Today in Pakistan there are two extremes: there are those who wish to impose a rigid, literalist interpretation of religion and then there are the world-weary agnostics who are blindly averse to anything having to do with religion. Both mindsets are dangerous as they both lead to a spiritual vacuum.

The juxtaposition of the views of President Obama and President Sarkozy on the wearing of the veil by Muslim women can tempt us into easy condemnation of one position and praise of the other. Through one prism, their positions could be characterised as respect for religious freedom on the one hand,

Like a dilapidated house, the US-Syria relationship has been in need of repair and renovation for years. Since President Obama's 20 January inauguration call for engagement with "adversaries", slow but steady and serious work by both sides has begun to restore the structure and substance of the rams

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) called today on the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global hea

2 Samuel 5: 1-5, 9, 10, Psalm 48, 2 Cor. 12: 2-10, Mark 6:1-13
This has been a great weekend of the celebration of July Fourth, a powerful icon in the history of our nation. It is the anniversary of our nation’s birth, the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia sayi

"The new strategy for economic growth in poor countries should not, as today, focus on increasing exports and liberalizing international trade, but should foster internal demand through job creation and pay raises resulting from a social bottom line." –from Global Development, by Frans Doorman, 1998

In the hours following Michael Jackson’s death, people around the globe shared common pain, resuscitated old vinyl records stored in their basements and stayed up later than usual watching 1980s VHS or Youtube videos of Thriller and Billy Jean. Michael Jackson was adored by a wide spectrum of global

Since the 1970s, France has been evolving into a culturally and ethnically diverse country, though this has gone largely unnoticed. Yet throughout this process, entire populations on the margins of the privileged circles have been left out of the country’s economic progress, and in the 1980s and 199

According to a poll recently conducted by the University of Maryland and Zogby International, Germany’s popularity is on the rise in the Arab world. The poll revealed that large segments of Arab society approve of Germany’s potentially greater role in world politics. Twenty-three percent of Arabs in

Think Lucknow and the mention to the city of nawabs will be incomplete sans mention of Khushbir Singh Shaad, Lucknow’s very own local shayar (poet).
Known for his six book s on poetry complete with brilliant thought provoking muse penned both in Hindi and Urdu, Shaad has also penned verses for

It is heartening to note that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), under the able guidance of Sri. Kapil Sibal, wishes to overhaul the education system in the country. It envisages replacing marks with grades (already been done by some Boards), having a ‘one nation -one board principle

On the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, drug users gathered outside Shastri Bhavan (New Delhi, India), to reject “sham” programmes for addiction and demand meaningful involvement in policies. Protesting torture and cruelty in de-addiction centres, drug users called upon

The day before November's US presidential election, I was checking my bags in at the San Francisco airport. I handed my driver's license to the woman behind the counter and told her my name. When she looked at me, I could tell there was confusion and apprehension behind her mask of polite profession

I find it difficult to know and understand what's really going on in Iran. Every time I log on to the internet and go to reputable news sites, Iran is making headlines.
But I am still confused and ignorant about whether the election results are legitimate or not, and whether the majority of Irania

This Sunday was as good as they get. It started with my morning paper – usually a distressing experience but, today in the weekend section, I saw pictures of people at two different events wearing the green ribbons that I had designed as an expression of support for our troops and our nation.
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