From the BBC:

An Iraqi journalist who flung shoes at US President George W Bush will go on trial on 31 December, his brother and a judge have said.

Muntadar al-Zaidi is accused of "aggression against a foreign head of state" over the 14 December incident.

The 28-year-old, hailed as a hero by some in the Arab world, could face a jail term if convicted.

His brother says he has been abused in detention and plans to file a legal suit over his injuries.

So. In about a week, we'll find out whether the Iraqi justice system sees al-Zaidi's actions as simply a man exercising his freedom of expression or as something more sinister.

I wonder if Dubya will be called as a witness, and if so, for whom? If he testified the accused was just acting like a free Iraqi, wouldn't that go to the issue of intent? Or is my thinking a little too anglo?

From the BBC:

Many newspapers in Nepal have appeared with a blank space instead of an editorial to protest against attacks by Maoist activists.

From the BBC:

The New York Times has said a letter purporting to be from the mayor of Paris that attacked Caroline Kennedy's bid for a Senate seat was a fake.

The letter, which was signed with the name of Bertrand Delanoe and printed in Monday's paper, called Ms Kennedy's bid "not very democratic" and "appalling".

The New York Times said it had failed to check whether the letter, which was sent by e-mail, was authentic.

It said it had expressed its regrets to Mr Delanoe's office in Paris.

Here's the letter with the NYT's mea culpa appended.

A tiny New Jersey weekly newspaper avoids the Internet like the plague, but has also avoided many of the financial problems plaguing larger newspapers. But is there much to learn from its model?