‘The truth would be lost altogether’

Two more journalists were killed in action in Iraq on Monday, making it a total of 71 so far.

Iraq has become a dangerous place for journalists and many news organizations are either contemplating of pulling out their journalists or thinking twice about sending anyone there.

This causes much concern as with fewer journalists in place, the outside world will have much less chance of knowing the full truth of what is happening in the embattled country.

As it is Western journalists are mainly confined to the protective area of Green zone while reporting from Iraq. War correspondent Rageh Omaar describes this as a “small fraud” committed by journalists reporting from this safe zone.

He says: “Some of us... are engaged in some kind of a small fraud on the British public, the readers and viewers. When a broadcaster says Rageh Omaar reports now from Baghdad it's actually not wholly true, as I haven't shot the pictures because it's far too dangerous and I haven't been to visit the different areas because it's too dangerous."

However Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, in an article written in the Guardian today, articulates that it is important for journalists to continue to be in Iraq.

Otherwise, he says: “another bit of the truth is chipped away and the picture of what is really happening in Iraq becomes even vaguer than it is now…Whatever remains of the truth would be lost altogether.”

Read Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's full article - Iraq needs journalists - here.

A moving photo-story of the Java quake

This is a video photo-story on the Sunday Indonesian earthquake which killed more than 5,400 people. This video is compiled by the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University students.

A sexed up report won't work on Iran

Way back in March, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Malaysia to seek support in its nuclear programme. And now, almost two months later, he has got the voice he wanted so much.

Malaysia Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, speaking in his capacity as the chairman of the 114-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), has set the tone in favour of the Islamic country.

Abdullah slammed the West for practising double standards in forbidding Iran's development of nuclear weapons and threatening military action if it goes ahead. And he points out that the same Western countries have allowed Israel to develop nuclear weapons with "impunity".

And he firmly backed Iran’s right to develop its nuclear technology. But this support came with a caveat – that the nuclear technology is only developed for peaceful purposes.

The Western powers, especially the Americans, strongly believe that Iran’s nuclear programme includes a military motive as well, thus the stand off over the matter.

If the Americans or its allies have any solid, undisputed and tangible proof on Iran’s true motives, they should then immediately show these to the world so that blocks such as Nam and others will not blindly and wrongly back Iran.

And since Malaysia is also the chair of Organisation of Islamic Countries, I think a similar open support for Iran is forthcoming from this influential Islamic grouping – more the reason for the Americans to lay down all their cards on Iran, if there are any.

A sexed up report like what they did to justify their attack on Iraq will not work this time.

Otherwise, they should just keep quite and let Iran pursue its nuclear programmes for the stated reasons – to increase local energy supply.

Restoration works destroyed in less than a minute

The Sunday earthquake in Java is now said to have caused the deaths of at least 4,285 people and more than 10,000 injured.

Leaving close to 200,000 people homeless, the earthquake also caused serious damage to a spectacular 9th century Hindu temple Prambanan, sending intricate carved reliefs crashing to the ground and destroying years of restoration work in under a minute (pix).

Luckily the famed 7th century Borobudur Buddhist temple, one of Indonesia's most popular tourist attractions, was not affected by the quake.

But the damage to the temple is nothing compared to the sufferings of thousands who are now sleeping on the streets and still hampered by the lack of medical supplies, equipments and food.

‘If assassination fails, jail him!’

Many in the UK would want their PM Tony Blair to admit that invading Iraq was wrong and that he should immediately bring back the troops home.

Some of his backbenchers (especially the increasing number of party rebels) would prefer to see him relinquish his post following the long list of government and party scandals.

His closest rival for the post, Gordon Brown, would like to see him hand over as soon as possible so that plans can be drawn and implemented to face off the threats from the Tories under David Cameron.

But one man in the country has gone even further than all these.

First the former Labour turned Respect MP George Galloway suggested that an assassination attempt on Blair would be morally justified. And yesterday he wished that Blair be jailed for the Iraq war.

I wonder how many will agree with him with either of these proposals.

Java – earthquake, volcano and tsunami rumours

An early morning earthquake in Indonesia’s ancient royal city and tourist spot Yogjakarta is believed to have killed at least 1,700 people, and counting. Thousands are still buried or trapped under rubble of collapsed buildings.

Yogyakarta, on the island of Java, is located near the Mount Merapi volcano that erupted last week. Thousands of villagers have been evacuated from foot of the hill that spew hot ashes and lava.

Although the epicenter of the quake, which had a magnitude of 6.2, was offshore, it did not cause a tsunami. But rumours of an impending tsunami had the locals running to higher grounds for safety.

Many residents are reported to be still suffering from after shocks of the earthquake.

Turning their backs on Iraq

The signs are there. These two world leaders are keen to turn their backs on Iraq.

They said that they have done all that they could to restore ‘liberty’ in that embattled country and now want the international community to do their share.

And admitting that things could have been done differently after spending tens of billions of dollars in Iraq with no concrete results, they now want quick reforms of world bodies such as the United Nations, World Bank and IMF to tackle future crises like Iraq.

What I see is a sales pitch by these two for financial assistance from the world bodies and perhaps have the UN send its multi-national troops to take over from the Brits and the US to finish the botch-up job.

Bush and Blair are definitely thinking of pushing the buck elsewhere.

Aishwarya Rai killed by Internet spoof

Aishwarya Rai is the current glamour queen of Indian cinema. All major stars and big time directors want her in their movies. Her adoring fans wait eagerly for her every new release with much anticipation.

She is one of a very few Indian stars who have successfully crossed the cultural divide to mesmerise the western audience. Her latest English offering – the Mistress of Spice – attracted reasonable openings in both the US and the UK.

She has everything going for her and looks set to achieve even more in the near future. Thus you can understand the maddening despair and disbelieve both in India as well as the rest of the world when news starting coming in about her death.

Emails started flying around the world seeking confirmation. The international media tried to confirm this story and fans started their mourning period.

But in actual truth, the actress is not dead. In fact she is busy shooting a movie for the acclaimed director Mani Ratnam in Chennai.

Apparently the news of her untimely death in a car accident in the US was posted by a US-based website which is known for putting up spoof news for fun.

A part of the news article read as follows:

"Highway Safety Investigators have told reporters that Aishwarya Rai lost control while driving a friend's vehicle on Interstate 80 and rolled the vehicle several times killing her instantly."

