Empowerment of Thai Muslims in the deep South need not come at the expense of their cultural identity. The southern Muslim question involves a complex set of political, social and economic problems, with strong religio-ethnic overtones. It stands in contrast to Thailand’s otherwise-impressive record of integrating ethnic minorities into mainstream society.

STOPPAGE TIME: The answers are out there, somewhere

Mercury, Jupiter and Venus were not consulted, but we had a thorough debate among senior editorial staff the other day on the political situation. While we are not by any means the most intelligent pundits on Earth, we do hope to make it up to our readers for our utter failure to predict that Sondhi Limthongkul, of all people, would eventually turn against the Empire and lead weakened Jedi troops in their fight against it. Here’s what we’ve come up with in regard to your most frequently asked questions:

Israel’s political earthquake

Israeli politics is undergoing its most dramatic changes in 30 years. The realignment of parties and leaders is all the more remarkable because the latest developments – Ariel Sharon’s decision to leave the ruling Likud party, the defeat of Shimon Peres as the Labour party’s chairman, and Labour’s withdrawal from Sharon’s grand coalition government – were utterly unexpected. So it is all the more important to comprehend the significance of these changes for the future of Israel, the region, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.