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I was thinking General Musharraf, the Pakistani President, and his somewhat controversial autobiography may be of interest. He has just , the Afghan President. By all accounts, relations between the Afghan and Pakistani leaders were pretty cool if not downright cold. In a nutshell, they blame each other for the continued violence in Afghanistan, with Musharraf angrily denying accusations that some of the Pakistani security services are Taliban and Al-Qaeda sympathisers.

It has been an interesting week for Musharraf as heacross the US - in an interview with an American TV network before the book launch, he said that the US had threatened to bomb Pakistan "back to the Stone Age" if it did not cooperate in the war on terror. He then handled himself pretty well on the US satirical news programme, .
So what do Pakistanis make of his claims? Have you changed your view of the General in the last few weeks?
And what say you in India and Afghanistan, Pakistan's nearest (and dearest) neighbours?
Get in touch please.

The most popular story on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã website this morning is the news of the in the US. Although not directly related, , Pennsylvania, over their own lax gun controls. Is it time to revive the gun debate in the US, a country in which it is a 'right' to own a firearm? Since only one victim died yesterday, perhaps that death is not enough to re-ignite calls to control guns?

Small arms are a problem right across the world however, with Amnesty International and International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) among others , mostly made in the developed world, that find their way to countries such as DRC and Somalia.

It is probably something of a no-brainer to most of you that there should be a call to control guns and light weapons, but in many countries, bans on firearms have been repeatedly rejected (last yearon the issue), and many people believe that they have a right to own one to defend themselves. So what is the solution? Are guns really the problem or are they merely a symptom of wider, deeper rooted social, economic and political issues? What are those issues? Why do people carry guns?

Here are some of James' ideas:

Voting is getting underway in Zambia in . There are five presidential candidates, with incumbent Levy Mwanawasa seeking a second five-year term. Mr Mwanawasa says they've reduced debt and overseen strong growth in the economy, but many Zambians are yet to feel the effects of this. And the opposition says it's time for a change. What do you think - is it time for a change in Zambia, or are you happy with the current government?

Now French President Jacques Chirac will be increased to match those of French ones. The president was spurred into action after he saw a new film, called Indigenes, telling the story of North African soldiers who helped to liberate France in World War II. An exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester is also drawing attention to African soldiers who fought for Britain.
Did you or someone in your family fight for France (or any other country) during WWII? How do you feel about this decision? Are there other countries which should be doing the same?