’

Rahimullah Yusufzai There are lessons to be learnt from the recent suicide bombing at the secret CIA station in Afghanistan’s Khost province bordering Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region. A Jordanian medical doctor of Palestinian origin with a Turkish wife teamed up with other Arab nationals from Al Qaeda and sought the help of Pakistani, and possibly Afghan, Taliban to carry out this attack and inflict the heaviest loss to the premier US spy agency in 26 years. It showed how widespread the animosity is among Muslims against the US given its policies and explained the way Islamic militants transcending borders … Continue reading Lessons we must learn

Ishtiaq Ahmed Sectarian terrorism is a product of the fierce political competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran to claim the leadership of Muslims. Both have their coffers filled with staggering amounts of wealth derived from the sale of oil The horrific attack on 10th Muharram, i.e. December 28, 2009, on a Shia procession in Karachi claimed at least 43 lives and inflicted injuries on hundreds of others. It was followed by attacks on more than 2,000 shops and businesses. The estimated damage is appreciated to the tune of Rs 30 to 50 billion. The authorities are claiming that such rioting … Continue reading Sectarian terrorism