The Londoner

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — As the Obama administration weighs a shift in its military strategy in Afghanistan, it is also stepping up its efforts to increase aid to neighboring Pakistan. The Senate on Sept. 24 approved legislation to triple nonmilitary aid to Pakistan to about $1.5 billion a year for the next five years. However, conditions laid out in the bill, authored by Senators John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, have unleashed street protests and a flood of criticism from Pakistanis who say the bill compromises their country’s sovereignty. President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan has agreed to the stipulations in the Kerry-Lugar bill, but he is coming under sharp criticism from opposition parties and many Pakistanis who view America as a cavalier and condescending ally. Pakistan’s Parliament is discussing the Kerry-Lugar aid bill Wednesday, and it is expected to be a fiery debate. I spoke with several Pakistanis who shared their concerns abo

On June 10, 2000, Queen Elizabeth II opened the high-tech Millennium Bridge, which traverses the River Thames from the Tate Modern to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Thousands of people lined up to walk across the new structure, which consisted of a narrow aluminum footbridge surrounded by steel balustrades projecting out at obtuse angles. Within minutes of the official opening, the footway started to tilt and sway alarmingly, forcing some of the pedestrians to cling to the side rails. Some reported feeling seasick. The authorities shut the bridge, claiming that too many people were using it. The next day, the bridge reopened with strict limits on the number of pedestrians, but it began to shake again. Two days after it had opened, with the source of the wobble still a mystery, the bridge was closed for an indefinite period. Some commentators suspected the bridge’s foundations, others an unusual air pattern. The real problem was that the designers of the bridge, who included the architect Sir No

David Cameron today dug in over Europe and set himself at odds with Boris Johnson by refusing to say whether the Conservative Party would hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if it comes into force before the general election. The Tory leader will try to face down his party this week in Manchester by claiming that the Conservatives should have “one policy at a time”: to promise to hold a referendum while the treaty is still being debated elsewhere in Europe. At the same time he will move to reassure the Eurosceptic wing of the party by promising to take back control from Brussels powers over social and employment legislation, which is likely to cause a huge row with other European leaders. But Mr Cameron suffered an immediate setback after Mr Johnson, the Mayor of London, suggested that voters “deserve a say” on the Lisbon document, even if it has been ratified and “particularly if the upshot of the Lisbon Treaty is going to produce President Blair”. Mr Cameron has come under pressur

By Sikander Hayat In the second referendum held yesterday in Ireland, people have voted yes to Lisbon treaty. This has removed a major hurdle in the ratification of the treaty which will eventually make EU work smoothly. In the first vote, Irish voted no but now after extensive campaigning by the Irish government and the financial crisis Ireland has seen sense and has opted to embrace Europe and its institutions.

Gordon Brown has agreed to take part in televised debate with David Cameron the Conservative leader.