Tide of Arab Opinion Turns to Support for Hezbollah  —  DAMASCUS, Syria, July 27 — At the onset of the Lebanese crisis, Arab governments, starting with Saudi Arabia, slammed Hezbollah for recklessly provoking a war, providing what the United States and Israel took as a wink and a nod to continue the fight.

Pander and Run  —  After years of struggling to define their own approach to post-Sept. 11 foreign policy, Democrats seem finally to have hit on one.  It's called pandering.  In those rare cases when George W. Bush shows genuine sensitivity to America's allies and propounds a broader …

'Disproportionate' in What Moral Universe?  —  What other country, when attacked in an unprovoked aggression across a recognized international frontier, is then put on a countdown clock by the world, given a limited time window in which to fight back, regardless of whether it has restored its own security?

A Time To Act  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's just-concluded trip to Lebanon, Israel and Rome was an exercise in grace, bravery and, to my regret, wrongly focused diplomacy.  Especially disappointing is the fact that she resisted all suggestions that the first order of business …

Detainee Abuse Charges Feared  —  An obscure law approved by a Republican-controlled Congress a decade ago has made the Bush administration nervous that officials and troops involved in handling detainee matters might be accused of committing war crimes, and prosecuted at some point in U.S. courts.

Hezbollah leader said to be hiding in Iranian Embassy  —  Intelligence reports indicate the leader of Hezbollah is hiding in a foreign mission in Beirut, possibly the Iranian Embassy, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.  —  Israeli military and intelligence forces are continuing to hunt …

Execution of a teenage girl  —  A television documentary team has pieced together details surrounding the case of a 16-year-old girl, executed two years ago in Iran.  —  On 15 August, 2004, Atefah Sahaaleh was hanged in a public square in the Iranian city of Neka.

Long-range missiles fired at Afula  —  Escalation: Security officials say that five long-range missiles, equipped with more explosives than Pajar rockets used by Hizbullah so far, fired at Afula Friday noon.  Sources say missiles may have been aimed at Hadera, Netanya.

Las Vegas Makes It Illegal to Feed Homeless in Parks  —  LAS VEGAS, July 21 — Gail Sacco pulled green grapes, bread, lunch meat and, of course in this blazing heat, bottles of water from a cardboard box.  A dozen homeless people rose from shady spots in the surrounding city park and snatched the handouts from her.

Republicans Near a Vote to Increase U.S. Wage  —  WASHINGTON, July 27 — Under intense pressure from their moderate wing, House Republican leaders moved on Thursday toward allowing a vote Friday on an increase in the minimum wage before sending anxious lawmakers home for a month of campaigning in the battle for control of Congress.

Congress to Adopt Scaled-Down Rules on Lobbying  —  Unable to agree on major lobbying and ethics legislation, Senate and House leaders have made plans to adopt vastly scaled-back versions of the measures as part of their rules so that lawmakers can claim that they responded to recent congressional scandals.

US 'outrage' over Israeli claims  —  The US state department has dismissed as "outrageous" a suggestion by Israel that it has been authorised by the world to continue bombing Lebanon.  —  "The US is sparing no efforts to bring a durable and lasting end to this conflict," said spokesman Adam Ereli.

Christians Fleeing Lebanon Denounce Hezbollah  —  TYRE, Lebanon, July 27 — The refugees from southern Lebanon spilled out of packed cars into the dark street here Thursday evening, gulping bottles of water and squinting in the glare of the headlights to find family members and friends.

Wife, Friend Tie Congressman to Consulting Firm  —  Company's Clients Say They Get Access to Va. Republican  —  Two months before Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) became chairman of the powerful House Government Reform Committee in January 2003, one of his close friends formed ICG Government …