As Israel and the Palestinians agree to a cease-fire setting the stage for peace talks, official Palestinian Authority television continues to communicate the ultimate goal of eliminating the Jewish state.

Basque separatists detonated a powerful car bomb in Madrid on Wednesday, a week after Spain’s Parliament overwhelmingly rejected a plan giving the region virtual independence.

Russia's political class has amassed as much wealth as power under President Vladimir Putin, according to a new "rich list" published yesterday.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has agreed to visit China this year and the Pentagon is discussing the creation of a telephone hot line to the Chinese military, Pentagon officials said yesterday.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Gulf states Tuesday to take a greater role in securing Middle East peace, and accused Syria of supporting terrorists bent on destabilizing the region.

Debate began yesterday in the Senate over a proposal that would seriously weaken the ability of citizens to seek redress for harm done by polluters. The so-called Class Action Fairness Act (S.5), would shift all citizens' class action lawsuits from states to already overburdened federal courts.

After Afghanistan and Iraq, a new phase in the United States' "war on terror" is under preparation in which the military-minded decision-makers in Washington have short-listed various possible targets, including Iran and Syria.Now that President George W Bush has won his second term, his priorities have visibly changed. The manhunt for al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan has virtually stopped -Syed Saleem Shahzad/Asia Times

The possibility of a mistrial in the Lynne Stewart case loomed yesterday after the judge in the terrorism trial announced two jurors had sent him separate notes asking to speak with him -NewsDay

The U.S. Justice Department is appealing a decision that trimmed back the FBI's powers under the USA PATRIOT Act. But in a case already noted for unusual secrecy, the very fact of the government's appeal was kept under seal for over two months -SECURITY FOCUS NEWS

A federal judge has given Interior Secretary Gale Norton an ultimatum: Either appear in his court or face the prospect that he'll rule against her on an accusation that she retaliated against American Indians suing her agency for lost royalties

The Pentagon's reliance on supplemental funding requests to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan masks the true size of the U.S. defense budget and inhibits congressional oversight, analysts said this week

OK, here goes. I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, but I don't care.A couple months ago, it was reported that the Bush administration, through its Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, has doled out millions of dollars to conservative Christian organizations.But I don't see any provision in the U.S. Constitution that gives the president of the United States the right to direct billions of dollars of taxpayer money (our money) to the charities of his choice -Matt Chancey/Augusta Free Press

It is widely believed that a dynastic succession is the only way to save the regime from collapse after Kim Jong-il's death. If a new leader came from outside the ruling family, he would have too much incentive to negotiate surrender to the prosperous and powerful South, likely sacrificing the lives and property of the current elite in exchange for his own security -Andrei Lankov/Asia Times

European officials began a fresh round of talks with Iran over its controversial nuclear program with a warning against any activities that would violate the spirit of a deal worked out late last year, diplomats said -Turkish Press

Many people who come to the United States seeking political asylum are treated like criminals, in some cases held in prisons and jails, a federal commission said Tuesday.Some asylum seekers are shackled, kept in solitary confinement or strip-searched, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said in a report required by Congress

President Bush's senior adviser, Karl Rove, will take on a wider role in developing and coordinating policy in the president's second term, the White House announced on Tuesday.Rove, who was Bush's top political strategist during his 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns, will become a deputy White House chief of staff

The US said last week it has no plans to launch a military attack on Syria. But Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday blamed Iran and Syria for the unexpected ferocity of the Iraq insurgency.

Money that has been contaminated with a virus; it’s a whole new possible direction for bioterrorism. It is a case that the FBI terrorism unit has taken over from state police that involves several cities, including Philadelphia.

The U.S. military faces between 13,000 and 17,000 insurgents in Iraq, the large majority of them backers of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party, a senior military official said Tuesday.

Syria lashed out at US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday over her threat to isolate Damascus over its alleged support for Islamic militants, saying it was designed to serve Israel.—Turkish Press