http://gulftoday.aeThe latest news from The Gulf Today.Latest news, comments and reviews from The Gulf Today | gulftoday.ae(c) 2011, The Gulf Today. All rights reserved.en5OPINIONThe run-up to Pakistan’s recent elections had been marred by violence across the country, with the Pakistani Taliban claiming responsibility for several bomb attacks on secular political party targets. On May 20, Pakistan’s incoming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif threw his support behind peace talks with the country’s Taliban insurgents, risking the disapproval of the powerful army officials. He declared it would be a top priorityhttp://gulftoday.ae/portal/c5467306-284b-4377-b993-d0f0b44b8ef5.aspxSun, 26 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTOPINIONWhy all this mollycoddling of swivel-eyed loons? I take the point that Cameron can’t be seen to endorse such a view of those who toil in sleepy villages and hamlets to keep the country sleepily Conservative, and might prefer his senior colleagues to speak more respectfully of them, at least in the hearing of the wazzcock rubbernecks of the press. Discretion, lads. But I don’t doubt that in the carpeted hush of home, enjoying converhttp://gulftoday.ae/portal/1b285082-c7c4-4568-b15c-e254faab3fdc.aspxSun, 26 May 2013 00:30:00 GMTOPINIONPresident Barack Obama has declared war on the press, say writers at Slate, the Daily Beast, Reason the Washington Post (Jennifer Rubin, Dana Milbank and Leonard Downie Jr.), Commentary, National Journal (Ron Fournier), the New York Times editorial page, CBS News, Fox News (Roger Ailes, and even Techdirt. Scores of other scribes and commentators have filed similar dispatches about this or that federal prosecution chilling thehttp://gulftoday.ae/portal/8f8b38dd-5eec-41e4-9c51-ab5a0cf36056.aspxSun, 26 May 2013 00:30:00 GMTOPINIONBarack Obama had high hopes for his second term. In his lofty second inaugural address, he celebrated the virtues of activist government and pledged to redouble his efforts to fight climate change, among other causes dear to American liberals. Yet there is a growing perception that the president’s agenda has stalled. Congressional leaders continue to work towards comprehensive immigration reform legislation, but the Obamahttp://gulftoday.ae/portal/b7fde018-6aaa-40a2-b59a-b5323d8cf7c1.aspxSun, 26 May 2013 00:30:00 GMTOPINIONFor more than two years, GOP lawmakers have sought— and failed—to find a scandal to take down the presidency of Barack Obama. It’s not been for lack of trying. There was Solyndra, a failed effort to underwrite a firm promising solar energy development; and, more recently, Benghazi killings. Each probe revealed examples of poor judgment and misinformation by Obama administration officials. But most of what probershttp://gulftoday.ae/portal/6ed6d2ba-6e61-4930-b504-69e24fe14cbf.aspxSun, 26 May 2013 00:30:00 GMTOPINIONThe celebration of the fourth anniversary of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on May 22 was preceded by predictions about a fall in its number of Lok Sabha seats in the next election. The forecast reflected the general perception about the UPA’s decline. Sonia Gandhi’s comment to mediapersons during the celebrations underlines the divide. At the same time, it is worth pointing out that the political habit of blaminghttp://gulftoday.ae/portal/edcc8e7b-ae74-4ab9-96c1-7fe716c9cc46.aspxSun, 26 May 2013 00:30:00 GMT