And it ended its posting by this disclaimer:

"This story was dynamically generated using a generic 'template' and is not factual. Any reference to specific individuals has been 100 per cent fabricated by web site visitors who have created fake stories by entering a name into a blank 'non-specific' template for the purpose of entertainment."

Surely the website must take responsibility for creating such a chaos. What if her fans had started a riot in Indian towns and cities? We know they are fully capable of that – remember what happened in Bangalore when actor Rajkumar died?

And on the other hand, people who forwarded the spoof news must make sure their receivers know that it is false. Otherwise, they too are as guilty for spreading potentially dangerous rumours.

But at the end of the day I think it just shows how gullible people are. But we must remember that killing someone, even for fun, is not funny.

Soldiers battling ex-colleagues in Dili gunfights

I truly pity the people of East Timor. For years they had to live under the tight control and brutal occupation of Indonesia. During that 24-year period of colonization, about 200,000 locals were feared dead.

And now barely into its early years of independent existence (since 1999), the people of East Timor are once again one the run from soldiers, or rather this time from their own disgruntled soldiers.

This tiny nation is descending into violence sparked by the sacking of around half the army. The disgruntled soldiers claim that they were being discriminated against because they came from the west of the small country, while the military leadership comes from the east.

Apparently the inexperienced government has set up a commission to look into the complaints and is yet to release results. However these soldiers were rather impatient and went on a strike. Earlier this year, the Dili government sacked them – nearly 600 in all.

Things became heated when these soldiers participated in deadly riots last month and last Tuesday ambushed government troops, sparking firefights. They are threatening guerrilla warfare if they were not reinstated.

This week alone at least three people have been killed and eight injured by the three days of firefights, creating panic amongst the citizens, forcing many to leave the capital in a rush. Earlier fighting had left at least six people dead in Dili.

Reuters reported witnesses as saying that widespread shooting in the capital on Thursday (today) and some buildings had been razed.

The East Timor government is not capable of handling this situation and has sought assistance from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia.

Australia was the first to react by sending 150 commandos – who arrived to the cheers of the local population - ahead of the 1,300 troops to help restore peace and order. New Zealand forces are also on the way.

The East Timorese government has not asked for Indonesia's help but its other close neighbour Malaysia is now in two minds about sending its forces – it is awaiting clarification of whether it would be a UN mission, funded by that organization, or a UN sanctioned mission, in which the costs are born by the countries involved.

Surely this is not the time to be considering such matters, especially when innocent lives are at risk. Surely Malaysia can afford to send some peace-keeping troop to restore order in East Timor.

Further reads:

Foreign troops land in East Timor as violence rages
Peacekeepers rush to E. Timor to quell violence

Victory parade: Is the FA presumptuous or meticulous?

World Cup starts in 16 days time and England’s first game is 17 days away.

No doubt the team is oozing with confidence with news that Michael Owen is getting fitter by the day and buoyed by the news that inspirational Wayne Rooney could be fit to even start one of the group matches. Good news indeed.

But doesn’t it sound a bit audacious for the FA to have made plans for a victory parade in London on July 11.

On top of that they have also asked the Queen to make time on that day to have tea with the entire team.

And the best bit is that the FA wants the government to announce a public holiday on that day – not just for England but also in Scotland. That’s definitely daft.

The FA should be backing the team’s preparations for the games ahead instead of making these plans. They could end up with eggs on their faces. Talking about which, they shouldn’t start counting the eggs now, should they?

‘Are our cheers less important?’

For one moment the women in Iran thought they were seeing some form of liberal attitude towards them taking shape in their Islamic country. And just as when they were rejoicing the small freedom of being able to watch football matches, their joy has been snatched away, all in the name of adhering to religious edicts.

In April, Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would allow women to go for football games, as long as they sat on separate stands. At that time it sounded as though it was a small step in a long journey to emancipate the Iraqi women.

However that now looks to remain a dream after the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei overruled the president to bring back the ban.

Still it had not deterred some female supporters from attempting to watch their World Cup team train although naturally they were locked out.

One supporter asked: “We’re out here like beggars trying to support our own nation’s team. Are we not Iranians? Are our cheers less important?”

The irony of this is that the training was taking place at the Azadi (Freedom) sport complex. What freedom?

In some other places, a united band of all-gender supporters is seen as catalyst for a winning team. In Iran, this continues to remain a long-distance illusion.

Going bananas over Cavendish

I was shocked as I read the headline today. It said: “Bananas could be wiped out by a deadly fungus…”

What, bananas facing extinction? A fruit that we take for granted in Malaysia. I remember growing up in a suburb where every house had a banana plant.

But as I read the news article more closely, I discovered that it was talking about one popular type of banana – the Cavendish. The Brits love this type.

Apparently the Cavendish bananas are under threat from disease caused by two types of fungi – the Panama TR4 and Sigatoka.

The fungi are said to be spreading through Cavendish plantations in Indonesia, Taiwan, southern provinces of China and Malaysia, as well as in Central America. It has yet to reach the main exporting countries in Latin America or Africa.

It won’t be the first time a popular type of banana facing such a threat. In the 1950s, another Brit favourite Gros Michel was wiped out by the Panama disease.

Apparently biologists and planters are cultivating new versions to replace the Cavendish. But that is the problem isn’t it? Why do the Western consumers eat only the spotless banana variants? I am sure there are many other types of bananas in the world, all grown without any genetic modifications so that they don’t look perfect.

I remember back in Malaysia eating bananas with black spots all over them and they are as tasty as the Cavendishes or any other spotless bananas you get here in the UK.

Maybe it’s time for the Western consumers to go natural in bananas.

Exit plan in sight?

Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki after his first cabinet meeting: "We will use maximum force against terrorism."

The immediate reaction by the insurgents:

1. Car bombing in Baghdad

2. Suicide bomber in a Baghdad restaurant:

3. More suicide bombing in Baquba:

In all on Monday alone bombing spree in Iraq left 19 people killed.

And what are the Americans and Brits going to do now?

According to Condoleezza Rice:

"US and Iraqi generals will come up with plans that include what remains to
be done, what role Iraqi forces can play in that, what role coalition forces
still need to play."

And Tony Blair, in a whistle stop at Baghdad, said:

"If the worry of people is the presence of the multinational forces, it is
the violence that keeps us here. It is the peace that allows us to go."

I smell an exit plan being devised here by the Western allies, to leave the Iraqis to solve their own problems.

