1New Zealanders have been extraordinarily generous in responding to the misery caused by the earthquakes in Christchurch. Contributions have poured in from everywhere as the rest of us express our solidarity the only way we really can, but allocating all this goodwill can be somewhat complicated.
2The taliban has become a label - a sort of terrorist talisman. But who, really, are the taliban? Why are they regarded with such revulsion outside Afghanistan, and what is their connection to al-Qaeda? British journalist James Fergusson is one of the few people to penetrate the inner sanctum of the Pashtun community, from which the taliban arose, and speaks to Sunday Morning about the taliban phenomenon.