The United States has not yet tightened the asylum system and eliminated the ability of terrorists to obtain key documents such as driver's licenses, the September 11 commission's expert on terrorist travel is expected to tell Congress today. Immigration and border security continue to be contentious issues, particularly since the Senate and President Bush forced House Republicans to drop immigration and border security provisions from the intelligence overhaul bill that passed last year -Washington Times

Any satisfaction at watching regional rival Syria squirm under international pressure is being tempered in Israel by concerns over border instability and the growing influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon.The anti-Israel Shi'ite militia " which hopes to boost its political power in Lebanese elections in May " drew hundreds of thousands of supporters into the streets of southern Lebanon yesterday in its second major show of strength in a week -Washington Times

Kurdish leaders deflated hopes yesterday for the rapid formation of a government in Iraq, when they refused to compromise on demands for joining a coalition with the country's powerful Shi'ite bloc.The delays mean Iraq could be without a functioning government well past the first session of the new 275-member national assembly, which is scheduled to open Wednesday -Washington Times

Nepal’s political parties planned nationwide protests against the king’s emergency rule starting Monday, and communist rebels said they would step up their attacks and roadblocks, threatening to plunge the Himalayan country deeper into crisis.The government deployed security forces to foil the banned protests, set to coincide with Monday’s UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva, which was expected to criticize King Gyanendra’s power grab of Feb 1 when he imposed emergency rule and suspended civil liberties

Taiwan warned arch-foe China on Monday it would have to pay a price for an anti-secession law that has sparked an angry reaction on the island and raised alarm bells from Tokyo to Washington. China's parliament passed the anti-secession bill earlier on Monday, mandating the use of military force against Taiwan if the self-ruled island formally declares statehood

Spanish police have arrested 41 people suspected of laundering more than 250 million euros ($400 million Cdn) in the largest scheme of its kind ever discovered in Spain.Police say the operation had links to the troubled Russian Yukos oil company, which is being dismantled to pay taxes it owes -CBC News CA

China's national legislature on Monday overwhelmingly approved a law authorizing a military attack to stop Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, a day after President Hu Jintao told the 2.5 million-member People's Liberation Army to be prepared for war.

A federal judge has blocked the government from transferring 13 Yemenis from the U.S. detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until a hearing is held on concerns the detainees may be mistreated in another country.

This nation, its political leadership and the vast majority of its religious leaders, have thrown away their moral compass and replaced it with a rabid nationalism unseen on the world stage since Germany in the 1930s.Torture and murder of hundreds of thousands are readily accepted, as long as it is done for the graven image called the State -Michael Gaddy/LewRockwell.com

"Our Constitution," John Quincy Adams once wrote,"professedly rests upon the good sense and attachment of the people.This basis, weak as it may appear, has not yet been found to fail." Until now, that is.These are tough times for the document that governs our republic -Thomas P. Kilgannon/Washington Times

If it wasn’t so serious, I’d chuckle reading the latest quote from the news media’s intellectual owners, the AP wire service, it reads, “Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan seems like he’s everywhere these days, peering out from black horn-rimmed glasses and waxing on about Social Security, Medicare, deficits, consumption taxes, FINANCIAL ILLITERACY, even liquefied natural gas.” -John Newby/NewsWithViews

Israel's military is bracing for the increasing prospect of a war with Syria in a confrontation expected to include Iran and Hizbullah. The General Staff has discussed an assessment by the military's Northern Command of an emerging threat from Syria and Hizbullah over the next year.

Israel has drawn up secret plans for a combined air and ground attack on targets in Iran if diplomacy fails to halt the Iranian nuclear program.