RELIGION: U.S. Christian Leaders Apologise For Iraq War

Christian leaders from the United States lamented the war in Iraq and apologised for their government's current foreign policy during the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil, which ended Thursday.

IRAQ: Bombing Could Hit Government Talks

The bombing of the Al-Askari Shia shrine and the wave of killings and attacks on Sunni mosques that followed have further endangered the fragile moves towards formation of a government.

POLITICS-US: “Leninists!” Cries Neo-Con Nabob, Suing for Divorce

The Washington foreign policy elite finds itself on pins and needles this week awaiting a response from the neo-conservative heavyweights at the Weekly Standard magazine to a scorching denunciation by one of their most venerable fellow-travelers, Francis Fukuyama, in Sunday's New York Times Magazine.

POLITICS-US: Rumsfeld Declares War on Bad Press

Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld has signaled that he plans to intensify a campaign to influence global media coverage of the United States, a move that is likely to heighten the debate over press freedom and propaganda-free reporting.

IRAQ: Crime Becomes Another Occupation

Iraqis live amidst the excesses of the occupation, death squads, shooting and terrorist bombing - but that is not all. They have learnt to live increasingly with crime that often enters homes without anyone to check it.

IRAQ: Gas Pumps Buried in Mountain of Unpaid Debts

Contract mismanagement and possible corruption in the Iraqi government are fueling a crisis over international gasoline delivery into Iraq.

IRAQ: Outrage Spreads over New Images

New footage of British soldiers beating up young Iraqi men in Amarah city in 2003, and the release of more photographs of atrocities by U.S. soldiers against Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison has spread outrage across Iraq.

IRAQ: Sunni Insurgents Seen as Increasingly Unified

Despite reports of growing tensions and even occasional clashes between Islamists and nationalists, the predominantly Sunni insurgency in Iraq appears increasingly united and confident of victory, according to a new report released here Wednesday by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG).

POLITICS-U.S.: Cheney’s Law – Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Saturday's shooting by Vice President Dick Cheney of a quail-hunting companion on a ranch in Texas is certain to provide talk-show hosts and stand-up comedians with a veritable bonanza of jokes that could last weeks.

POLITICS: U.S. Risks Reporter’s Life to Strike Tough Pose

The George W. Bush administration went well beyond refusing to negotiate with terrorists in its handling of the threat by freelance journalist Jill Carroll's abductors to kill her if all female detainees were not released from U.S.-run prisons in Iraq.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/U.S.: Top Mideast Analyst Accuses Bush of Politicising Iraq Intel

The U.S. intelligence community's top Middle East analyst from 2000 to 2005 has accused the George W. Bush administration of distorting and politicising intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.

POLITICS-U.S.: In Public’s Eyes, Iran Biggest Foreign Menace

The escalating crisis over Iran's nuclear programme appears to have persuaded the U.S. public that Tehran now poses a greater threat to the United States than any other country, or even al Qaeda, according to recent surveys.

IRAQ: Siniyah Isolated and Simmering

Twice now, an IPS correspondent has been refused entry to this town that has become a prison for its inhabitants. Contact with residents of the town came only at the checkpoint.

POLITICS-U.S.: Special Forces, Big-Ticket Weapons Dominate Defence Plans

While the Pentagon emerged as the big winner Monday among U.S. government agencies in next year's budget sweepstakes, its failure to choose among the threats it says it must defend the country against may prove costly in the long run, both financially and operationally, according to analysts here.

POLITICS-U.S.: Guns Over Butter, Abroad and at Home

Despite his administration's growing concerns about preventing the collapse of states in strategic parts of the world, U.S. President George W. Bush has proposed cuts in development and disaster assistance while increasing the defence budget by almost seven percent.

MEDIA: Al-Jazeera Succeeding Under Pressure

Its foreign bureaus were bombed by U.S. warplanes, it is banned from reporting from four Middle East countries - and Al-Jazeera is only growing in popularity.

IRAQ: Shias Head for Uncertain Govt

Six weeks after parliamentary elections, occupied Iraq is still struggling for a viable government, as violence and instability worsen.

POLITICS: Bungled Peace-Building Opens Door to Terrorism

Washington's attempts to bring security to Iraq and Afghanistan are not only making life harder for local people, they are breeding more terrorists, warn international security experts.

POLITICS: Most Iraqis Doubt US Will Ever Leave

Large majorities of Iraqis believe that the United States has no intention of ever withdrawing all its military forces from their country and that Washington's reconstruction efforts have been incompetent at best, according to a new survey released here Tuesday.

IRAQ: US Realignment With Sunnis Is Far Advanced

Two major revelations this past week show how far the George W. Bush administration has already shifted its policy toward realignment with Sunni forces to balance the influence of pro-Iranian Shiites in Iraq.

SYRIA: Assad Keeps Footing Amid Political Tremors

Despite a U.N. probe into his possible role in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a public challenge to his rule by a prominent Syrian politician in exile, Syrian President Bashar Assad appears likely to endure for the foreseeable future, according to experts here.