“What discussions Her Majesty’s government has had with the government of India with regard to (a) the legal system and remedies for domestic and personal violence, (b) the right to education for all, (c) the rehabilitation of prostitutes, and (d) police training, especially in relation to human trafficking. The Rt Hon Lord Howel of Guildford replied for…
As Western governments try to extricate themselves from costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and UN peacekeepers face global condemnation for failing to avert mass rapes in the Congo, the question of how to resolve conflicts overseas is increasingly urgent. This is being addressed at the highest levels. Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking last month…
“Taliban” by Ahmed Rashid – published I B Tauris 2000 with revised and enlarged edition 2010: This paperback, with excellent notes and appendices by a Pakistani journalist, is essential reading for understanding Afghanistan and its neighbours, especially Pakistan. It underlines the trauma caused by continuous warfare from 1979 to 1996, followed by the Taliban rule,…
The United Nations Relief and Works Administration (UNWRA) was set up in 1948 as a temporary measure to assist Palestinians, who had fled from the new state of Israel and its armies. Because no long-tem solution has yet been found for this problem, UNWRA now has 4.8 million people registered with it. Of these, about…
In the present financial difficulties ways and means must be found to keep essential local institutions functioning. This will require innovation and creativity. I am giving below two examples from my neighbourhood in Somerset Letter to the Somerset Standard : With reference to the proposed closing of Frome Magistrates Court , if this happens, Mendip District, with…
