IRAQ: Kurd Unrest Spreads to Syria

Kurds within Syria are beginning to demand increasing recognition in the face of the autonomy enjoyed by Kurds within Iraq.

IRAQ: Saddam Will Miss Old Buddy Reagan

The Iraq issue today may never have arisen if it were not for the support former U.S. president Ronald Reagan gave Saddam Hussein.

POLITICS: Insecurity Forces Aid Agencies Out of War Zones

As violence against civilians and humanitarian workers escalates in the world's politically-troubled regions, the United Nations and major relief groups continue to shy away from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or to significantly downsize their emergency operations.

POLITICS-INDIA: Communists Stymie Plans to Send Troops to Iraq

Any plan by the Congress Party-led minority government of India to change earlier decisions not to send troops to Iraq have been nipped in the bud by its communist allies, which oppose U.S. dominance in the occupied country.

JAPAN: Released Hostages Represent Country’s New Generation

The filing of a suit against his own government by a Japanese activist, blaming it for his ordeal in Iraq when he was briefly held captive there, is an indication of a new side to Japan's young people.

POLITICS-U.S.: Recent Good News No Boost for Bush in Polls

After being battered by seemingly relentless bad news since early April, U.S. President George W Bush has enjoyed two weeks of relatively good news but still finds himself struggling in the polls.

IRAQ: EU Prepares for Make or Break Stage

A European Union blueprint for assistance in Iraq comes at a - make or break" point in the country's reconstruction process, says Chris Patten, the bloc's commissioner for external relations.

IRAQ: U.S. Troubles Move North

And now the United States is running into difficulties in Northern Iraq where it has enjoyed the support of the largely Kurd population.

/UPDATE*/IRAQ: Torture Victims Sue U.S. Security Companies

Lawyers for Iraqis tortured while in U.S. custody have sued two private security companies for allegedly abusing prisoners to extract information from them with the goal of winning more contracts from the U.S. government.

IRAQ: Torture Victims Sue U.S. Security Companies

Lawyers for Iraqis tortured while in U.S. custody have sued two private security companies for allegedly abusing prisoners to extract information from them with the goal of winning more contracts from the U.S. government.

IRAQ: France Bends the U.S. Way

France has finally rallied behind the United States and Britain over Iraq despite earlier insistence on an independent foreign policy.

ECONOMY-MIDEAST: Exporters See Gains in EU Partnership

A trade agreement between Egypt and the European Union has opened new markets to exporters and paved the way towards the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone.

AUSTRALIA: Bid to Woo U.S. Forces Incurs Wrath of Activists

Peace activists plan massive protests if the federal and Northern Territory governments allow a deal to go ahead between the United States and Australia to station U.S. troops and equipment in the so-called Australian Top End.

RIGHTS-U.S.: New Evidence Prison Torture Was Approved at Top Levels

A classified Pentagon report, providing a series of legal arguments apparently intended to justify abuses and torture against detainees, appears to undermine public assurances by senior U.S. officials, including President George W. Bush, that the military would never resort to such practices in the ''war on terrorism''.

IRAQ: Abuses a ‘Stain’ on Freedom Effort – U.N. Human Rights Chief

A new report from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights concludes that "grave violations" - even potential war crimes - have occurred since the U.S.-led forces have occupied Iraq, leaving "a stain upon the effort to bring freedom" to that country.

IRAQ: U.N.’s Integrity Questioned – Again

When U.S. President George W Bush desperately sought U.N. assistance last month to organise elections in Iraq and help form a new interim government, some senior U.N. officials bragged the United States was crawling back to the world body on bended knee.

IRAQ: Liberated Kurds Find Little Freedom

Fruit and vegetable vendors push their carts around a street market in Arbil, the seat of governance of Iraqi Kurdistan. The city is very different from Baghdad. Kurdish is spoken here, and written large on shop windows. Also, there is no visible American troop presence.

POLITICS-U.S.: More Imperial Intrigue as CIA Director Resigns

The abrupt resignation of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet adds new grist to Washington's rumour mills, already churning at warp speed due to the ongoing prisoner-abuse scandal in Iraq and reports that the Bush administration's favourite in Baghdad turned over critical information to Iran.

POLITICS: Groups Sue Pentagon for Info on Iraq Abuses

A coalition of civil-rights and veterans groups charged in a New York court Wednesday that the U.S. Defence Department is withholding records about the abuse of detainees in military custody as part of the Bush administration's "war against terrorism."

POLITICS-GULF: Arab Leaders Reticent over Interim Iraq Gov’t

Arab states seem to be adopting a wait-and- see attitude, and reserving their kudos, after Iraqi leaders cut a deal Tuesday with the United States and United Nations on a new interim government that will lead the country towards its first elections, next year, in a post-Saddam Hussein era.

POLITICS: U.S. Seeks Iraqi Nod for Continued Military Presence

The United States is seeking the approval of the new interim government in Baghdad for a joint UK-U.S. resolution that will legitimise the continuing military occupation of Iraq.