Excellent! The only problem? It is three years too late.

God used to be on ‘our’ side

General H Norman Schwarzkopf, the supreme commander of the US/Allied forces in the 1991 Gulf War, was quoted as reportedly saying this:

“Here we are, not only winning this war – absolutely routing the enemy – and yet our casualties were practically… non-existent. You know, that kind of made you feel that God was on your side.”

Then a BBC documentary last October revealed that President Bush claimed to have been told by God to end the tyranny in Iraq (and also in Afghanistan and create a Palestinian state).

He was reported to have told:

“I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did.”

But now it looks like God has decided to change sides. Or how else can one explain the tough time the US and its partners are having in Iraq?

The invaded country is in total chaos. Sectarian violence is killing at least 36 locals daily. About 50 people are being kidnapped per day. And the supposed liberators are also suffering human losses - at the last count 2,455 US soldiers and 111 British soldiers have been killed.

To make matters worse, US’ third biggest invasion ally Italy is now pondering a pull out from Iraq.

Yup, surely looks like God had changed sides.

Saddam’s new career in Japan

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein may be facing trial in his homeland for his brutal regime which killed scores of civilians. He faces the death penalty if found guilty of the war crimes.

However in Japan he is enjoying a totally different kind of fame. His novel – original titled Get Out of Here, Curse You – has been translated and released in Japan on Friday as Devil’s Dance.

Is this going to be his lasting legacy to the world then? One that will be remembered for his writing flair and not his killing touch? I don’t think so. Neither is he going to be in Japan for book signing functions.

The book is believed to have been written by the ex-dictator just as his country was being invaded by the US (and its allies) in 2003. Interestingly, its plot is about an Arab tribesman who defeats foreign invaders.

Apparently Saddam’s daughter Raghad smuggled the original manuscript out of Iraq and gave a copy to Japanese journalist and translator Itsuko Hirata.

Hirata says that Saddam has a message for his people in the book, adding that:

“…the tribal warfare depicted in the novel is strikingly similar to what happened and is happening in the Iraqi war – totally… He (Saddam) knew he was heading into a war he couldn't win, so I think with this book he was trying to make his position clear and send a message to the Iraqi people."

So what are the chances of big Hollywood producers queuing up to buy the rights of the book? I am sure a bearded Clooney will fit the heroic role perfectly.

BBC turns cabbie into IT expert

The man you see in the video is a London cab driver who shot to instant fame after BBC mistook him for an IT expert and proceeded to interview him live on its News 24 channel on May 15.

The reaction of this man when he realizes his predicament is absolutely funny. However he meanders on to answer comments of online music downloads rather expertly.

And what happened to the real expert? Well, Guy Kewney was still waiting for the interview in a backroom of the BBC studios when he saw on the television of someone else bearing his name giving expert opinions.

Absolutely funny...

This is truly funny...

... need I say more?

Picture ruling casts aspersion on Saudi men

Looks like the powerful religious establishment in Saudi Arabia are winning one over the king’s liberal approach for a quiet reform. In the past month mosque sermons and websites have started to criticise King Abdullah’s liberalisation process, including ones that could have given women more freedom.

The repercussion is swift. The government has now indefinitely postponed a move to have women assistants working at lingerie stores. They would have replaced the male shop assistants if that proposal has gone ahead.

Liberal watchers in the Islamic kingdom saw this chance as an evidence of progress on women's rights.

And on top of this the king has now ordered the country’s newspapers not to publish photographs of women.

And what made this ruling laughable was the reasoning that such photographs could lead young men astray.

In recent months, the state owned media have published pictures of women, always with the hair covered and only their face showing – usually to illustrate stories connected to women's issues, including the right to vote and drive, both of which are withheld.

The king had told all editors that publishing such photographs were inappropriate.

The king is reported to have said:

"Young people are driven by emotion and the spirit, but the spirit can go astray. So I ask you to go easy on these things."

This is sad indeed. Not just for the women as it looks like their freedom will remain curtailed in this country but also for the men. As now they are being portrayed by their king as sadistic creatures who are not in control of their sexual urges.

Arsenal fail at the last hurdle

Arsenal’s Thierry Henry looks forlornly at the trophy which almost looked going to London until Barcelona turned the game on with two goals in the 76th and 80th minutes. Arsenal had led from a goal from the 37th minute.

By the post-match comments Hendry made, it looks like he is learning something from a certain Mr Mourinho. When asked if the better team won, Henry said nope. He said the referee made some bad decisions against them and that Barca players had resorted to diving. No doubt his words were influenced by high emotions of losing on the night.

This is my take in the wonderful game: No doubt the referee was not up to mark. He should have allowed Barca's first goal to stand and just yellow carded Lehmann. Instead he sends the goalie off and gives Barca a free kick. I think the game would have been better if it was 11 against 11 with Barca one goal up.

Then the Arsenal goal - Arsenal defender Eboue clearly dived to win the freekick which Hendry took and Campbell scored.

I also thought the referee gave too many free kicks for Arsenal in the first half.

After that Barca really turned on the screw in the second half, especially with Iniesta coming in. He linked well with Ronaldinho and Eto’o. Barca's first goal was not offside as Wenger says as I think Toure was playing Eto’o on and for Barca's second goal, the English commentators said it was fortunate but the way it was created fully merited an excellent goal that it turned to be.

I think Henry is just being a sore loser here. He did have a good chance to bury the game but shot straight at the keeper. And for his claims about Barca players' diving? Maybe he has the same problem as his boss in not seeing his teammates doing the same - even in tonight's game their goal was a result of a dive and who can forget the great dive by Pires a few seasons ago?

All in all, I think Barca deserved to win. Unfortunately their victory has been tainted by Lehmann's red-card for I think if it was a 11-11 contest, Barca would have won more comfortably.

And after all these, one question remains. Where will Henry play next season? He refused to answer that question when asked after the game. I think he is leaving Arsenal…perhaps to Barcelona?

Scandal ridden Juve sinking fast

There is a strong possibility of Italian champions Juventus missing the Champions League next year altogether. Even worse, they might be playing football in Serie B.

No chance, you say. Not after the club winning the Italian Serie A title for the second year in a row just last Sunday.

But Italy's most successful club is in imminent danger of being stripped of their last two titles and demoted to Serie B.

The club is muddled in a match-fixing scandal, resulting in its general manager and the entire board quitting amidst a probe by the Italian prosecutors.

