By Lee Jasper

There are occasions when a media story will hit you in the solar plexus leaving you angry and speechless in equal measure. Monday the 9th May was one such day. The Guardian front page was dominated by a story that simply defies belief, a saga that provides an insight into the reality of humanitarianism, racism and callous indifference. African migrants left to die is a story that upon reading transported me instantly to the period of transatlantic slavery.

By Leah Borromeo

Artist Ai Weiwei has been missing for 40 days, Leah Borromeo reports from the opening of his new show.

By Asghar Ali Engineer

When the Quran was revealed it was assumed that all Muslims would read it to seek guidance for their problems and hence no class of priesthood was needed. But as Islam spread far and wide and Muslims from other cultures spoke different languages, they could not do so.

By Kalsoom

On Friday more than 80 paramilitary soldiers were killed when at least one suicide bomber blew himself up at a military training center in Charsadda. At least 115 people were wounded in the bombing, labeled by the NY Times as, “the first major terrorist attack since the American raid in Abbottabad on May 2 that killed Osama bin Laden,” and by other outlets as the deadliest attack in Pakistan since last November.

By Zehra Naqvi

For its fifth annual Festival of Asian Literature, running from the 10^th- 26^th May, the Asia House is hosting a number of interesting programmes encompassing a vast array of topics from food to politics, including a night of Persian poetry, a storytelling event for families, discussions with upcoming Asian writers and a talk by Hanif Qureshi on ‘Culture, Free Speech and Power’ which will also mark its end. Zehra Naqvi reflects on her experience of the festival so far with The Samosa.