On Oct. 19, NATO troops on patrol in Afghanistan’s Helmand province fired a warning shot to stop a civilian vehicle that had come too close to the soldiers’ convoy. The round ricocheted, killing a two-year-old girl outside her home, according to Agence France-Presse. It’s an old problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, where occupying troops find themselves targeted by suicide bombers in chaotic urban environments where it’s impossible to tell the good guys from the bad. Most soldiers have no peaceful way of communicating with civilian drivers other than with vague hand gestures — and few means short of a rifle [...]
PUNE, India — In his tiny, dimly lit grocery shop, Babulal Borana stands behind a counter topped with grimy plastic bottles of sweets, and surrounded by loose sacks of rice, lentils, and spices. He lights a sweet-smelling incense stick in front of a deity of Laxmi, the Indian goddess of wealth, praying feverishly for the survival of his business. Housed in a decrepit building, Borana’s shop has been doing brisk business for over 20 years. But eight months ago, a dazzlingly lit, air conditioned supermarket — run by Reliance, an Indian business giant — was erected just a few yards [...]
SARKO’S HEFTY PAYRAISE — French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is on an official visit to Washington this week, wants the French to work harder and earn more. Since his election six months ago, the energetic Sarko has put his ideas into practice by working hard himself — and earning 172 percent more. That’s how much the French parliament has voted to increase the president’s salary, which will now amount to the equivalent of $337,756 a year. This brings Sarkozy’s paycheck close to that of his American host, President Bush, who is paid a comparatively modest $400,000; but not as close [...]
