The glitzy face of Eurabia, Kabul draped in a veil of uncertainty, Raw Indian nerves exposed, Opposition party adds to its disarray,

Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani enjoys his French connection - and the feeling is mutual. The emir has big plans for his tiny emirate and its huge oil and gas reserves, while France's president enjoys cozying up with a key Persian Gulf actor. Expect Qatar to buy more Paris real estate, as more French arms and passenger jets go in the opposite direction. - Pepe Escobar THE ROVING EYE The glitzy face of Eurabia

As results slowly roll in from last week's elections, Afghans enter a holy month gripped with equal parts of uncertainty, doubt and resignation. President Hamid Karzai has stayed relatively out of sight, even as his challenger, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, remains defiant and cries voter fraud. In this fluid situation, the talk in Kabul's dusty lanes is of a possible coalition government. - Derek Henry Flood Kabul draped in a veil of uncertainty

The expulsion of former Indian foreign minister Jaswant Singh from his Bharatiya Janata Party over his book on the events leading up to India's partition in 1947 cannot hide the fact that he has raised some pivotal issues. Not the least of these are his partial exoneration - in Indian eyes - of the architect of Pakistan's creation, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and the evolution of the Hindu-Muslim divide. - Santwana Bhattacharya Raw Indian nerves exposed

By kicking out Jaswant Singh, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has reinforced its image of being intellectually intolerant. It has also deepened the splits that led to its failure in national elections this year, and shown that its preoccupation with the past makes it completely out of tune with the present. - Sudha Ramachandran Opposition party adds to its disarray

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal don't agree on what happened yesterday with a new rule governing private-equity purchases of banks—or how to angle it anyway Here's the Times's headline: New Rules Restrict Bank Sales And the Journal's: Rules Eased on Bank Buyouts What gives? This is the second time in less than a week the... One Story, Two Angles from the WSJ and NYT

Ben Bernanke doesn't serve the public. He doesn't even see its existence. Re-Appointed Fed Chief Ben Bernanke Didn't Get Us Out of the Economic Crisis, He Helped Cause It By William Greider, The Nation

Step right up. You too can be ripped off by the New York Times' latest moneymaking gimmick: online courses from Nicholas Kristof, Gail Collins and Eric Asimov. New Journalism Clubs Are "Members Only" By Rory O'Connor, RoryOConnor.org

The naked man, his hands bound behind his back, is pushed to the ground. Then a man in military uniform delivers a forceful kick to the back of the prisoner's head with the heel of his boot. As the prisoner slumps forward, another soldier points his automatic weapon and fires a single shot. The man's body jolts. "It's like he jumped," laughs one of the giggling soldiers. Video that reveals truth of Sri Lankan 'war crimes'.