The main investigation centres on telephone taps from last season featuring discussions about refereeing appointments between Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi and football federation officials. Moggi has been grilled by the prosecutors on Monday and he has claimed innocence.

Meanwhile in Naples, prosecutors questioned some big names in Italian football believing that these people were “informed about the events”. Among those queried include Inter coach Roberto Mancini, AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, ex referee Pierluigi Collina.

Other aspects of the probe include the prominent role played by an agency run by Moggi’s son Alessandro. The agency – GEA World – is accused of forcing players and clubs to use its services. The Rome prosecutors have already spoken to AS Roma club officials and AC Milan and Italy defender Alessandro Nesta.

And the third aspect of the investigations is zoomed into allegations of illegal betting by professional footballers. Here too some big names are caught in the net. Perhaps the biggest being probed is Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

These scandals and investigations have left the Italian Football in an utter mess. It is not just Juventus who is being probed but also clubs like Lazio and Fiorentina and AC Milan who are in the spotlight for being recipients of favours from Moggi’s match-fixings.

So far Moggi, former Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) chief Franco Carraro, nine referees and the chairmen of Fiorentina and Lazio are among the 41 people under judicial investigation for the alleged match fixing.

All could face criminal prosecution but the biggest fall could be Juventus’. It need not be found guilty to be stripped of its titles and demoted to the second division. A mere attempt to influence results is sufficient.

Even as the investigations are ongoing, the repercussions are already being felt by the club. The scandal has wiped about US$62 million or 23 per cent, off Juve's market worth during the past week.

And financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore estimated Juventus could lose US$120 million in television and sponsorship income if forced out of the top league.

To pile further pressure, AC Milan’s owner Silvio Berlusconi wants his club to be made champions for the 2006 and 2005 seasons.

However the biggest fall out, apart from a soiled reputation, would be the haste in which the players will be jumping the sinking ship of Juve.

Between circulation figures and social responsibility

This is today’s Independent newspaper. It is a special edition to highlight the fight against Aids in Africa. It is guest edited by rock star Bono.The front spread is red to illustrate Bono’s partnership with several leading high street brands to market red-themed products where some proceeds will be funneled to the Aids cause.

Following that, the Independents’ running tag says that half of all revenues from today’s paper will go to fight Aid in Africa. For its part, the paper has dedicated six pages for the African Aids issue (nine articles plus one advertorial of how people can donate through red mobile phones), along with a special editorial by Bono and three pages of advertisements for red Motorola mobile phone, red American Express card and red Tesco mobile.

The paper says that its decision to donate half of its cover price to RED signifies “the start of a new era on private charitable support for the world’s poor”.

In his editorial Bono says that the African Aids victims are depending on the Independent readers “to respond to the precariousness of their lives”.

He adds:

"…forgive us if we expand our strategy to reach the high street, where so many of you live and work…Right now, people you will never meet, who will never be able to thank you, are depending on you for the life-saving drugs which buying this paper will buy”.

All well and fine. It is about time the newspapers too play a significant role in highlighting such social issues. However one does wonder if the Independent has other motives in pulling this trick today.

Readership and circulation figures are the main barometers of how well a newspaper is doing. And recent circulation figures do suggest that Independent is far from leading the field.

On a year-to-year figure, Independent is the least selling broadsheet. Last April it circulated 229,100 copies per day and by this April it had fallen by 6.36% to 214,533. Its rivals Guardian and FT managed to swing their circulation swing upwards while Times and Telegraph suffered smaller drop.

However there is some good news for the Independent on Sunday. It has boosted its circulation by a massive 28.43 percent from last April (from 175,095 to 224,882 this April).

So having tried other freebies – such as books, environment wall-charts and VCDs, maybe now Independent is trying to hit the readers’ social responsibility to increase its sales.

And what’s next? Perhaps one edited by Wayne Rooney to galvanise more support from the nation for England to win the World Cup?

Pig on the way to the slaughterhouse...

He comes to London on a private visit – as Downing Street says – and he has been termed a terrorist by Washington and yesterday in the Camden centre his supporters backed him for a new world order

As the Guardian reported, for three and a half hours yesterday Hugo Chavez could do no wrong.
The report added:

“An adoring audience of British left-wingers and the Latin American diaspora
cheered, clapped, sang and laughed as Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez denounced President Bush and capitalism and praised Ken Livingstone and the Pope.”

The Times said he attracted “an eclectic group of supporters ranging from elderly CND activists to young anti-globalisation campaigners, members of the Socialist Workers’ Party and even the the odd Palestinian protester”.

And he did not fail them. He said that socialism was rejuvenated in his country Venezuela and gaining strength everywhere else.

In this tour that has taken him to Austria and next to Libya, he also predicts an imminent end of the US empire, calling it the paper tiger and likening it to a pig on its way to the slaughterhouse.

He said:

“The final hours of empire have arrived. Now we have to say to the empire 'We are not afraid of you, you are a paper tiger'."

And as if to prove that point, Senor Chavez has offered to provide cheap heating oil for poor Europeans.

Villagers still waiting for a magical sign from Merapi

Beautiful but dangerous. This is Gunung Merapi in Indonesia. After weeks of warnings and rumblings, the Merapi volcano is now perilously close to an eruption. It has already started oozing lava down the side, with ash and rock spewing from the mountaintop.

Authorities are warning than an eruption is imminent but villagers are still reluctant to evacuate their homes at the base of the mountain.

Some have resorted to burning incense and floated offerings to the spirits to ward off the eruption. Scientists dashed their beliefs by predicting that the growing lava dome could collapse and shoot deadly, red-hot gases down the sides of the volcano.

Villagers dispute this scientific prediction, saying that they will receive a message from the mountain’s spirits on the timing of the eruption.

"People around here believe that if Merapi is going to explode there will be a sign, a magical sign…Either it comes in a dream, or in the form of a hallucination,” said a villager Edi, as reported by the Associated Press.

Reds end season in high

A great day for all Liverpool fans. It was a bad start though when the team conceeded two early goals.Players looked downcast and needed some self belief.

Worst was to follow too. Just as they were back in the game after equalising for the second time, they went down again to a fluke goal. Luckily super captain Steven Gerrard was on hand to haul back the team to be on equal terms - for the third time - right on the final whistle.

You could see the players falling off like flies in the extra time due to cramps - after all they have played 63 matches this season.

