United Press International … NEWSTRACK: A member of a Sicilian Mafia clan in Messina, Italy, shot his sister in an alleged honor killing attempt because she had a child by her lover.  Early results Monday in Ukraine's parliamentary election show President Viktor Yushchenko's party in third place …

Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says  —  LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

Groundswell of Protests Back Illegal Immigrants  —  When members of the Senate Judiciary Committee meet today to wrestle with the fate of more than 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, they can expect to do so against a backdrop of thousands of demonstrators …

In Iran, Even Some On Right Warning Against Extremes  —  TEHRAN — Nine months after the election of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, Iranian politics has shifted so sharply to the right that some traditional conservatives are warning of the dangers of radicalism.

Mr. Levin, Meet Ms. Rohbar  —  If Yale's president wants to educate a deserving Afghan, I've got just the woman for him.  —  NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The BBC calls Malalai Joya the most famous woman in Afghanistan.  On Thursday the 27-year-old women's rights activist, a member of the Afghan Parliament …

Iraq Reporters Hit Back at Claims They Are Biased on War  —  NEW YORK After the latest round of blaming the media for distorted coverage in Iraq, which emerged this week from top Bush administraton officials, war reporters and editors strongly defended their coverage this weekend in a variety of venues …

Detainee Case Will Pose Delicate Question for Court  —  WASHINGTON, March 26 — The Supreme Court's announcement four months ago that it would rule on the validity of the military commission by which the Bush administration wants to try Osama bin Laden's former driver, on charges of conspiracy …

Republicans On The Run  —  As midterm campaigns gear up, Bush's party fears a backlash that could end its 12-year hold on the House  —  [This article consists of a complex diagram.  Please see hardcopy of magazine.]  Considering that Vice President Dick Cheney had come a long …

Anatomy of a Slush Fund  —  For those of you who didn't get a chance to read through yesterday's Post story on the U.S. Family Network, the Post had a handy graphic that broke down the money going in and out of the fund.  It is, simply put, the finest example of a GOP slush fund that you'll ever hope to see.

Let me be buried on this spot!  (Updated continuously)  —  UPDATE: Welcome all new readers!  This BlogBurst effort was the brainchild of Fausta Wertz and is meant solely for the highlighting of the hunger strike for net access by Guillermo Fariñas Hernandez in fidel castro's Cuba.

On Stand, Moussaoui Says He Knew of Plan to Attack W.T.C.  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui testified Monday that he and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid were supposed to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House.

Evangelical teens rally in S.F.  —  More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally."

Today Tehran, Tomorrow the World  —  What's at stake in the dispute over Iranian nukes?  Ultimately, human survival  —  Like many physicists who worked on the Manhattan Project, Richard Feynman could not get the Bomb out of his mind after the war.  "I would see people building a bridge," he wrote.

On Iraq, Pointed Questions With an Edge  —  Have the media declared war on the war?  —  In increasingly aggressive questions to President Bush and Vice President Cheney, in a growing focus on the death toll in Iraq, in downbeat assessments on the invasion's third anniversary …

Proposals Call For Disclosure of Ties to Lobbyists  —  Lawmakers May Be Forced to Detail Contacts, Cash Received  —  In October 2001, executives from a small start-up with a promising technology approached their congressman, Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), for help getting Pentagon notice.

Shiite Officials Express Anger Over U.S. Clash With Militia  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 27 — Shiite officials reacted angrily today to a clash that pitted American and Iraqi government forces against Shiite militiamen in Baghdad on Sunday night.  —  Iraqi security officials Sunday night …