Is now the time to go after Iraq?
Even though he lost the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Iraq's Saddam Hussein has remained firmly in power, figuratively thumbing his nose at a series of U.S. presidents and other world leaders who would love to see him go.

Families, police at odds on post-Sept. 11 deaths
Randa Karas believes that her husband, a shopkeeper in California, was murdered because he was an Arab. Manisha Patel thinks her uncle, a motel owner in Florida, was killed by someone too ignorant to realize that he was a Hindu from India -- and neither Arab nor Muslim.

Soaring hopes, crushing needs
KABUL, Afghanistan -- On the banks of the freezing, filthy trickle that is the Kabul River, women with raw, red-knuckled hands kneel to wash clothes. People on streetcorners huddle around open fires for warmth. Wizened old men struggle to propel heavy wooden pushcarts; maimed beggars moan out appeals.

Elated Marines leave Afghan base
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Bent under the weight of backpacks, M-16s and rocket launchers, U.S. Marines on Saturday took flights out of Afghanistan, after handing over to the Army the military base they set up in the Taliban heartland.

Cuban official stops by to have a look-see
GUANTANAMO, Cuba -- Gen. Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's younger brother and Cuba's Defense Minister, looked out Saturday over the U.S. naval base where prisoners from the war in Afghanistan are being held.

Officials plugging leaks on security
Aviation officials are suddenly worried about loose lips.

Bomb threat diverts Florida-bound flight
LONDON -- A passenger jet flying from Britain to Florida with 340 people on board was diverted to Iceland on Saturday after the crew found a bomb threat and anti-American messages scrawled on a bathroom mirror in soap.

Israel blows up Palestinian media center
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel troops lit up the night sky with a powerful explosion that gutted the official Palestinian broadcasting building Saturday, dealing another retaliatory blow to Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.

The truth is, it has become easy to lie
ATLANTA -- Is truth dead in America? If it is, what killed it?

Bugging of Chinese plane shouldn't harm relations
The reported bugging of China's new presidential aircraft, a specially fitted Boeing 767, is unlikely to cause a rupture in relations with the United States, U.S. experts said Saturday.