Rushdie, Hirsi Ali, the Pope — Who's Next?  —  The pope has apologized for the outrage amongst Muslims sparked by his recent comments.  But the episode proves once again that criticizing Islam is dangerous.  —  Twenty years ago in the German city of Bremen, Dutch comedian Rudi Carrell's life depended on police protection.

McCain's Stand On Detainees May Pose Risk For 2008 Bid  —  Opposition to Bush Could Alienate Republican Base  —  Sen. John McCain's bid to position himself as the natural heir to President Bush as a wartime commander in chief and to court conservative leaders in advance …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Revealed: the tough interrogation techniques the CIA wants to use  —  Ed Pilkington in New York and Clare Dyer  —  Details emerged yesterday about the seven interrogation techniques the CIA is seeking to be allowed to apply to terror suspects.  Newsweek magazine reported that a New York lawyer …

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 …

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.

Budapest clashes as protest grows  —  Police in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, have used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw bottles and stones and set cars alight.  —  Thousands of demonstrators had gathered in the city, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.

Kerry urges cooperation to reduce abortions  —  He stresses reaching a 'common ground'  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry yesterday called for a new national commitment to reduce the number of abortions, saying that both sides on the abortion debate can reach ``common ground" …