IRAQ: Fighting Amongst Shias Adds to Violence

Clashes between rival Shia militas in Kerbala have spread across southern Iraq and Baghdad, adding a new dimension to sectarian violence.

HEALTH-US: Soldier’s Tragic Suicide Just One of Dozens

Dane and April Somdahl own the Alien Art tattoo parlor on Camp Lejeune Boulevard - just outside the sprawling Marine Corps base of the same name in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

IRAQ: Clerics Begin to Take Over

Religious clerics are beginning to play an increasingly powerful role in Iraq. Many Iraqis now fear that they are endangering human rights and religious freedom in the once largely secular country.

POLITICS-US: Neocons Put on a Surge-Stravaganza

With U.S. General David Petraeus's eagerly anticipated final report on Iraq due on Sep. 15, supporters of the troop surge are busily trying to set the stage for the report that they believe will refute their opponents.

POLITICS: U.S. Viewed as Turkey’s “Greatest Threat”

Nearly two-thirds of the Turkish public named the United States as their country's greatest future threat, a recent Pew Global Attitudes Project survey has revealed - the highest percentage of any Middle Eastern or Islamic country polled.

IRAQ: Samarra Under U.S. Attack

Residents are fleeing Samarra city in the face of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and resistance groups.

DEATH PENALTY: U.N. Faults Iraq for Continued Executions

A new United Nations report on human rights criticises the government in Baghdad for its continued executions of prisoners despite appeals by the United Nations and its human rights bodies for a moratorium on capital punishment.

IRAQ: With Donkeys for Transport, All Is Well

A brave new attempt is under way to project that all is well now with Fallujah. Residents know better - or worse.

RIGHTS-US/IRAQ: Haditha Probe Limps to a Close

Last December, when the U.S. Marine Corps charged four infantrymen for the murder of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha on Nov. 19, 2005, the counts represented the most serious case of alleged war crimes committed by Marines in Iraq or Afghanistan.

IRAQ: Too Many Search Hopelessly for the Kidnapped

Amidst the violence and chaos in Diyala province, kidnappings continue unabated, bringing an uncertain fate for the abducted, and unanswered questions for their families.

IRAQ: Children Starved of Childhood

The violence around the continuing U.S. military operations in this city has robbed children of their childhood.

POLITICS-US: Grim GAO Iraq Report Belies Official Optimism

As the U.S. Congress prepares for a critical September assessment of progress in Iraq, a draft of an upcoming report by Congress's nonpartisan investigative arm states that Iraq has met only three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for progress, in contrast to an earlier White House report which claimed "satisfactory" progress on eight of the benchmarks.

IRAQ: Families of Detainees Losing Hope

Hopes are fading for early release of the large number of Iraqis detained under the so-called surge.

RIGHTS-US: Abu Ghraib Justice Ends With Enlisted Soldiers

Tuesday's acquittal of Lieutenant Colonel Steven Jordan on charges related to the Abu Ghraib prison abuses means that no officers have been found criminally responsible for the mistreatment of prisoners at the Iraqi prison near Baghdad.

POLITICS: Bush Indictment of Iran Tops Usual Rhetoric

The George W. Bush administration has seemingly taken advantage of the Congressional recess to escalate tensions with Iran.

POLITICS: Israel Warned US Not to Invade Iraq after 9/11

Israeli officials warned the George W. Bush administration that an invasion of Iraq would be destabilising to the region and urged the United States to instead target Iran as the primary enemy, according to former administration official Lawrence Wilkerson.

IRAQ: Fallujah Finds a False Peace

Fallujah is quiet these days. After all the fighting and destruction of 2004, U.S. and Iraqi forces call this success. Many residents are not so sure.

POLITICS-US: A Quagmire of Napoleonic Proportions

President George W. Bush's most recent defence of his Iraq war policy was striking for its embrace of a historical parallel the administration has painstakingly tried to avoid for the last five years.

IRAQ: Attacks on Yazidis Brings a Setback to the North

The deadly attack on the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq earlier this month is expected to worsen ethnic and sectarian tensions.

MEDIA-US: How Iraq War Backers Morphed Into “Critics”

Sep. 15 is the deadline for the George W. Bush administration to submit a report to Congress defending its Iraq "surge strategy", an escalation of more than 30,000 U.S. troops designed to increase security in the war-torn nation.

POLITICS-US/IRAQ: Still No Light at Tunnel&#39s End

While there have been some improvements in Iraq's security situation over the past seven months, the level of overall violence remains "high" with only modest improvements possible over the next six to 12 months, according to a new study by the U.S. intelligence community released here Thursday.