Leading Saudi Sheik Pronounces Fatwa Against Hezbollah  —  CAIRO, Egypt — One of Saudi Arabia's leading Wahhabi sheiks, Abdullah bin Jabreen has issued a strongly worded religious edict, or fatwa, declaring it unlawful to support, join or pray for Hezbollah, the Shiite militias lobbing missiles into northern Israel.

Lamont Pulls Even With Lieberman In Latest Poll  —  HAMDEN, Conn. — Democratic challenger Ned Lamont has pulled into a dead heat in his U.S. Senate race with incumbent Joe Lieberman, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.  —  The poll shows Lamont ahead 51-47 percent …

In Spain, anti-Semitism is new leftist trend  —  Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead.  Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them  —  Madrid: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the Socialist Party, arrived to power at a time nobody expected, not even inside the Party.

Response to right-wing personal attacks  —  As I've noted several times in the last couple of weeks, my focus on the lawlessness, extremist rhetoric and violence-inciting tactics of the Bush movement and its followers in the blogosphere has triggered a slew of posts on multiple blogs devoted …

New Israeli-Hezbollah fighting breaks out  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - A large fight between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas broke out Thursday evening on the Lebanese side of the border, the Israeli army said, adding that its troops suffered casualties but did not elaborate.

Why I'll Vote for Bolton  —  As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I have had the rare opportunity to witness firsthand how the diplomatic process works and, in some cases, how it fails.  Recently, despite our nation's best efforts, the world — and particularly the Middle East …

First Bush Veto Maintains Limits on Stem Cell Use  —  WASHINGTON, July 19 — President Bush on Wednesday rejected legislation to expand federally supported embryonic stem cell research, exercising his first veto while putting himself at odds with many members of his own party and what polls say is a majority of the public.

GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq  —  Faced with almost daily reports of sectarian carnage in Iraq, congressional Republicans are shifting their message on the war from speaking optimistically of progress to acknowledging the difficulty of the mission and pointing up mistakes in planning and execution.

Where are the Christians?  —  When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert unleashed his navy and air force on Lebanon, accusing that tiny nation of an "act of war," the last pillar of Bush's Middle East policy collapsed.  —  First came capitulation on the Bush Doctrine, as Pyongyang …

In Neutral Switzerland, A Rising Radicalism  —  Islamic Extremists Newly Seen as Threat  —  BERN, Switzerland — For centuries, this Alpine nation has successfully relied on a strict policy of political neutrality to insulate it from the wars, invasions and revolutions that have raged outside its borders.

Minutemen not watching over funds  —  A growing number of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leaders and volunteers are questioning the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars in donations collected in the past 15 months, challenging the organization's leadership over financial accountability.

U.S.: Iranians witnessed N. Korea missile test  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) — One or more Iranians witnessed North Korea's recent missile tests, deepening U.S. concerns about growing ties between two countries with troubling nuclear capabilities, a top U.S. official said Thursday.