Talk is rising of a ‘clash of civilizations’. But the problem isn’t culture, it’s politics – from 9/11 to Guantanamo, Iraq to Iran. This clash is not inevitable, and we don’t want it.
So where to start? The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key symbol of the rift between Islam & the West. It’s time to step [...]

Burma’s most famous journalist, U Win Tin, is spending his 77th birthday today in his special cell in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison. He marked the occasion by issuing a rare call for resistance against the military regime that has imprisoned him since July 1989. He told a friend who is allowed to visit him: “All [...]

1964: Hoffa faces eight years behind bars
The president of the powerful American Teamsters union has been sentenced to eight years in jail on bribery charges.
James Hoffa has also been fined $10,000 (£3,570) for trying to bribe a Federal Court jury which was hearing a conspiracy charge against him in 1962.
“I am not guilty. I believe [...]