I went on a walk the other day and was talking to a young woman who has views that should make her an Amnesty supporter. However, she said that she had fallen out with the organisation, partly over the policy on abortion and partly...

A New York Times story of this headline raises important questions about freedom of the press in reporting an unpopular war, which has now generated over 4,000 US fatalities and over 170 UK military deaths , including two from Northern...

As previously blogged in more detail, the BBC is broadcasting a two-part radio play on the life of early human rights advocate and activist (and much more), Thomas Paine. First part was broadcast today on Radio 4 as its Saturday play...

They went barmy in Berlin. It was delirium in Deutschland. Ok, so Barack Obama is looking like the world’s “hottest” politician. Or at least the most popular foreign one in Germany. The “JFK in ’63” comparisons are everywhere. This is...

Until this year I’ve never had any particular reason to note July 25th in my diary. Now I have two birthdays marked in, although sadly there’s not a lot to celebrate. The first birthday is that of Hu Jia – the subject of this year’s...