Goalkeeper Pepe Reina made a super save in the end of the extra time and it was off to penalties.

Flashbacks of Istanbul 2005 started coming to my mind. Will Reina be able to stop West Ham penalty kicks just as Jerzy Dudek did against AC Milan last year?

He surely did. He did not just stop one but three kicks and ended up as the hero of the team.

The sight of the other players running towards him in joy was a wonderful sight for all fans.

So the day which started with the team awarding two silly goals ended with an excellent win. And for the second year running Gerrard lifted a trophy to whet the appetites of all their fans.

It has been a good season indeed. The team finished third, collected 82 points, won 25 games and lost 6. The defence has been stingy - about 34 clean sheets I think and the much maligned strike force did come in good towards the end. And the team did score more than 100 goals in all competitions this season.

Who knows, maybe this time next year, with some new exciting players in, it will be the League title. Rafalution is surely making good progress.

A letter to George from Mahmood

On Monday Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad did something which was not done by his country in almost 27 years. He wrote a letter to US President George W Bush. In it, among others, he said:

“Those in power have a specific time in office and do not rule indefinitely, but their names will be recorded in history and will be constantly judged in the immediate and distant futures. The people will scrutinize our presidencies.

“Did we mange to bring peace, security and prosperity for the people or insecurity and unemployment? Did we defend the rights of all people around the world or imposed wars on them, interfered illegally in their affairs, established hellish prisons and incarcerated some of them? Did we bring the world peace and security or raised the specter of intimidation and threats? Did we tell the truth to our nation and others around the world or presented an inverted version of it?

“They will judge us on whether we remained true to our oath of office - to serve the people, which is our main task, and the traditions of the prophets - or not? Are you pleased with the current condition of the world?”

I was rather surprised after reading that letter. I just didn’t expect Mr Ahmadinejad to put forward his arguments in such a philosophical manner. All that I know about him is his firebrand attitude against the Israelis, his willingness to use oil as his weapon and his headstrong attitude to continue his nuclear program.

In his letter, spiced with references to the prophets and religious teachings, Mr Ahmadinejad spoke about his pet subjects – the Palestine-Israel dispute, US invasion of Iraq and the general American interference in the world. He however did not mention anything about the ongoing nuclear dispute.

And fittingly, the Americans rejected the letter in its entirety by saying that:

“Nothing in the letter addresses the issues on the table between Iran and the world, whether on the nuclear issue, terrorism or human rights. Instead, it is a broad historical, philosophical exposition.”

Does this then mean that the Americans have now spurned a good opportunity to engage with the Iranians? Only time will tell.

p/s: read the full letter here.

The tower is blue! Help! Help!

This is something you don’t get to see daily. The most famous tower in the world is in blue.

No! No! Don’t panic. The French government has not gone ballistic with their aspirations to lure in more tourists by painting the tower blue despite the new makeover looking rather romantic.

Actually the Eiffel Tower is illuminated in blue as part of the celebrations of the Europe Day which fell on May 9.

May 9 marks the anniversary of the speech made by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in 1950 which led to post World War II Europe creating a pan-european organisation which we now know as the EU.

Chaos, disorder and death continue to rise in Iraq

Pity the Iraqi people. Even years of oppression under Saddam’s regime did not result in such high number of civilian deaths on daily basis. According to the Iraq Body Count website, about 36 Iraqis are killed daily – either by the insurgents or the US-led army. Since the beginning of invasion three years ago, at least 35,000 Iraqis have died.

I watched an excellent documentary in the UK’s Channel 4 on Monday night. Called
Iraq: The Women’s Story, it showcased how life has changed for the women in Iraq. It was taken by a brave Iraqi woman on her handycam.

Almost every woman interviewed in the documentary was a widow with many young mouths to feed. They all agreed in one thing though – that the American government is to blame for the anarchy in their country.

Men who had jobs under Saddam are now jobless. People are afraid to venture outside for the fear of being killed in the sectarian violence, or by the American army who just can’t differentiate between gun carrying insurgents and innocent children, women and men of Iraq.

Even today 11 civilians were killed by suspected insurgents in separate drive-by shootings. This followed a suicide truck bomb attack in a crowded market on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 130.

There is still a political power vacuum in the country five months after the general election as no one could agree as to who should form the government. This has paved the way for the rival militias to take the law into their own hands.

The American strategy of concentrating on removing the insurgents has only caused more retaliatory attacks. The mess they are creating in Iraq is fast becoming untenable – sounds pretty much like what is going on in Afghanistan as well.

At least there is one piece of good news emanating from Baghdad. The incoming Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has almost assembled his Cabinet to establish a national unity government. But the question remains if this inexperienced government can clean the chaos and disorder currently plaguing Iraq.

Da Vinci Code - Book sparks protest, movie gains free publicity

Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code is a best-selling novel and its movie version will hit the cinemas world wide on May 19.

The basic premises of the book that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene, had children, and that their descendants are alive today have caused a deep controversy in the Christian community.

Christian churches have condemned it as an attack on their faith and the Vatican has labeled it a "perversely anti-Christian novel".

And we can expect more global condemnation now that the movie is soon to be released.

The protest works have started in India where Christians are called to starve themselves to death as a sign of protest at the release of the movie. The protesters also burned copies of the book and effigies of Mr Brown in Mumbai. Soon similar protests will follow in other cities too.

The movie producers must be gleeful with all the extra free publicity their movie is getting.

Untested Walcott to rescue England?

Both Pele and Ronaldo were 17 when they set the world alight with their 5-star performance in the World Cup. Even Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney were about the same age when they burst into the international arena.

A 17-year-old Maradona was protected by his home football association and not allowed to play in the 1978 World Cup but he did burst into the world football stage at a young age. And so did Kaka, Robinho and Lionel Messi.

So why then such a furore over the selection of 17-year-old Theo Walcott to the England World Cup squad?

We all know about his potential talent and that he is very highly rated - so much so that Arsenal paid 12million pounds to take him to Arsenal in January.

But therein lies the problem. Unlike all the other 17-year-olds who made such an impact in the past World Cups and international arena following a huge success in club football, Theo has no first team experience at all in competative football. He has only played 16 times for Southampton and thrice for Arsenal reserves.

All he has done to impress Sven Goran Eriksson are his skills in trainings.

And Eriksson believes he has a world beater just based on this. It is a big gamble on the manager's part no doubt.

