IRAQ: The Democratic Engine Is Just Not Starting

Now that Sunni Arabs have been included, Iraq's parliamentary committee that is drafting the new constitution is the closest to an elected, representative body that the country has ever seen. In the two months that the committee now has to come up with the draft and in the referendum that will follow in October, it will become clear if that is enough to stabilise the country and reduce the violence.

RIGHTS-US: Congress Wades Into Fray on Detainee Abuses

In its first attempt to develop laws governing the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. military prisons, Congress Wednesday began to travel the tortuous road between the argument that "enemy combatants" have no rights, and rising concerns that endless detention is unethical and creates a powerful recruiting tool for terrorists.

POLITICS-US: Concern Grows Over Guantanamo, Detention Practices

Two weeks after the Bush administration began attacking Amnesty International for calling the U.S. detention practices against suspected terrorists "the gulag of our times," it finds itself increasingly on the defensive on the issue.

POLITICS-US: Iraq News Is Bleak, Even for Pentagon’s ‘Early Bird’

Readers of the Pentagon's 'Early Bird' news file, a daily compilation of around 50 stories circulated throughout the U.S. national-security bureaucracy, could be forgiven Monday for reaching for the Rolaids, a popular over-the-counter medication for queasy stomachs.

POLITICS: White House Seeks Softer, Gentler Liaison to Arab World

If enthusiastic White House and Congressional support could solve Washington's public diplomacy problems, Dina Habib Powell would be well on her way to becoming a national heroine.

POLITICS-US: "Evolution" Preferred Over "Revolution" in Arab Lands

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush should back up its pro-democracy rhetoric in the Middle East with more action and consistency, according to new bipartisan report that also urges Washington to encourage "evolutionary," rather than "revolutionary" change in Arab lands.

IRAQ: Desperate for Work, Blind to Dangers

Ahlam Najam just needed a job. At 25, she had a university degree in education but could not find work as teacher.

US: Fewer and Fewer Latinos Willing to Die in Iraq

A total of 215 Latino soldiers serving in the U.S. army have already died in Iraq, but according to anti-war activists, this bad news comes with a silver lining: an ever smaller number of young people of Latin American descent are enlisting in the armed forces.

POLITICS-U.S.: Military Finds Itself in Twilight Zone

On the day that U.S. citizens honoured the nation's war dead, the U.S. armed forces found themselves in a twilight zone somewhere between glory and hell.

IRAQ: Kurds Still Without Govt After January Poll

The two main Kurdish parties have still not reached agreement on setting up a regional government and parliament after elections held Jan. 30.

RIGHTS: Give Rumsfeld the Pinochet Treatment, Says U.S. Amnesty Chief

If the administration of President George W. Bush fails to conduct a truly independent investigation of U.S. abuses against detainees in Iraq and elsewhere, foreign governments should investigate and prosecute those senior officials who bear responsibility for them, the head of the U.S. chapter of Amnesty International said here Wednesday.

RIGHTS: U.S. Torture Report Assailed

Civil rights groups are accusing the U.S. government of failing to admit the extent to which abuse of non-citizens in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Iraq, and its base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, violates the international treaty against torture.

DISARMAMENT: Israeli Arsenal Vexes Nuclear Negotiators

The U.S. administration has sought to keep a tight focus on the suspected nuclear activities of Iran and North Korea at month-long talks here on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But other countries also have highlighted the impact of Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal on efforts to establish a Middle East nuclear-free zone.

IRAQ: U.S. Claims Over Siege Challenged

As with the siege of Fallujah six months back, U.S.. claims over the siege of the Iraqi town Al Qa'im are being challenged now by independent sources.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Exiled Rebel Group Said to Torture Dissidents

An Iranian rebel group that is aggressively campaigning for Washington's support as part of a ''regime change'' strategy in its homeland has committed serious abuses including torture and prolonged isolation, against dissident members, according to a leading human rights watchdog.

MEDIA-U.S.: A Tale of Two Stories

Here's a question for international news hounds. Who is the ''son of a bitch'' referred to in this comment by a U.S. Defence Department spokesman?

DEVELOPMENT: Iraq Living Conditions Tragic – Report

Iraqis' living conditions have deteriorated and pose challenges for development efforts two years after the U.S.-led invasion, says a groundbreaking new joint Iraqi-U.N. report.

POLITICS-IRAN: Independent Access to Khuzestan Urged in Wake of Violence

Amid rising tension between Iran and the United States, a major U.S. human rights group said Tuesday that at least 50 people were killed during week-long protests in southwestern Khuzestan province last month and urged Iran to permit independent journalists and rights monitors to go to the strife-torn region across the border from Iraq.

U.S.: Military Spending Leaves Home Front Unguarded – Report

The U.S. Defence Department should cut billions of dollars from major weapons programmes and plough the money into domestic security initiatives, says a new report with far-reaching implications not only for the federal budget but also for dozens of arms makers and other private defence contractors.

POLITICS: Iraq Clouds Blair Victory

The invasion of Iraq rebounded a little on the government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to dent his majority as he returned to a third term as prime minister.

EDUCATION: International Recovery Effort Urged for Iraq

The United Nations is urging governments and educators worldwide to rise to the aid of Iraq's colleges and universities, saying that five out of six have been wrecked and warning that failure to rehabilitate them will set back efforts to heal the war-brutalised country.