POLITICS-US: Wolfowitz – Return to Sender?

Recently forced out as president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, one of the primary architects of U.S. President George W. Bush's Iraq war, is heading back to familiar surroundings. And the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the United States' premier conservative think tanks, is more than pleased to welcome him back.

IRAQ-AFGHANISTAN: Overlooking the Air War

On Jun. 18, seven children were killed during a U.S.-led air strike against a suspected al Qaeda sanctuary in eastern Afghanistan. Three days later, at least 25 civilians died during a similar "incident" in Helmand province in the south of the country.

IRAQ: ‘Arrowhead’ Becomes Fountainhead of Anger

Ongoing U.S. military operations in Diyala province have brought normal life to an end, and fuelled support for the national resistance.

POLITICS-US: Neo-Cons Try to Rally, Bully Republicans

In the face of a critical Senate debate on future U.S. strategy in Iraq, neo-conservatives and other hawks are trying to rally increasingly sceptical - and worried - Republicans behind continued support for President George W. Bush's five-month-old "surge" strategy.

IRAQ: Have the Tigris and Euphrates Run Dry?

Two of the largest rivers of the region run through Iraq, so why are Iraqis desperate for lack of water?

HEALTH-US: Troubled Soldier Gets Demoted, Not Treated

Cody Miranda joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was 17 years old. He loved the military and hoped to spend his entire career in the service.

POLITICS-US: Bush’s al Qaeda Problem

As U.S. President George W. Bush's military adventure flounders in Iraq, his administration appears to be increasingly depicting the conflict as a struggle between the U.S.-led Coalition forces and the archetypal terrorist threat posed by the shadowy "radicals and extremists" of al Qaeda, often to the exclusion of other political actors in the mainly Sunni insurgency.

TURKEY: Countdown Begins to Crossing into Iraq

The button of the stopwatch counting down the invasion of Northern Iraq by the Turkish army was probably pressed on Tuesday, at an impromptu meeting between Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

IRAQ: Kurds Wrangle Over Islam

Disputes have arisen within Kurdistan over the role Islam should play in a new constitution.

RIGHTS: Torture Routine in Kurdish Jails, Report Charges

Kurdistan's security forces, attached to the two largest political parties in the region yet out of the control of the government's Interior Ministry, routinely torture detainees and deny their due process rights, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch Tuesday.

POLITICS-US: Bush Presidency Enters Terminal Phase

There may be moments during their summit at his family's compound in Kennebunkport, Maine when U.S. President George W. Bush looks with envy on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, whose popularity at home guarantees him vast influence even as he prepares to leave office just nine months from now.

DEVELOPMENT: Uneven Results Forecast for Millennium Goals

The world's 22 rich nations, comprising the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), grudgingly doled out about 104 billion dollars in official development assistance (ODA) to the world's poorer nations in 2006.

US-IRAQ: Blackwater Blues for Dead Contractors’ Families

Ten years ago, Erik Prince, the son of a conservative multi-millionaire, founded the security consulting firm Blackwater USA.

RIGHTS-US: Good Enough to Serve, Not to Stay

The wife of a U.S. soldier missing in action in Iraq remains in legal limbo this week, even after the Department of Homeland security dropped deportation proceedings against her.

IRAQ: Curfew-Bound Fallujah On The Boil Again

Strict curfew and tight security measures have brought difficult living conditions and heightened tempers to residents of this besieged city.

POLITICS-US: Bush Suffers More Defections on Iraq

In a potentially significant setback to U.S. President George W. Bush's efforts to sustain Republican support for his "surge" in Iraq, three key senators this week have called on the White House to revise U.S. strategy there before September.

IRAQ: Kurds Want More Convictions Over Massacres

Polishing the picture of her husband hanging on a wall, Samira Jabbar, 44, was euphoric after an Iraqi judge handed the death sentence to several men for the massacre of tens of thousands of Kurds in the late 1980s.

IRAQ: Women Resist Return to Sectarian Laws

As Iraq struggles to define its future, there is one important group that has been largely left out of the process: women.

FILM: U.S. Military’s ‘Don’t Ask’ Policy and One Gay Marine

Jeff Key grew up in a small, conservative community in rural Alabama in the south-east United States. A large man standing well over six feet tall, he had already come out as gay to his friends and family, graduated with a degree in theatre, and moved to Los Angeles when, at age 34, he decided to join the Marine Corps.

IRAQ: This Too Is the Same Country

A huge building complex is rising above Arbil's ancient citadel and mosques, for long the outstanding features of this city in Iraqi Kurdistan. Once complete, Arbil's Modern Market with its four 33-floor towers will accommodate more than 5,000 shops and business offices.

IRAQ: Sceptical After Second Shrine Attack

The second bombing of the Shiite shrine of al-Askari in Samarra, Iraq, last week brought reprisal attacks, but it also brought solidarity against the occupiers.