World Blogs News - Page 7

The states that don't matter in America

The US continues to stick with an system to elect its presidents that results in voters in many states having no real say in who the next leader of the country will be.

Breivik's truth: Is the fear of multiculturalism the enemy within us?

Anders Breivik may have shocked most of the world with most of his statements about the mass murder but may have had a point that he wasn't the only one who feared multiculturalism, something he shares with many European leaders and citizens.

Norway massacre: Trial of a fanatic who killed 77 people

The hard part of watching major events like Breivik's trial is avoiding the declaration that their criminal actors are simply "evil".

The importance of being Shah Rukh Khan

SRK arrived in a private plane accompanied by the wife of one of India’s biggest industrialists. A suspect won’t enter a country with such fanfare. In the end rules must be applied with intelligence.

Zardari+Lunch+Trade = Change? Not

India should strengthen the hands of the civilian government against the deep state, but can the civilians deliver on the key issue of terror? The answer is no.

Are Scotland's politicians like pandas that can't mate?

Maybe the real fascination of the media with mating pandas in Scotland is that our politicians can't seem to fall in love either.

Pakistan gets 3rd degree on Balochistan

Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican Congressman from California, loudly declared Pakistan as the “enemy” of the United States and advocated support for an independent Balochistan.

Dharun Ravi trial: American judicial overkill, and underkill

Two separate cases of hate crime in the US have evoked two vastly different judicial responses, exposing the double-standards of the US justice system.

A brief history of modernity

The Greeks asked themselves that if everything had a cause, how could the universe, and indeed god, have come to being from nowhere?

The irresistible appeal of Urdu: Watching the news in Pakistan

The urban Indian speaks mostly in English with bits and pieces of his mother tongue thrown in. But across the border, in Pakistan, the urban Pakistani's fluency in Urdu gives Pakistani television a different flavour.

Nobel Peace Prize: Honour Edhi, the Mahatma of our time

It's puzzling that the Nobel Committee has ignored him this long as they did Gandhi.

Syria: Why we can't afford the death of journalists

When it comes to war zones, the world needs to listen to the voices of the subjects and the storytellers. We can't afford the deaths of either.

Did we all play a part in Whitney's death?

There is a morbid fascination with celebrity, which isn't about wanting to be rich or famous or talented but about wanting to feel better about ourselves when they fail.

Pak agencies now on "kill and eliminate" mission in Balochistan

The murder of Zamur Domki and her daughter Jaana on 31 January shows that Pak agencies are now assassinating Baloch nationalists and their kin.

Has the British public turned against India?

India's $15bn Rafale aircraft deal has struck a nerve with the British public. The question being asked is why India needs foreign aid when it's got several billion pounds to spend on French fighter jets?

Indian media is more complacent than Pakistan's

The Indian media has become blase about free speech. India badly needs more journalists like Pak's Najam Sethi.

Why Obama must shut out the war cries - and talk to Iran

Three decades of active hostility with Iran have not strategically benefited the US. It's time for Obama to listen to his inner voice — and engage Iran in the way he promised in 2008.

Top Gear, Jay Leno: Does India have a global media strategy?

The Indian government has a very strange approach, to criticise foreign media highlighting India on one hand, while trying to prevent access to any criticism of the country from within the nation's borders.

The non-judgemental, new, American politics

Newt Gingrich is not a shining example of traditional Christian morals, based on his approach to marriage. But he doesn't have the WRONG flaws, such as leaving a wife for another man, or changing religions.

Don't count on the new US ambassador to India

As the year came to a close, the Obama Administration finally decided to name Nancy Powell, a career diplomat, as ambassador to India, more than six months after the last envoy, Timothy Roemer resigned, somewhat abruptly.

Why money matters more to American politics than democracy

Tomorrow, the US takes the first step towards choosing its next president. Except, it really did that about two years ago.

Why Pakistan's army is more popular than its politicians

Contrary to Indian perceptions, the army is the only truly loved institution in Pakistan. Despite its crimes, it trumps the politicians hands down.

Encircle the dragon: India, US, Japan in dance of diplomacy

The first trilateral meeting established that, occasionally, three's company. And although China was never mentioned, it was the 800-pound panda in the room...

Pakistan shows how to lose friends and alienate people

Pakistan is today a dirty word in Washington, thanks to the ISI's and the generals' games, lies, deceit and terror tactics.

In America's Asia, China is not the all-powerful dragon

US is not willing to allow China to rule the roost in Asia as Washington in the recent Apec meet sought to counter the dragon's rising power with tactful diplomacy.

Who owns the brand 'Occupy Wall Street'?

No matter who gains ownership rights to the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ name, it seems absurdly ironic that the Occupy Wall Street activists now have to protect their movement from the very thing they’re fighting against – and that’s consumerism.

Why bankers, brokers and bet hedgers don't like democracy

Why are bankers, brokers and people who hedge their financial bets keen on the Greeks not voting?

Too many jokers in the Republican circus

Republican candidates vying for their party's nomination to run against President Barack Obama next year are more than a massive dose of depression. To many, George W Bush today seems reasonable and bright by comparison.

Will Occupy Wall Street win because they're named?

Robin Hood was successful, in the mythology, because he was a named hero and the country rallied to the identity they constructed around him.

As Dalai, China play cat and mouse, India must step in

As China and the Dalai Lama begin their manoeuvres for the post-Dalai phase, India needs to get into the picture to ensure a smooth compromise