VIEW: Central Asia’s identity crisis —Dr Azmat Hayat Khan Russia views Central Asia as its backyard, but it has no interest in cleaning up this particular bit of it. Moscow is not enthused that the provisional government in Kyrgyzstan, for all its many failings, talks of building a multiparty democracy Until the Soviet period, Central Asia had never been possessed by Czarist Russia. The various states and entities of the region had long consisted of loose and shifting alliances of tribal groupings. The names attached to them did not represent nations but rather were drawn from several key tribal designations … Continue reading Central Asia’s identity crisis

COMMENT: Af-Pak: a flurry of reports —Dr Mohammad Taqi The lack of attention to a population-centric counter-insurgency approach is not because of lack of capability but flows directly from the Pakistani security establishment’s policy to preserve and promote its jihadist assets Just when the Pakistani sleuths and their media cohorts were attempting to trash the London School of Economics (LSE) report on the former’s nexus with the jihadists, the RAND Corporation’s National Security and Research Division published its monograph ‘Counter-insurgency in Pakistan’, last week. The 209-page work, authored by Seth Jones and Christine Fair, concludes that Pakistan’s record against the … Continue reading Af-Pak: a flurry of reports

Hullabaloo over the Hitler picture By Mahir Ali dawn.com The director is said to have picked Anupam Kher because of his resemblance to Adolf Hitler — which is surely a bit of a stretch. –Photo by AFP Apparently it was a phone call from the esteemed director Mahesh Bhatt’s German mother-in-law that clinched the issue for Indian actor Anupam Kher and prompted him to turn down the title role in Dear Friend Hitler, a projected Bollywood take on the Nazi dictator. According to a report in The Times of India, she told him: “It’s not just the Jews who suffered … Continue reading Hullabaloo over the Hitler?

dawn.com The 17 organisations are also attempting to establish their bases in the Sindh province, interior ministry sources said. — Photo by AFP National Govt undecided on tackling ‘Punjabi’ Taliban: report Govt undecided on tackling ‘Punjabi’ Taliban: report KARACHI: At least 17 extremist and banned groups in Punjab are collecting money during religious and other ceremonies in the name of public welfare, a BBCUrdu report quoted intelligence agencies as saying. These organisations are using different names for this purpose and are also organising charity events to gather finances, the report said. An intelligence report sent to the interior ministry says … Continue reading Militant groups active, gathering finances in Punjab

dawn.com The enormous success of the right wing anti-Islam party in the recent elections in the Netherlands indicates a widespread schism within the Dutch and wider European societies where the presence of the Muslims as equal participants of society is disputed. “Stop migration from the Muslim countries! Block the building of mosques or Muslim schools! Stop subsidising the multicultural programs,” were prominent slogans of Geert Wilders, head of Freedom Party (PVV) during the election campaign in the Netherlands. His party obtained 1.5 million votes and increased its number of seats from 9 to 24 in the parliament. It is probable … Continue reading The anti-Islam vote in the Netherlands elections

Pakistan is UK’s long-term strategic partner: Hague dawn.com Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague (L) arrives for talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on June 23, 2010. — AFP photo Pakistan Holbrooke arrives in Islamabad on two-day visit Holbrooke arrives in Islamabad on two-day visit ISLAMABAD: The new British government on Wednesday said it views Pakistan as a long term strategic partner and desires “deeper” and “stronger” bilateral ties in all areas. The British Foreign Secretary who is here on a three-day official visit also vowed to deepen the “strategic dialogue” with Pakistan, besides … Continue reading Pakistan is UK’s long-term strategic partner

Listening to an iPod or MP3 player for just an hour can significantly damage your hearing, according to new research telegraph.co.uk Listening to an iPod or MP3 player for just an hour can significantly damage your hearing, according to new research Photo: CORBIS Scientists have shown that listening to music on headphones for an hour can have a temporary impact on people’s hearing because of the damage caused to the hair cells in the outer ear. Participants in the study, published in the journal Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, had their hearing tested and were then asked to listen … Continue reading Listening to iPod for an hour can damage hearing

Prolific chip and pin fraudster jailed for ‘£35m scam’ One of Britain’s most prolific chip and pin fraudsters, Theogenes De Montford, has been jailed for nationwide card cloning scam that could have raked in up to £35 million. telegraph.co.uk The 29 year-old was at the heart of a gang that cloned thousands of credit cards by inserting devices into pin entry devices at petrol stations across the country, Southwark Crown Court was told. Mr Recorder Nicholas Rhodes QC told the software engineering graduate ”the motivating factor was greed and the huge profits you could make with your skills from this … Continue reading UK – Sri Lankan jailed for ‘£35m credit card scam’