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Gary Younge
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Never mind the truth
At the very moment when Rice said that the invasion had removed a source "of violence and fear and instability in the world's most dangerous region", the tape read: "Iraq's interim interior minister Nuril Al-Badran announces his resignation; interior ministry is in charge of police forces."
NY editor slams apology for his record
A former editor of the New York Times has made a scathing attack on the paper's confession on Wednesday that it was insufficiently rigorous in its reporting in the run-up to the Iraq war, when he was at the helm.
Slimmer sues Atkins over cholesterol
A man who claims his cholesterol level shot up after he went on the Atkins diet is suing the estate of Robert Atkins and the company promoting his diet, it emerged yesterday.
New York Times admits failures in run-up to war
In a 1,200-word article signed From the Editors, one of America's most prestigious newspapers wrote: "Looking back, we wish we had been more aggres sive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged - or failed to emerge."


Fahrenheit 9/11: Looking to rock the vote
Burning Bush
In a few months, if things go to plan, he will lob the product of some of that money into the already bloody American electoral battlefield with the release of his upcoming film Fahrenheit 9/11. The film examines the relationship between the Bush and Saudi dynasties, and offers a critical view of the experiences of soldiers and their families in the Iraq war. On Saturday it won the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes. And, during a tight presidential race in an increasingly polarised nation, some are now asking whether the film could play a role in losing Bush the election.
We will persevere, Bush tells Americans
In a speech seen as a decisive moment for a president whose approval ratings are languishing in the 40% range, Mr Bush claimed he had a clear plan for the transfer of power to Iraqis on June 30, and asked Americans to stay the course.
Black Americans move back to southern states
The report, by the Brookings Institution thinktank, found that southern cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Charlotte signalled the greatest increase in attracting black migrants during the 1990s. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco all showed the steepest declines.
Punch saves boy from alligator in Florida
Malcolm Locke was taking a dip in Lake Diana, near his grandmother's house just north of Orlando, when he spotted the alligator's tail.
Activists furious at limits on gay sperm donors
Its ruling that no men who acknowledged having had homosexual sex within the past five years should be able to become anonymous donors sparked outrage among gay advocacy groups, which said the new rules were based on prejudice rather than fact.
Blame the terrorists for 9/11 not each other, says Giuliani
"Our enemy is not each other but the terrorists who attacked us," Mr Giuliani said in his opening statement to the panel on the hearing's second day in Manhattan. "The blame should clearly be directed at one source and one source alone: the terrorists who killed our loved ones," he continued, as family members of the victims broke into applause.
Kerry meets Nader but does not pop the question
Other Democrats have urged Mr Nader to abandon his campaign, convinced that he cost Al Gore the presidency in 2000 by siphoning off the votes of more liberal Americans.
Rivalry between police and fire units 'hampered rescue on 9/11'
As the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the United States began two days of hearings in the city, just one and a half miles from "ground zero", its panels' findings on the planning and emergency response set the stage for dramatic testimony.
UN refugee chief denies sexual harassment
The UN high commissioner for refugees, Ruud Lubbers, is under investigation for sexual harassment after a member of his staff filed an official complaint.
Gay rights leap forward as Massachusetts becomes the state of wedded bliss
When the clock struck 12 they made history as the city hall clerks threw open the doors to more than 260 same-sex couples to fill out marriage licence forms, making Massachusetts the first state in the US to legally sanction same-sex marriages.
Massachusetts performs first gay marriages
In an election-year milestone, the clerk's office in Cambridge was due to open its doors at midnight last night for applications from same-sex couples, while seven couples who successfully sued for the right to marry will wed in Boston.
Commander of Memphis Belle dies at 85
Colonel Robert Morgan died on Saturday of complications after he fell at an air show, his wife said. He was 85.
Miami, money and meltdown
In 1985, shortly after Don Johnson went to the White House without any socks on and Ronald Reagan asked him to sign a picture of the actor on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "America's favourite vice", the actor reflected on the way fame had transformed him. "I'm different than I used to be," the star of Miami Vice told Time. "You know that Cyndi Lauper song, Money Changes Everything? It's true ... Last year I bought my son a bicycle for Christmas. This year I'm giving him Toys R Us."
