Richard Siklos, author of Shades of Black, on the key deal that brought down Conrad Black.

Guardian columnist Mark Lawson blames the current BBC programming scandal -- faked call-in show contest results -- on a mania for interactivity.

From the Washington Post:

With two new manuals for high school history and social studies teachers, written in part by Kremlin political consultants, Russian authorities are attempting to imbue classroom debate with a nationalist outlook.

The history guide contains a laudatory review of President Vladimir Putin's years in power. "We see that practically every significant deed is connected with the name and activity of President V.V. Putin," declares its last chapter. The social studies guide is marked by intense hostility to the United States.

Both books reflect the themes dominating official political discourse here: that Putin restored Russian strength and built what the Kremlin calls a "sovereign democracy" despite American efforts to isolate the country.

And who are those two gentlemen, and why should they be mentioned in the same breath as the BBC's Alan Johnston, held captive in Gaza for nearly four months before being released? Read on.

From the Beeb:

Spain's High Court has ordered the seizure of all copies of a magazine that carried a cartoon of Crown Prince Felipe and his wife having sex.

The cartoon on the front page of the weekly satirical magazine El Jueves depicted Prince Felipe saying sex was the closest he would come to working.

It was published after the government announced it would pay couples nearly $3,500 for each new baby born.

Surprisingly, the article says defaming the Spanish royal family can result in a prison sentence of up to two years.

A big slapdown for Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. Iftikhar Chaudri, the country's chief justice, has been ordered reinstated by the country's supreme court. Musharraf suspended him four months ago for purported corruption, although most saw the move as an attempt to intimidate the judiciary in an election year.

Musharraf wanted to ask parliament to clear the way for another five-year term for him.

Here's a Beeb analysis: Musharraf's legal nightmare.

CBC's As It Happens did an interview with Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan. It's worth a listen. Khan sees this as a huge breakthrough for democracy in Pakistan, as free and fair elections aren't possible without an independent judiciary.