Nupur Talwar back in news

This morning many Delhiites woke up to the news of Nupur Talwar arrest in the double murder case that a few years ago had rocked the country. Since then the investigative agencies had been trying hard to get hold of Nupur so as to clear the air on the death of Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in a Noida house.

Till now the doctor has been evading arrest. But her luck ran out yesterday with Nupur being told to spend Monday night at Dasna Jail in Ghaziabad.

On television and photos that appeared in newspapers she appeared to be nervous. Some reports even pointed out that throughout her appearance in the court she was sitting idle reciting Hanuman Chalisa.

But all this could not save her.

Today would be a crucial day for her as the agencies would seek her custody so as to question her about the incident that led to the death of her only teenage daughter.

The death of Aarushi and Hemraj has been shrouded in mystery. Initially, fingers were pointed towards the servants. But later on the police failed to nail the culprit in the case as they were unable to gather strong evidences.

Even Aarushi's father who was arrested earlier was released. With the CBI looking into the case chances are high that the person who committed the crime is soon arrested. The police too for long groped in the dark with most of the spot evidence being tempered with.

It would be interesting to see how things turn up in the coming days. Confusion prevails about who really killed the teenager and the servant.

Pakistan at a crossroads

The memo gate is turning out to be a game changer in Pakistan with its Supreme Court serving the elected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani a notice for contempt for not initiating graft cases against the President. Reports emanating from the country point out that there is palpable tension in the air.

Deeply upset with the order, the prime minister has even offered to resign. But till the filing of the story nothing like this has happened with politicians of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party huddled together to avoid any confrontation with the judiciary that until the time of General Pervez Musharraf was forced to play a subservient role to the army.

However, things started changing with the elected government came into existence. The judiciary asserted itself. In case the situation worsens and the PM resigns then the coalition partners will have no other options to find his replacement. But it is not known that this would help the elected government to ease tension between the army and judiciary over the memo gate.

The country that is going through hard times with sectarian violence taking place on and off and terror attacks on civilians, a confrontation with the army would be not good for the elected government.

Will power soften Salafis, Muslim Brotherhood?

When people were pitched against the army rule of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the Islamists maintained a low profile. The western media depicted the whole episode being spearheaded by secularists and moderate Muslim groups. Those banking on western media for reports were unable to understand the absence of highly-active Muslim Brotherhood members from the agitation.

When the tyrant was removed and election announced then too the west expected the secularists to perform well. But the results from the Egyptian People’s Assembly elections surprised many with the Muslim Brotherhood winning around 45 per cent of votes. As the world had known the movement for long there was no weird reaction. But the biggest surprise came when the little-unknown Salafis made their way. The ultra Islamists, who have more purist views on Islam even than the Muslim Brotherhood, surprised many in the world by winning more than quarter of the votes.

Looking at the result, many started supporting Brotherhood and criticized the Salafis. But that too didn’t stop their march to victory. Since then many have been trying to fathom what convinced the Egyptians to vote for a party that has no charismatic leader. The fact is Salafis have strict view on women and other issues and it would be interesting to see how they would adjust them in power.

The only Salafis the world knows about is the movement in Saudi Arab where they always advocated for keeping religion and power separately. Now the big question is will they change or push Egypt to be more radical? Those who watched their leaders deliver speeches during elections were impressed by them. They looked matured and well informed vis-à-vis their counterparts in Saudi Arab. The real test for Salafis begins when they form the government. All eyes on Nader Bakkar, the new rising star in Egypt politics.

It's democracy Vs army in Pakistan

Pakistan is going through hard times with the elected government of Asif Ali Zardari at loggerheads with the powerful army headed by army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani over the memogate also known as Mullen memo controversy. Since the leak surfaced, the government fears army takeover.

The buzz is that the confidential memo delivered to Obama Administration on behest of Zardari seeking US help in wake of military takeover has infuriated the army that has ruled the country earlier. Though the row has spilled over in the public but the army has managed the show decently by restraining its men.

But this has not stopped rumours from flying thick in the country about an imminent coup. If such a situation arises it would be a bad day for Pakistan that has seen the return of democracy after a long time. Moreover, its relation with the United States to has hit the roadblock following the the killing of Pakistani soldiers in a NATO strike and other developments.

