IRAQ: Who Are the Bombers?

Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's weekend tour of Iraq appeared to be going splendidly: everywhere he went - even in Saddam Hussein's former stronghold of Tikrit - Iraqis greeted him with smiles and warm handshakes, no doubt adding to his conviction that the war really was for ''liberation'' rather than ''occupation''.

IRAQ: Offer Unacceptable, Say NGOs

Loans pledged to Iraq at a donors conference in Madrid last week are "unacceptable", a leading NGO says.

IRAQ: Occupation Is Not Liberation, Protesters Say

The U.S. capital saw its first massive protest since the George W. Bush administration declared victory in Iraq, as 50,000 people marched to the White House and Justice Department on Saturday to call for withdrawal of the 130,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Middle Eastern nation.

MIDEAST: Dispute Grows over ‘Targeted Killings’

Israelis and Palestinians are both facing up to long-term consequences of Monday's air strikes on the Gaza strip.

IRAQ: Rebuild With Grants, Not Loans – UN Official

The reconstruction of Iraq should not be financed by loans that the war-devastated country is incapable of repaying, a senior U.N. official warned Friday.

IRAQ: No Turks Is Good News

After intense opposition from several parties, Iraqis say they are pleased with signs that Turkey may decide not to send troops to Iraq after all.

IRAQ: Donors Wary of Washington

The United States' bid to get international donors to bankroll the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq might be derailed by Washington's own alliance with corporations and its continuing unilateral foreign policy.

POLITICS: U.N. ‘Failed’ Iraq Staff Killed in Bombing

U.N. security is so ''dysfunctional'' that it provides little or no protection for staff members in Iraq or in other high-risk U.N. missions and peacekeeping operations worldwide, a four-member independent panel reported Wednesday.

IRAQ: Little Expected at Donors Meet

Iraqi officials leave for the donors conference in Madrid this week hoping for the best but prepared to return empty-handed.

IRAQ: U.S. Ignores Soldiers’ Killings of Civilians – Report

The U.S. military should be investigating the deaths of dozens of Iraqi civilians killed by its troops; instead, it is not even keeping track of their numbers, says a report released here Tuesday.

IRAQ: Where is All the Money Going?

As U.S. President George W. Bush continues to woo Congress for an additional 20 billion dollars to help rebuild Iraq, many Iraqis accuse the coalition forces of mismanaging money that should be better spent on Iraqi people.

MIDEAST: Moderates Push Ahead

Moderate Israelis and Palestinians have started drumming up support for a draft peace agreement they reached last weekend after years of negotiating.

IRAQ: U.S. Post-War Casualties Pass 100 Amid Disarray

Despite a two-week public-relations offensive designed to persuade the world and the U.S. public that it knows what it is doing in Iraq, the Bush administration appears increasingly at sea.

IRAQ: Cronyism in U.S. Contracts Clouds Fundraising

A recent political ad campaign highlighting corruption and cronyism in U.S. contracts awarded to rebuild Iraq takes a shot at a major corporation with ties to the White House.

SPAIN: Court Agrees to Try U.S. Soldiers for Reporter’s Death in Iraq

Three U.S. soldiers are to be indicted in Spain for the death of Spanish journalist and cameraman José Couso in the war in Iraq. The Audiencia Nacional, equivalent to a federal court, on Friday accepted the lawsuit filed in May by the victim's family.

MIDEAST: Sleepless Nights for Arafat

It was the nightmare scenario for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The last thing he needed was a bomb attack on an official convoy in an area under Palestinian control, like the one that that killed three U..S. security men in the Gaza Strip Wednesday.

POLITICS-U.S.: Thinkers Launch Anti-Empire Drive

Representatives of a new coalition of prominent foreign-policy scholars and analysts whose political views range from right to centre-left announced here Thursday they hope to spearhead opposition to the imperial policies pursued by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.

IRAQ: U.S. Hits Another UN Roadblock

The United States has hit yet another diplomatic roadblock as it tries to manoeuvre a new U.N. resolution aimed at marshalling foreign troops for a multinational military force for Iraq and donor funds to rebuild that war-devastated country.

/UPDATE/POLITICS-IRAN: Wariness Rises as Nuke Deadline Nears

As the clock ticks toward the end-October deadline set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), debate is raging in Iran on an action that many see as a hostile and western-inspired one.

POLITICS-IRAN: Wariness Rises as Nuke Deadline Nears

As the clock ticks toward the end-October deadline set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), debate is raging in Iran on an action that many see as a hostile and western-inspired one.

IRAQ: Six Months After Saddam, Little Seems Better

On that bright and sunny April 9, scores of people pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in a central square in Baghdad before live television broadcasts aired to the world.