Following Pervez Hoodbhoy's recent article in support of US drone attacks on Paistani Taliban militants, London-based writer Naeem Malik argues that drones are part of the problem, not the solution.

As U.S. plans its withdrawal from Afghanistan, we need to ask the question whether drones would replace the withdrawn U.S. troops. Are those supporting drones risking a perpetual war for the region?

The iron rule of Hosni Mubarak has dominated Egypt for three decades. The regime he heads is preparing for the succession and seeking to channel Egyptians’ hunger for change into a tool of retrenchment. The secular opposition is absorbed by the effort of staying in the political game; the Muslim Brotherhood has larger ambitions. What place does a parliamentary election have in this landscape? An assessment from Tarek Osman, in Cairo.

By Pervez Hoodbhoy

Vocal as they are about being bombed from the sky, most Pakistanis – including many on the Left – suddenly lose their voice when it comes to the human (Muslim) drone.

By Pat Thane

As Polly Toynbee and David Walker round off their running audit of Labour’s record, Pat Thane considers the many ‘good things’ Labour governments achieved and the weaknesses that undermined them.

It seems strangely long ago, when all we had to worry about were the shortcomings of an often well-meaning Labour government. This comprehensive survey of Labour’s performance from 1997 -2010 only reinforces puzzlement about why they couldn’t build more successfully on the good things and stay in office.