One was the archetypal military strongman, intent on maintaining the social order and saving his country from "catastrophe." The other was a charismatic shipyard electrician and trade union leader who was just as determined to lead his countrymen to freedom. Yet nowadays Wojciech Jaruzelski, the last leader of communist Poland, and Lech Walesa both claim, in their different ways, to have played their part in setting Poland on the path to democracy. The rise of Solidarity, the union and social ...

I have only once in my life had a headache that might qualify as a migraine. It was in Palm Beach, Fla., in 2005. I was interviewing the writer James Patterson and simultaneously withdrawing cold turkey from a prescription antidepressant when suddenly I had the sensation of an airbag trying to inflate inside the tight confines of my cranium. Light sources started to leave smeary trails across my field of vision. I finished the interview, went back to my ...

It takes a powerful magic to keep Brits quiet on a Saturday night — just ask the nation's beleaguered police. Yesterday evening pubs and clubs fell silent as 20 million people tuned into a TV show to see a question of global significance finally resolved. The final of Britain's Got Talent wasn't just about whether Susan Boyle — Scotland's least processed export since steel-cut porridge oats — would triumph. Nor were viewers drawn simply by the lure of car-crash ...

The Orlando Magic toppled the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night to claim a spot in the NBA finals championship series for the first time in 14 years. The Magic's 103-90 home win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals earned the team a trip to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. Orlando made it to the title round in 1995, one year before Shaquille O'Neal left for Los Angeles. "Tonight was a tough night, it was disappointing," coach Mike ...

Twenty-five militants and six soldiers were killed Saturday night in two separate clashes between security forces and insurgents in Pakistan's tribal region, officials said. Both clashes took place after militants ambushed security forces in South Waziristan, one of seven districts in Pakistan's mostly ungoverned tribal region along the Afghan border, said military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas. The clashes in South Waziristan were separate from an ongoing months-long military offensive in the Swat Valley. Many analysts believe the army may launch ...

Ephraim Katzir, Israel's fourth president and one of the county's pioneers, has died, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday.

Bordeaux clinched the French league title with a 1-0 win over Caen on a dramatic final day of the season. Laurent Blanc's men were ending Lyon's seven-year hold on the domestic championship and winning Bordeaux's first title in 10 years. A goal from Yoan Gouffran early in the second half secured their 11th straight win and their second trophy of the season having won the French League Cup in April. The defeat saw Caen drop to the second flight and ...

There's a professor at Oxford University who makes a compelling argument that if humans survive long enough to create conscious computers, it's likely that all of us, right now, are simply historical simulations the computers created for their amusement. After playing with The Sims 3 — the latest sequel in the mega-popular Sims franchise — I believe that prof. Ich bin ein Sim. The game, in which you create a character and interact with artificial intelligences in a ...

Israel started its biggest emergency drill in the nation's history Sunday to prepare civilians, soldiers and rescue crews for the possibility of war, the defense force said in a statement. The five-day drill, nicknamed Turning Point 3, comes amid the nation's rising tensions with Iran. It will be conducted in public facilities, including schools, military bases and government offices. Students, soldiers and other civilians will practice how to gather at protected places during an emergency. Officials said the drill will ...

The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi has been postponed until Friday while the country's military junta once again justified -- albeit indirectly -- its detention of the opposition leader. Without mentioning Suu Kyi by name, a full-page article in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Saturday laid out the penalty for someone running afoul of the state's subversion laws -- under which the pro-democracy advocate is being tried. "The restrictions can be extended up to a total of ...