If Theo is such a phenomenal prodigy, why didn't Arsene Wenger start playing him in the league? He didn't even make any cameo apperances as a substitute.

Theo could surprise everyone at the World Cup and be England's unlikely saviour and that will do good for the player, and ultimately his club in the new season.

Or he could flop miserably and end up losing his confidence.

Eriksson has put so much of burden on this boy's young shoulders. In the next month or so we will know if he can carry the weight of his country's dream or collapse under the heavy burden.

Gamble on Fowler paying off

Robbie Fowler's return to Liverpool has been phenomenal. On Sunday he scored his fifth goal in 15 games - some of them have been very vital in securing the points. Liverpool finished third with 82 points after winning 25 games and losing six. They are one point behind Man Utd and nine behind Chelsea.

This is a significant improvement from last season when the club finished 5th with 58 points.

I just wish the season had not ended on Sunday, not when the team is playing superbly. On this form they should have no problems beating West Ham in the FA Cup finals next week.

The club has agreed to retain Fowler for another year and with some good signings in the summer, they should be in a position to challenge Chelsea for the top prize.

Below is an excerpt of a media report on Liverpool's game against Portsmouth yesterday:

"But of all the recollections and re-assessments that fly through the mind at this time of year, one question in the Liverpool players' heads will surely remain unanswered - what more could we have done?Liverpool have known for a long time that they will grace the Continent again next season, but the riches that lie in wait across the water will once more have to be earned courtesy of a close season cut short by those pesky qualifiers. It's all very inconvenient at best.But there's no way they will be beating themselves up over a third place finish and being denied automatic Champions League qualifying - after all, in answer to the original question, they could hardly have done more.

The final day triumph at Portsmouth means Benitez takes his side into the FA Cup
final riding high on the back of 11 straight wins in all competitions. Yesterday, albeit in not the most convincing fashion, they did what they had to by boosting their points tally to 82, two more than their previous Premiership best of 2002. And still it was only good enough for third place, as Charlton, more deflated than inspired by the fact that it was Alan Curbishley's last game in charge, never put up the kind of opposition Liverpool would have craved Manchester United to be facing on a final day showdown. United romped to a 4-0 victory and edged second spot by a point - but it's the fact that Liverpool's Premier League-best tally is still nowhere near good enough for that elusive title that is the source of most frustration."

Was the chef a Gunner?

This is surely a stuff for the conspiracy theorists. Did someone knowingly tamper with the food consumed by the Tottenham Hotspur players, causing at least 10 of them to suffer from severe food poisoning? What makes this interesting is the timing of this incident – on a day when Spurs were to play the most important game in their season.

As it happens, a lethargic team performance by the players resulted in a defeat at the hands of West Ham. More disappointing was the fact that the defeat allowed their arch-rivals Arsenal to pip them to the much coveted fourth spot (and the Champions League).

Spurs held on to the spot since December and looked as though they will block their rivals’ path into the European money spinner. Now they are looking at a loss of at least £10 million. Their consolation is a spot at the less attractive Uefa Cup.

Rumour mongerers are already wagging their tongues, saying that the food poisoning incident was no accident.

The police are probing the matter. They are interviewing chefs and waiters at the Marriott Hotel in London's Canary Wharf about their role in food preparation and their club allegiances.

I don’t think there was anything sinister in the matter but if the police do find something interesting, this surely has then taken the inter-club rivalry into another scary level.

So what would you do if you are a plagiarizing author?

What would you do if you are a 19-year-old girl whose debut novel has been such a hit?

You have suddenly become the darling of the literature world and are being flown around the world for book signing and speaking engagements. Your publisher is so pleased with your work that you are immediately commissioned to write two more books. A major Hollywood producer also buys the rights of your book, How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life, to make it into a movie.

Then suddenly someone finds out that your debut book has similar passages to another book written a few years ago. You don’t get panic. You tell the world that you have a good memory and could have subconsciously included these passages into your book. You add that you could have internalized the passages as you were so engrossed in the first book. Your publisher agrees with you and asks you to remove the similar (same?) passages in the new prints.

Then suddenly all hell breaks loose. Readers and at least three other prominent authors accuse you of lifting their passages in your debut novel. The similarities are uncanny.

This time around, your excuses do not stand. Your publisher pulls out your books from the stands and withdraws the commissions for your new work. Your fellow undergraduates at Harvard University now look at you with contempt. The entire literary world thinks you are an embarrassment. A newspaper you used to work as an intern two years ago are re-looking at your articles again to see their authenticity. Everyone now replaces your “internalizing” term with plagiarism.

So what would you do if you were Kaavya Viswanathan (pix)?

I think for starters she could internalize her own roller-coaster ride in the past year in a new all action fiction – writing about her triumphs and downfalls and what got her attracted to plagiarism – whether intentionally or otherwise. Surely a best seller, don't you think?

Alternative, if she still can’t find her own words to write, she can always seek or lift some ideas/words from non-English fictions and internalize them for her English fiction.

Or she could just concentrate on her studies and leave writing to those who can.

One last spin to stay in power for Blair?

In the movie Syriana, there is this wonderful line between two characters about corruption in the government. It goes like this:

“Corruption charges…corruption? Corruption is government intrusion into market efficiencies in the form of regulation. That’s Milton Friedman. He got a goddamn Nobel Prize. We have laws against it precisely so we can get away with it. Corruption is our protection. Corruption keeps us safe and warm. Corruption is why you and I are prancing around here instead of fighting over scraps of meat out in the street. Corruption…is why we win.”

Perhaps this was why the Labour government felt safe even after a litany of sleaze and misadministration which made regular headlines. Political pundits and media commentators speculated that Labour will pay for its lackadaisical attitude towards its incompetence and scandals.

The Labour government became too complacent, saying that headlines were not reflective of the larger picture. How wrong were they for the voters all across England yesterday gave Labour a bloodied nose in the local elections.

The party lost more than 250 seats, making it one of its worst defeats in local elections since coming to power in 1997. The biggest gainers were the Tories.

Now to pacify the enraged public, and to safe his own leadership, Tony Blair has acted swiftly in reshuffling his cabinet. Out goes the ministers who made the wrong headlines in the recent past – Charles Clark (pix), Jack Straw and even John Prescott who loses his local government ministry.

But the question remains as to how long Blair can remain in power even as it looks increasingly like he has lost the moral authority to lead.

