Editorials |
LDCs: beyond lip service
The fourth UN conference of less developed countries (LDC) concluded with adoption of the İstanbul Action Plan, outlining ambitious expectations from developed and developing countries. The plan calls upon the world to, “achieve sustained, equitable and inclusive economic growth in LDCs, to at least at the level of 7 per cent per annum, by strengthening their productive capacity in all sectors through structural transformation and overcoming their marginalization through their effective integration into the global economy, including through regional integration.”
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The post-OBL world
Osama bin Laden’s killing and eventual burial in the Arabian Sea has brought a string of questions to the fore. The foremost being Washington’s neglect towards international law. While United Nations Security Council resolutions authorize military action in Afghanistan and hunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives worldwide, questions of invading another country and carrying out assassination have become subjects of debate widely.
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The Friday wedding!
The wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton is described as the biggest media event in history. Lady Diana’s son tied the knot in style, no doubt. May the couple live happily ever after!
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Selective judgment
Truth is the first casualty of a war. The proverbial saying stands true in the wake of ongoing uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa. Any given journalist, producer and cameraman might do the best to reflect objectively on the developments taking place around him, it’s the headquarters deciding the budget and placement of the news. Mainstream international media outlets, print and electronic both, have rarely chosen to cover uprising from Tunisia and Algeria to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
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Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité?
Not long ago in the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, the niqab or burqa was mandatory from any girl aged 10 or above to foreigner females visiting or living in the war-torn country. The militia bagged the worst condemnations worldwide for oppressing women and violating basic fundamental rights. The practice continued until the US-led coalition troops marched on the streets of Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad to deliver equal human rights and freedom to practice one’s faith and way of life. While the Taliban are on the run, women still wear the burqa in the ‘liberated’ Afghanistan.
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End proxy wars
Democracy bug is travelling fast in the extended Middle East. Within a short time has it reached Bahrain from the Mediterranean tip of North Africa. While public uprisings are changing the political landscape, forces of status quo have also spun into action to halt the healthy trend. As Iranian government bluntly spells out its conflicting positions about various uprisings in its Middle Eastern neighborhood, the Saudi troops have driven into Bahrain to silence predominantly Shiite population.
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