Penguin couple pose for photograph A pair of penguins appear to have posed for their picture to be taken by photographer Adam Foster. telegraphy.co.uk Photographer Adam Foster, 23, was visiting Chester Zoo when he noticed the birds and they appeared to pose Photo: ADAM FOSTER / CATERS NEWS The Humboldt penguins – which often mate for life – caught the eye of Adam as they stood lovingly grooming one another. As he approached to photograph the male and female bird almost appeared to know what was coming. Related Articles New photos of Beatles’ John Lennon appear after 40 years Zebra … Continue reading Penguin couple pose for photograph – serious!

Taliban distancing themselves from Al Qaeda: experts By Anwar Iqbal The Taliban were declining to provide shelter or assist in attacks in Afghanistan even in return for payment. — Photo by AP WASHINGTON: The blasts in Lahore are the last desperate measures of pro-Al Qaeda militants who are now being abandoned by the Taliban, diplomatic sources told Dawn. The sources also confirmed a Los Angeles Times report, published on Saturday, that the Taliban militants in Fata were now refusing to collaborate with Al Qaeda fighters. The Taliban were declining to provide shelter or assist in attacks in Afghanistan even in … Continue reading Al Qaeda and Taliban ruptures in Pakistan

Glory, piety and politics Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com With Pakistan’s two main political parties looking exhausted by being made to play a continuous game of cat and mouse with the establishment, the new generation of young Pakistanis began to look elsewhere. — Photo by AFP Many young Pakistanis, who in their reactionary worldview cannot relate to the conventional make-up of the long-bearded and mullah-looking hawkers of intransigent ideas, have found their man in the dashing (Che Guevara-meets-Saladin) shape of Zaid Hamid. But this phenomenon does not begin or end with Mr Hamid. Back in the early 1990s the army and … Continue reading Pakistans new trendy sexy mullahs!

Why West fears theft of our nuclear assets By Shahid R. Siddiqi the dawn.com The western media and commentators raise doubts about Pakistan being a viable state, the possibility of its nuclear weapons falling into terrorists’ hands and A.Q. Khan episode being repeated. — Photo by AP In August 2007, USAF lost track of six Cruise Missiles armed with 150-kiloton nuclear warheads for 36 hours. These were loaded onto a B-52 Bomber at USAF base in North Dakota, were improperly and illegally flown around the continental US and were eventually discovered at a USAF base in Louisiana. It is illegal … Continue reading US and Pakistan – who lost nuclear weapons?

Phony pilots —Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur Nationalities are denied rights in the name of religion and state ideology, people go missing on flimsy grounds, minorities live under threat and police brutality continues unabated Eventually the Corendon Airlines Boeing 737 phony pilot’s luck ran out. He had fooled the Turkish airline with fake credentials, like our rulers I would say, for two years before being arrested in Amsterdam moments prior to taking off with 101 passengers. He said he had been flying for 13 years on a false licence and had spent at least 10,000 flying hours in the cockpit. He served … Continue reading Phony pilots!

‘Avatar’ and the racism of virtue —Hagai van der Horst The Na’vi are a dream realised only to its dreamer, a metaphor whose goal is its own source. Put plainly, the Na’vi are Americans, only in a reverse mirror image James Cameron’s film, ‘Avatar’, offers its viewers one of the most morally fulfilling journeys, an empathy of seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, or indeed, everybody. However, Avatar’s ideology can be at times puzzling and unsettling. Put simply, the film invokes colonial and imperial tropes under a cloak of ambiguity, with the wrongdoers appearing overtly virtuous and those wronged seeming … Continue reading The Na’vi are a dream realised only to its dreamer

Perceptions of long-term security —Dr Mubashir Hasan The ruling elites of Pakistan and India, busy as they are in acquiring the capabilities of high-tech warfare techniques of future wars and armed as they are with nuclear weapons, stand on the brink of courting disaster after disaster through pursuing their present policies Increasing Chinese economic power and its growing influence in the Third World countries; simultaneously, the decreasing clout of the US in South and Southwest Asia shall pose serious challenges for peace, security and freedom for the nations of the subcontinent in times to come. Over the long term, China’s huge … Continue reading The ruling elites of Pakistan and India are busy playing games

Societal perspectives on terrorism —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi At least one generation has been socialised into a favourable disposition towards Islamic conservatism and militancy. They have a natural sympathy towards the political discourse of the militants even if they do not support their violent methods The terrorist attacks in Lahore on March 8 and 12 are a reminder of how terrorism continues to threaten internal order and stability in Pakistan. These attacks also show that the terrorists are not only present in the cities but they have also developed strong networking with each other to the detriment of the Pakistani government and … Continue reading Should Mullahs who do not condemn terrorism be declared as terrorists?

Taliban Increasingly Unpopular in Pakistan Four percent say Taliban’s presence is positive influence by Julie Ray and Rajesh Srinivasan This article is the first of a two-part series that looks at Pakistanis’ and Afghans’ views of the Taliban’s influence and their respective countries’ efforts to combat terrorism. WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Taliban’s presence on either side of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is largely unwelcome, but increasingly so in Pakistan, where Gallup surveys show they have lost much of the little appeal they had. Four percent of Pakistanis in a November-December 2009 poll, conducted prior to Pakistan’s current push to rout the … Continue reading Four percent say Taliban’s presence is positive influence