Young Officers Leaving Army at a High Rate  —  WASHINGTON, April 9 — Young Army officers, including growing numbers of captains who leave as soon as their initial commitment is fulfilled, are bailing out of active-duty service at rates that have alarmed senior officers.

France to replace youth job law  —  French President Jacques Chirac has announced that the new youth employment law that sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests will be scrapped.  —  He said it would be replaced by other measures to tackle youth unemployment.

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi  —  Jordanian Painted As Foreign Threat To Iraq's Stability  —  The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program.

Polls: Berlusconi trailing challenger in Italy vote  —  Conservative premier is seeking third term; leftist Prodi is ex-ECU president  —  ROME - Center-left leader Romano Prodi looks set to beat Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's general election, winning a majority in both houses of parliament …

Bush Ordered Declassification, Official Says  —  WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration …

Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows  —  In an era when conservative Christians enjoy access and influence throughout the federal government, the organization that fueled their rise has fallen on hard times.  —  The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson …

CEO pay soars in 2005 as a select group break the $100 million mark  —  Even after a decade of sharply rising CEO pay, 2005 proved a watershed for a select group of executives.  Their paydays — or potential paydays — broke $100 million.  —  Led by Capital One Financial's Richard Fairbank …

Bush Approval Rating at New Career Low  —  ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Only 38 Percent of Americans Approval of Bush's Overall Job Performance, the Lowest of His Presidency  —  April 10, 2006 — President Bush's job approval rating is at a career low in this latest ABC News/Washington …

HERE WE GO AGAIN  —  ***scroll for updates***  —  They're baaack.  Illegal alien public relations experts are advising their followers to put aside the Mexican flags and tone down their radicalism, but many reconquistadors and their friends can't help themselves.  Hat tip to John A. for the protest photos today from Dallas:

Real Or Fake? … Thanks to digital technology, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the most photographed in history.  Photographers with digital cameras have provided, almost instantaneously, an enormous flood of accurate, dramatic, and even shocking images to people around the world.

Political Crackups  —  What Happens When Governments Don't Work  —  In the fall of 1992, when a different Bush administration was unraveling, Shin Kanemaru ran into a little trouble.  Kanemaru was the Tom DeLay of politics in Japan; he was the gruff son of a rural sake maker who became …

Outside Advice on Boss's Pay May Not Be So Independent  —  For Ivan G. Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon Communications, 2005 was a very good year.  As head of the telecommunications giant, Mr. Seidenberg received $19.4 million in salary, bonus, restricted stock and other compensation, 48 percent more than in the previous year.

Saudis plan to fence off border with chaos  —  SAUDI ARABIA has invited bids for the construction of a security fence along the entire length of its 900km (560mile) desert border with Iraq in a multimillion-pound project that will attract interest from British defence companies.

Democracy in the Arab World, a U.S. Goal, Falters  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 9 — Steps toward democracy in the Arab world, a crucial American goal that just months ago was cause for optimism — with elections held in Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian areas — are slowing …

Organizers Expect Crush for Immigrant Rights Rally  —  Up to 180,000 Protesters May Converge on Mall  —  In churches, shops and sidewalks across the Washington region yesterday, thousands of people bustled in preparation for a rally that immigration advocates say could be a pivotal moment …