The Middle East continues to take centre stage this week, with the European Union threatening Israel with severe economic sanctions and Iran declaring its entry into the "nuclear club of nations”. But it is also a week driven by larger-than-life personalities. In London, Princess Diana challenges the stigma of the Aids epidemic with a single, historic handshake, while in Italy, an election defeat for Silvio Berlusconi coincides with the cinematic arrest of Sicily’s most notorious Mafia godfather. From fierce debates over the legacy of Margaret Thatcher to the fall of Baghdad, history unfolds across the front pages of The Independent.
