Suicidal Hand-Wringing  —  When you enter a boxing ring, you agree to abide by the rules of boxing.  But when you are attacked from behind in a dark alley, you would be a fool to abide by the Marquis of Queensbury rules.  If you do, you can end up being a dead fool.

Poll finds rebound in Bush approval  —  WASHINGTON — Amid falling gas prices and a two-week drive to highlight his administration's efforts to fight terrorism, President Bush's approval rating has risen to 44% in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.  That's his highest rating in a year.

Chirac calls for threat of Iran sanctions to be lifted  —  President Jacques Chirac has broken ranks with the US and Britain by calling for the suspension of UN Security Council action against Iran during negotiations over its nuclear programme.  —  In a radio interview yesterday before flying …

Canadian Was Falsely Accused, Panel Says  —  After Tip From Ally, U.S. Sent Muslim to Syria for Questioning  —  Canadian intelligence officials passed false warnings and bad information to American agents about a Muslim Canadian citizen, after which U.S. authorities secretly whisked him to Syria …

Iranian leader urges more papal protests  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida in Iraq warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that its war against Christianity and the West will go on until Islam takes over the world, and Iran's supreme leader called for more protests over the pontiff's remarks on Islam.

The Senator's Gentile Rebuke  —  First came Sen. George Allen's Macaca Moment.  Then we learned of challenger Jim Webb's thoughts on the "horny" women of the Naval Academy.  —  Now, just when you thought Virginia's U.S. Senate race couldn't get any weirder, the Jews of Tunis are making a cameo.

'Coup' sparks Thailand emergency  —  Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared a state of emergency in Bangkok amid reports of a coup attempt.  —  Soldiers have entered Government House and tanks have moved into position around the building.  —  Mr Thaksin, who is at the UN in New York …

Connecticut Senate: Lieberman (I) 45% Lamont (D) 43%  —  In one of the country's most closely watched races, incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman (I) continues to sustain a bare lead, now 45% to 43%, over Democrat Ned Lamont (see crosstabs).  —  Lieberman is running as an Independent against the wishes of the Democratic establishment.

Enough Apologies  —  Already, angry Palestinian militants have assaulted seven West Bank and Gaza churches, destroying two of them.  In Somalia, gunmen shot dead an elderly Italian nun.  Radical clerics from Qatar to Qom have called, variously, for a "day of anger" or for worshipers to "hunt down" the pope and his followers.

Warner: Kerry wrong on tax cuts  —  The ex-Virginia governor claims Democrats could appeal to more voters if they'd stop alienating the wealthy.  —  Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said in Iowa on Monday that Democrats have taken the wrong approach in arguing against tax cuts enacted under President Bush …

Bush owes us an apology  —  Sept. 11: A special comment about 9/11 five years after the terrorist attacks.  —  MSNBC TV  —  • Have you no sense of decency, sir?  —  Sept. 5: Keith Olbermann says Bush will regret following in the footsteps of Donald Rumsfeld in comparing war critics to Nazis.

Truckers Testify That Halliburton Put Lives at Risk  —  Two truckers who worked in Iraq told a Senate Democratic policy committee on Monday that their employer, a Halliburton subsidiary, knowingly sent a lightly armed convoy of fuel tankers into a combat zone in April 2004 …