The Taliban ordered a pullback from Buner district on Friday, which had them only 110 kilometres from Pakistan's capital of Islamabad.

But distinguished Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid (I've got his most recent book: Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia) warns that Pakistan's government is in complete military and political disarray when it comes to dealing with the Taliban.

This NYT article suggests that Pakistan really isn't playing to win against the Taliban, which is now only about 110 kilometres from Islamabad and appears to be inexorably extending its presence.

The work of undercover reporters in Burma is the object of a new documentary.

A new magazine in Italy is attempting to bridge some mutual culture gaps.

The blurb for Thomas L. Friedman's NYT column of April 1: "It’s obvious that the reason we’re experiencing meltdowns in both the financial system and the climate system is because we have been mispricing risk in both arenas."

With manufacturing and construction taking disproportionate hits so far this recession, men are bearing the brunt of the job layoffs. Besides the obvious economic pain, those who have lost their jobs are also paying a price in terms of their emotional health.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has endorsed the idea of proscribing the "defamation of religion." A Globe and Mail editorial rightly puts the boots to this notion.

The Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai has signed off on a law that would legalize rape within marriage and severely limit the legal rights of women.