Stuck between past and present, Lenin lingers on in parts of ex-USSR
On a recent morning a small group of pensioners gathered round a monument to Communist leader Vladimir Lenin in a far-flung corner of the bygone empire he helped found. The…
Is Trump’s proposal for peace realistic?
A torrent of criticism has been unleashed against American President Donald Trump after his alleged ‘bullying tactics’ employed against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was accorded a warm welcome in…
End of the American century?
Everyone is feeling the turbulence in world affairs, with the change of guard at the White House making headlines. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has stopped funding…
Uncorking the bottled peace
OF the many proposals made over the years to give this much or that much of occupied Palestine back to the Palestinians, two remain noteworthy. The 1981 Saudi-led Fahd Plan…
Achtung baby
THE results of Sunday’s German elections reinforce the conviction that the Western imagination has lately been gripped by a toxic combination of alienation and false consciousness. Opinion polls had accurately…
Small and great
WITH the exception of a handful of countries, this world is ruled by small people. There is no great man in sight. In America, Richard Nixon was the last great…
Kapoors of Bollywood meet Modi
“EVERYONE acts every day of their lives,” said Marlon Brando. Think about it. The air hostess acts with her plastic smile. The politician acts with his double-faced lies. The shopkeeper.…
Trump and Pakistan: new, old, same?
Trump is back, marking a historic moment not only for the United States but also for its global partnerships. His return to the White House comes after a tumultuous political…
Subcontinent’s peace dividend
Imagine standing at the Khyber Pass today, a gateway that, for 5,000 years, funneled history’s most fearsome warriors toward the wealth of the Indo-Gangetic plains. From Alexander’s Greeks to Genghis…
New normals
NAMAZ is the time to take a break from worldly matters to stand before Allah and seek His mercy and guidance. But despite one’s best efforts, thoughts wander to mundane…
