Should Pakistan take America’s money?

If someone offered me $1.5 billion a year for the next five years (that’s a lot of World Have Your Say shifts!), I’d probably bite their hand off. But in international politics, things are a bit more complicated.

The US Congress has approved a bill to grant that amount to help Pakistan develop and it’s now awaiting the Presidential signature in the Oval Office. But there is controversy in Pakistan itself about the strings attached.

Can the Pakistan Taliban survive the “death” of Baitullah Mehsud?

“We both are alive,” says Taliban commander Wali-ur-Rehman. He might find that the US, Pakistan and its neighbours  in the region beg to differ. They are pretty confident that the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud is very much dead.

That’s what so  many of you have been talking about around the world and on this blog.  We touched on this story on Friday during the first half of our programme, but unfortunately telephone lines didn’t work in our favour. It’s still been one of the biggest stories of the weekend. Is he dead? If he isn’t should Taliban prove it? And if he is, can the Taliban survive his death or is the leadership of this organisation more than just about one man?