Blame the white trash
One the side of good there is Jessica Lynch. When we first met her, in April last year, she was the plucky soldier who had been captured after a "valiant gunfight", slapped around and then rescued on camera in a "midnight ballet" by a daring posse.
Rumsfeld accused on abuse
The operation, which encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation to obtain intelligence, was known to President George Bush and fewer than 200 operatives. It was approved by the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, according to the report. The programme was governed by the rules: "Grab who you must. Do what you want," a former intelligence officer told the magazine.
Execution nears for mentally ill Texas killer
Kelsey Patterson missed half of his trial after he was ejected from the court due to his delusional outbursts and has not seen his lawyer in eight years because he does not understand "hell law". He is due to die by lethal injection on Tuesday.
Triple blow knocks the puff out of New York's smokers
A huge increase in cigarette tax and a ban on smoking in bars in New York has cut the number of adult smokers by 100,000, according to city surveys released yesterday.
Being Brenda
Until a few years ago, the name David Reimer meant little to those outside his immediate circle, and by the time he killed himself last Tuesday in unknown circumstances in his hometown of Winnipeg, it was already slipping back towards obscurity - a name belonging to nobody more remarkable than a local odd-job man, a 38-year-old former slaughterhouse worker who was separated from his wife, and enjoyed shopping at flea markets and tinkering with his car.
Brutality: the home truths
Rarely has a truer word been spoken. And rarely has there been a more appropriate person than McCotter to utter them. He was head of Utah Department of Corrections in 1997 when Michael Valent, a prisoner diagnosed with schizophrenia died after he was strapped to a restraining chair for 16 hours. The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union said the first word that came to mind when she saw the chair was "torture". McCotter resigned as the scandal gathered pace, went into the lucrative world of private prison management and last year directed the reopening of Abu Ghraib.
US reopens murder case that lit civil rights fuse
Fourteen-year-old Emmett, from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's home in the southern hamlet of Money on August 28 1955, after accusations that he had wolf-whistled at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant.
A scandal, but not a story
The main headline in the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph on Friday was "Treated like a dog", accompanied by pictures of US servicewoman Lynndie England dragging an Iraqi prisoner on a lead.
America remakes The Office, but no one's laughing
Shortly after The Office won two Golden Globes, US TV's highest award, Ricky Gervais was asked what the main difference would be between the original and the forthcoming American adaptation.
US lawyer held over Madrid rail bombings
The FBI on Thursday arrested Brandon Mayfield, a former army officer who recently volunteered to represent a terrorist suspect in a child custody case, and searched his home in the Portland suburb of Aloha.
US president's popularity hits all-time low
The survey shows 62% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things are going, while only 49% approve of the way Mr Bush is handling his job, on a par with the lowest figure he has reached during his presidency.
And it's goodbye from them ...
The NBC website suggested artichoke dip and either ginger ale or cranberry juice to toast its passing.
Nancy Reagan tackles Bush on stem cells
Mrs Reagan will deliver a speech on the subject at a Beverley Hills fundraiser sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation this weekend.
Powell aides go public on rift with Bush
In an article in GQ magazine Larry Wilkerson, chief of staff of the United States secretary of state, bemoans Mr Powell's firefighting role in President George Bush's cabinet.
Disney blocks Michael Moore film on Bush links with leading Saudis
Mr Moore's agent said Disney had pulled out because its involvement could jeopardise tax breaks the company receives from the state of Florida, where Mr Bush's brother, Jeb, is governor. Disney claims it does not want to be associated with the film because it risks politically alienating too many people.
Americas Georgia sex attacker's jail term cut
In a case which ignited racial tensions in the Deep South, the state's highest court ruled that Marcus Dixon should have been prosecuted only on the lesser charge of statutory rape, which carries a maximum one-year sentence and $1,000 fine, rather than aggravated child molestation for having sex with a girl three months before her 16th birthday in February 2003.
CBS delayed report on Iraqi prison abuse after military chief's plea
The news network which broke the story of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers delayed its report for two weeks, in response to a personal request by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
The limits of loyalty
With no political morality to make sense of this, I used the one follow-up question before I was told to "go play", wisely. "Which one are we?" I asked.
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