An army takeover would further worsen the conditions. Moreover, with Arab spring sweeping across the Muslim countries, including Middle East, the army would not make a blunder of usurping the throne forcing the elected government to run for shelter somewhere else. It is too early to jump to any conclusion as civilians' views cannot be gauged at the moment. The fact is that many in Pakistan are upset with the elected government that is inefficient and has failed to address burning issues of security, development and inflation. But this is no excuse for a coup.

All said, Imran Khan, who is withdrawing huge crowds at his campaign rally, too has expressed his displeasure at the would be army takeover. It appears that the army will be looking for other ways to control democracy. And the best option for them would be to back Pervez Musharraf, who exiled in England, is planning to fly back to Pakistan and fight elections.

The real fight will begin then.

Europe’s relative decline has begun

2011 was a not a good year for most of the European countries, including the United Kingdom, in terms of economic development. Their economy slowed down. What started in Greece and in the US a few months ago has spread like wild fire in these countries too.

The signs are not good and it is expected that things may take a downturn in 2012. Economists and leaders have warned of a tougher time ahead for the residents who for long gained from the economic development. Girding up to face the problem, many governments in Europe have taken a tough stand of austerity by cutting on public spending and other expenditures. Jobs are being lost in huge numbers.

Economic downturn means hard time for the common people. Also, it would have a long-term impact on many developmental projects. Many governments have started even talking about curtailing their defense budget. Even research work may also feel the heat.

Bailing out sick countries from such precarious situation is a big task for the leaders and economists.

Other than sick economy, Europe has other problems at hand and its old growing population. Earlier steps taken by the government to control population growth now has led to decaying population. To run its economy it needs young workforce.

Europe needs cooperation to overcome these hurdles. Will it succeed or like Japan will it learn to survive with the ailing economy? Is it the end of West domination? It is too early to jump to conclusion. But certainly the relative decline has sipped in when compared to China, India, Brazil and Turkey and growing economies.

Japan continues its fight against natural calamity

After celebrating the arrival of New Year 2012, people around the world woke up on Sunday to the report of a forceful 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocking Japan with no casualty report. A few days ago residents in Tamil Nadu too were rattled by a powerful storm. Many people even lost their lives in Cuddalore by cyclone Thane. Despite the local authorities getting into action, after a day civilians continue to struggle to lay their hands on essential items like water and milk.

Report coming out from the cyclone-hit cities of Cuddalore, Kancheepuram and Theni tells a story of destruction. Puducherry too was rocked. The weather in far away states like Delhi too was hit by the cyclone.

2011 was not a good experience for Japan as on March 11 the country was devastated by the worst earthquake in which 20,000 people had perished and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was damaged.

Japan is still coming out of the tremor and many have described it as country’s worst phase after World War II when the Allied forces had dropped atom bomb on the country to stop its march ahead.

The economic slowdown and on and off earthquake have caused worry for the ruling party that is doing all it could to come out of the misery. Despite the country being hit by natural calamity it continues to be a huge economic power. Its people know how to survive such calamity and prosper.

The war has begun, Iran is doomed

Looking at the turn of events at the international level clash between Iran and the West, US and Israel looks imminent. It is too early to predict the month and date of the onslaught, chances are high that 2012 would be another year of war when the US and other may jointly attack Iran to bring an end to its nuclear project so that Israel continues to remain the dominant military power in the region.

The countdown has begun with the US first Black president signing on a bill that will empower the administration to penalize financial institutions engaging with Iran’s central bank. Other than this other economic blockade is also on board.

Unperturbed by these developments, Iran continues to take a tough stand claiming that its nuke ambition is peaceful and it won’t abandon it. But the West and rest are not willing to buy this argument. They fear that once Iran acquires nuke it may emerge as regional power. This may also create trouble to Israel in the region. Its supremacy may come to end. At no cost the West and the US will allow any country in the region to acquire nuke.

Earlier, they punished Saddam Hussein for dreaming of turning Iraq into a nuke state. In case of a confrontation Iran will be the biggest loser as it is not militarily advanced enough to tackle US might. Thus it is important that the authorities in Iran should take up the matter seriously and avoid confrontation.

A war in the region will only have debilitating impact on Iran’s economy and its development.