EDITORIAL
| Iran’s Critical Mass |
| Slapping of new sanctions on Iran will prove a setback to efforts of rapprochement over its nuclear programme. |
| Chinese Remedy for South Asia |
| US President Barack Obama’s visit to China has received a substantial amount of criticism. The trip has elicited deep concern in India, a strategic US ally. |
| Karzai’s Second Coming |
| Hamid Karzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s President for the second time. The swearing in was markedly different from the first. Using the platform, hosting almost 40 dignitaries including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Karzai went straight for the kill, focusing on the three key issues: corruption and governance, capacity building of Afghan security forces and narcotics production and trafficking. |
| Algeria vs Egypt: Poetic Justice |
| Algeria’s historic playoff victory over old rivals Egypt will not be forgotten by those who saw it. Three days after some hooligans injured three of his teammates in Cairo, Algerian defender Antar Yahia rose to the occasion and his powerful right-footer in the 40th minute broke Egyptian hearts in Khartoum. |
| Israel’s Continuing Defiance |
| An emboldened Israel has gone even further in its defiance on settlements. Illegal by all international standards, the latest development entails the sanctioning of a whopping 900 more homes in Gilo, in Eastern Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967. |
| Fighting Corruption in Pakistan |
| Corruption is rampant in the Third world countries, and Pakistan is no exception. But the fact that Pakistan has risen in the dubious hierarchy to be ranked at 42nd among the world’s most corrupt countries against 47th last year is disturbing. |
| No Tears for the Hungry |
| It is hard to believe that in this age of plenty, nearly a billion people—nearly a quarter of the world’s population –still go hungry. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva was right on the dot when he described hunger as the “most devastating weapon of mass destruction” at the UN food summit in Rome on Monday. |
| Time for Decision on Iran |
| Iran has, as expected, downplayed the report seeking answers to its recently disclosed nuclear facility at Qom. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s report had raised questions on when the project started and why it had been kept secret. |
| New Horizons for Dubai Air Show |
| The region’s biggest air show is back in town, thrilling onlookers with its aerial displays and pumping hope into an industry that, due to the recession, has lost much of its thrust. |
| Obama in Asia: Way to Go America |
| It’s easy to dismiss US President Barack Obama’s Asian tour as another routine exercise in high diplomacy and plenty of photo ops. |
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