Another question that arise is, why the reshuffle only after the horrendous show at the local polls and not when the scandals first broke? Is this just another spin from the government to fool the public?

Status quo in Sheffield, Green Party the only surprise

It was a long night yesterday as my team and I got back from the counting centre at about 3am. We then had to come back to the journalism department to prepare for today's publication. I also had to attend a morning editors' meeting.

This is what I wrote for my course Election Project. It is published in the online media unit's website.

Status quo in Sheffield, Green Party the only surprise
by Kabilan Kandasamy

The Green Party’s victory in the Central ward was the only surprise in an otherwise routine win for the incumbents in the Sheffield local elections yesterday.

The result meant that the Labour party managed to retain its 14 seats, and with it the slim four-seat majority in the council, unlike its horror show nationwide where the party have lost more than 250 seats.

Similarly apart from the single defeat to the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats too retained its other 14 seats. The Conservative however could not replicate its nationwide gains in Sheffield.

The fringe parties – led by the Greens, the British National Party and Respect – also made some headway in Sheffield, following their upward trend country-wide.

The biggest winner was obviously the Green Party which now has two seats on Sheffield council. Interestingly both its candidates come from the same ward.

Yesterday the party’s candidate Bernard James Little obtained 1,159 votes to defeat Lib-Dem’s incumbent Mohammad Azim who got 1,036 votes. It was an evenly contested battle just like two years ago but this time Mr Little gained a majority of 123 votes to overturn a deficit of 218 in 2004.

The environment issues

Immediately after his win, Mr Little said that his main objective was now to concentrate on the environment issues in Sheffield.

“I would like to tackle the issues of air pollution and question the wisdom of building more roads,” he said.

He added that the party hoped to push forward their environmental agenda in the council now that they have two Green voices in it.

“We will also continue to seek support from the community on the many environmental issues. We think it is good that the Green Party is gaining support nationwide and we will continue fighting to protect our environment.”

The losing Lib Dem candidate Mr Azim said the poor turnout was one of the reasons for his defeat. He was also disappointed that a large bulk of student votes seems to go to the Green candidate.

“I am sad that students had not come out to vote and even when they did, it seems to be for the Green Party. We tried engaging them but they are not responding to us,” he said.

Poor turnout

Another fringe party Respect also did well in the only seat it contested in the Burngreave ward, pulling in 1,208 votes but still not enough to unseat the incumbent Labour candidate.

Similarly the BNP too kept up with its nationwide rise by pulling in a substantial number of votes in the four wards it contested - even garnering more than 1,000 votes in one ward - although again these weren’t enough for the party to put a serious fight against the incumbents.

The party’s candidates were roundly booed and jeered at the vote counting centre and outside there was a small noisy but orderly protest against the party.

This however did not deter BNP’s Southey ward candidate David Ian Wright who said that the support for his party was increasing.

The turnout for the local elections in Sheffield was lower than in 2004, with only one ward getting more than 50% of its voters coming out to vote.

In other areas, the average turnout was between 25 to 45 percent.

Labour scandals overshadow elections

“You can get rid of Tony Blair on Thursday” said a Liberal Democratic party election pamphlet. Another leaflet read that the local elections today are set to be a referendum on the Prime Minister’s leadership.

Other parties are also campaigning in the same vein, claiming that its time to show the people’s displeasure with the Labour party.

But it is not just the political parties that are saying that the government should be punished for its incompetence and scandals. Political commentators, the media and the ordinary member of the public are also speculating the same, that under Tony Blair’s leadership, the government is inundated with bad management, bad policy and bad judgment.

The Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee said that even Cabinet ministers are predicting the impending doom.

She quotes one minister as saying that their moral authority has collapsed and that the voters think “we abuse power and it's no good listing all we have delivered. It only makes them rage. They accuse us of arrogance and corruption and it leaves you silenced”.

And Daniel Finkelstein, writing for The Times, blames Mr Blair’s method of governing for all the problems he is facing now.

“Any government could be hit by a bunch of troubles all at once, but this one, by its own actions, by its own way of governing, has increased both the average number of such incidents and their seriousness,” he said yesterday.

A continuing list of scandals

Since the beginning of the year, the government has been rocked by one scandal after another. There was the issue of the Education Secretary not knowing the number of paedophiles still working in schools. Then the matter of the Culture Secretary’s offshore mortgages. Soon came news about Cherie Blair asking the party to pay for her hairstyle while her husband was caught in the midst of peerages for hire controversy.

And to make things even worse for Mr Blair, last week his Home Secretary admitted that thousands of convicted foreign criminals had not been deported after serving their sentences, resulting in some of them reoffending. The Health Secretary also lost her moral authority when nurses heckled and booed her over the NHS failure. And then the Deputy Prime Minister admitted to having an affair with his diary secretary.

The all round impression is that this accumulation of government ineptness will only result in a voter backlash over discontent with Mr Blair.

There are a total of 4,360 council seats (in 176 town, city, borough and other councils in England) to be elected today with the Conservatives defending 57 councils, Labour 47, the Lib Dems 12 and Independents one. Fifty-nine councils are under no overall control.

However the public sentiment is such that it is highly likely for the Labour to lose control of some of their traditional councils.

Uncertainty in Sheffield

One such Labour stronghold is Sheffield where the party only leads with a slim four-seat majority. The party is confident that voters here will not let national politics to determine the way they vote. However on the ground, it appears as though discontent Labour voters will cast protest votes to jolt the party leaders.

Based on the last elections, the Lib Dems in Sheffield are just two seats away from making it a hung council but they are confident that they can seize overall power this time around. Their new leader Sir Menzies Campbell is predicting a heavy defeat for the Labour as “they are failing nationally and locally.”

The Conservatives too are quietly confident of doing well – not just in Sheffield but in all of England. This will be a test for David Cameron’s leadership who believes he can draw young voters with his youth and charisma. He is also banking on environment issues to bring in the votes.

As usual there are also the smaller parties – Green Party, British National Party, UK Independent Party and Respect – and Independent candidates trying to make inroads in the councils.

However it is the voters’ antipathy towards the Labour and not the strength of the opposition parties that is likely to determine the outcome of the local elections.

Heartbeats will be fluttering at a high rate tonight in 10 Downing Street but only in the late morning tomorrow will Mr Blair know if he should start packing his things and let Gordon Brown move into the official residence.

Forget Rooney and have a good tournament

England should just get over Wayne Rooney and concentrate on doing well in the World Cup without their inspirational player.

