Idrees’s cousin, who was studying in London, tried to deter me from going to Pakistan by quoting ‘East is East and West is West and ne’er the twain shall meet’.

Film-maker Alan Channer describes the journey that has led him to make 'The Cross and the Bodhi Tree', a film about Christian encounters with Buddhism.

At the age of 23 Diana Patricia Pabón-Ramirez has already devoted more than a decade to tackling the social problems of her Colombian community, Paul Williams reports.

Kenya is a beautiful country with rich natural resources but it is rocked by corruption. The result is that though most people work hard they are trapped in terrible poverty. Wanjiru Mungai shares her personal experience.

For most Americans life has changed since 11 September. The events of that day and its aftermath have riveted indelibly on the American psyche how fragile were the peace and comforts we enjoyed.

Do we have to make the people who come to us for help so unwelcome, asks Mary Lean

Bernard Margueritte, a French journalist living in Poland and President of the International Communications Forum, reflects on what he heard at a recent meeting of business leaders.

Michael Smith attends the world’s biggest anti-corruption conference in the Czech Republic.

Memories are the primordial soup of politics, says German theologian Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz, and how we deal with them can determine the future. He spoke in London as military action began in response to the attacks on New York and Washington. We print extracts: