What the world is reading

The conference was full of ironies. Iran,accused by the Americans of having a hand in killing their troops in Iraq,is none too keen on the terrorists of the Taliban at the very moment when the Americans are keen to talk to the very same Taliban so that they can high-tail it out of Afghanistan.

Karzai,who spoke all of four minutes,was keen on Iran reconstructing his country,which was what the Americans,the Brits and everyone else who loved democracy were keen to do after defeating the Taliban. And Zardari? He was anxious to talk to the Iranians and the Afghans about Pakistans future role despite supporting the black Taliban,which is on Irans hit list.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
A Greek tragedy

The essence of ancient Greek tragedy is that the audience knows it will end in disaster,but feels compelled to watch the horror unfold, writes Jeff Randall,describing the current sovereign debt crisis that Greece is facing as a tragedy of Sophoclean dimensions.

Greece is borrowing enormous sums to service existing debts and Randall writes,As Sophocles reminds us,when divine and human purposes conflict,the gods will always prevail. In this case,Athena,the deity of endeavour and reason,is deeply offended by Olympian self-indulgence. The upshot will not be a miraculous economic recovery,but a spectacular flame-out.

THE WASHINGTON POST
Change in Saudi Arabia

The driving protest by Saudi women may have been a far cry from the other demonstrations held in the Arab Spring but it does signal a change in the country,writes Isobel Coleman. The protest was limited with only a few dozen women getting behind the wheel,roughly the same number as during the last protest 20 years ago. The government,Ostrich-like maintains that womens rights are not a big deal for most Saudis.

The protests have been viewed by many on YouTube. Manal al-Sharif,arrested for posting videos of herself driving,was lauded as the Rosa Parks of Saudi Arabia with her Facebook group drawing 20,000 members in just a few weeks. These events may still be flashes in the pan for the King has made it clear that he was interested in only incremental changes for women but the big question now is: what decision will the countrys next generation of rulers make?

THE ATLANTIC
Negative media

Daniel Indiviglio writes that Americans,according to a survey,are becoming more pessimistic about the future despite the fact that their economic situation has not worsened. He argues that perceptions can sometimes dictate reality,and even if the economy does well,consumers can still get spooked. The opposite is also true. Irrational optimism about an asset can lead to bubbles too,which then undergo a sharp correction. This is where the media plays an important role for if it pushes the public in the wrong direction,then their sentiment about the economy could be skewed with a counterproductive result.

Taking the period between October 2010 and June 2011,the US economy appears to have slowed as a result of consumers pulling back and therefore sentiment matters. The survey says peoples view of the economy remained the same and their financial situation did not change over this period. Even then,they are pessimistic about the future. What explains this? One answer is negative media reports.