News are just coming out that Rooney could have broken more than one bone in his foot – thus further delaying his return to the field. He was earlier predicted to be out for six weeks with one broken bone.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson still wants to include Rooney in his preliminary squad to be named next week and hopes for a miracle for Rooney to be fit in time to lead England’s quest for the trophy.

I however think that Eriksson should just forget Rooney and start looking for other players that can do the job in Germany.

After all he is being paid in millions to select players who will perform at the highest level. He should not be depending solely on Rooney to ensure a good tournament. And by now he should know who and what alternative plans he has to come up with.

As for the England supporters, perhaps the timing of Rooney’s injury would just give them a good excuse for not winning the World Cup. As for me, I have always maintained that even with a fully fit Rooney, England had no chance.

Even now I think England can have a good tournament without Rooney and can go all the way to the quarterfinals stage. Even to the semis maybe.

India’s gold mine in alternative fuel

The plant in the image above could be the potential alternative source for fuel. This poisonous plant is called jatropha and the Indian government has high hopes of this plant replacing 20% of its diesel consumption in five years.

To achieve this, the Indians are planting jatropha in a special-purpose 98 million acres of land to produce the biodiesel.

And elsewhere in Asia, other crops are being tested to reduce oil dependence – from palm oil to sugar cane, coconuts to cow dung.

There is a good reason for these governments in looking for these alternatives. Soaring oil prices are putting a huge dent on these economies, most of whom have no own oil fields. Furthermore, with oil supply said to be in decline, a successful alternative source will be financially rewarding in the near future.

Not that these alternative plans go without any complaints. Experts believe that these experimenting governments will only cause more ecological damage. One example they cite is the Indonesian plan to convert millions of acres of rain forest into palm oil plantations.

There is also the question of land competition between plants grown for food and those for alternative fuel – some sort of food versus fuel ethical debate.

Again, this is where the jatropha plant is said to the true alternative as it can be grown anywhere without competing for food crops. Neither does it appear to threaten rain forest.

Now that’s an appealing start for alternative fuel. So far only the Indians are looking into this plant. But with BP spending US$9.4 million and D1 Oils US$20 million to study jatropha in India, I think the Indian government has struck a gold mine.

more read:

Asia races to find crops to replace imported oil (via msnbc.com)

The menace of rowdy teenagers

This is an interesting story about how a 66-year-old granny from England tried to safe her car and protect her grandchildren from a bunch of rowdy teenagers.

And for all her heroic troubles, she ended up in jail, waiting to hear if she will face charges of assaulting a 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.

Not that these teenagers were innocent bystanders in the incident as well. They, along with a group of others, had first kicked a ball against her car. When she asked them to stop, these teenagers started threatening her in front of her two grandchildren. Her granddaughter was allegedly hit in the incident.

This was when she allegedly hit the boy and dragged the girl by her hair. For these Brenda Robinson was arrested and jailed overnight in Bournemouth. No action is being taken against the rowdy teenagers.

Delinquent teenagers are fast becoming a menace in housing estates all over England. No one – that includes the school, community and parents – seem to be interested or in power to stop this worrying trend.

Of course, there are the police and the much maligned Anti Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) but its effectiveness is yet to be determined and even then, in most cases labelled unjustifiable by human rights groups.

I think the only solution to solve the problems of rowdy and rude teenagers is to give immunity from prosecution for parents and teachers to punish these offending lots.

Proper education starts at home and continues in school. If these teenagers don’t get them in either of these places, it will inevitably lead to them being a bunch of rotten teenagers.

The real work force of America

The May 1 Labour Day was celebrated with a difference in the US today where all across the country hundreds of thousands of immigrants took part in street protests to send a message to Washington lawmakers considering sweeping immigration reform.

Dubbing the day as the “Day Without Immigrants”, these protesters boycott work and skip schools to show how important they have become to the Americans.

The demonstrations were organized by pro-immigrant organizations, planned to pressure lawmakers to pass immigrant-friendly legislation that might open the path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States. There are about 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.

One Hispanic protester said:

“We are the backbone of what America is, legal or illegal, it doesn’t matter…we butter each other’s bread. They need us as much as we need them.”

However there were also a small number of counter-protests. One such protester, retired Army colonel Jack Culberson said:

“You should send all of the 13 million aliens home, then you take all of the welfare recipients who are taking a free check and make them do those jobs … It’s as simple as that.”

Women power in Iran - no more short coats, skimpy scarves

The image above shows Iranian women protesting after the weekly Friday prayer in Tehran to force their government to act against loose veiling.

These women – dressed in traditional black chadors – say that the authorities have failed to enforce respect for the strict Islamic dress code which has been in place since the 1979 revolution.

In recent years, a liberal attitude and a touch of westernization has resulted in the code to be ignored by many. However the hardline Islamists under the present regime are keen to bring back the tight control of how women should dress and have promised an imminent police crackdown.

Apparently the womenfolk themselves are keen to adhere to the dress code, as seen by their recent demonstrations.

Fortunately for the liberal-minded women, their president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gives an assurance that his government will not use strong-arm tactics to enforce the Islamic dress code.

But how soon before the protesters get louder and for the hardliners to influence the president? Do we hear the Iranian silent majority protesting too?

As I see it, very soon we will not see “women in short coats and Capri pants showing their bare legs as well as the ones with skimpy headscarves” in Iran. According to the Tehran police chief General Morteza Talai, these are what the police will be looking for once the clampdown begins.

On the bright side, at least the Iranian women can drive, vote and run for office, unlike their counterparts in Saudi Arabia. And more recently, they were also allowed to attend football games, as long as they sit away from the men.

But would all these 'freedom' give the women their dignity when someone else (most probably some conservative men) is actually dictating their dress sense?

I just wonder if it will make the women who don't adhere to the strict Islamic dress code any less religious from the ones which do.

Broken foot dashes English World Cup dream

England’s hope of winning the World Cup rested heavily on Wayne Rooney. He was anticipated to be one of the stars of the summer’s main show.

However now the English dream looks perilously close to end in shatters after the player broke his foot on Saturday.

His club Manchester United confirmed the striker will be out of action for six weeks – just in time for the World Cup to start.

The question is will he be fit to lead England’s challenge by then? I am not holding such high hopes. However let’s see how it goes. As it is, I didn’t think England will lift the trophy – with or without Rooney.