Thai military launches coup, backs king  —  BANGKOK, Thailand - The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king.

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 …

President Bush Addresses United Nations General Assembly  —  Fact Sheet: Address to the UN General Assembly: A More Hopeful World Beyond Terror and Extremism  —  THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Secretary General, Madam President, distinguished delegates, and ladies and gentlemen: I want to thank …

If We Don't Turn Out Our Base, We Will Lose  —  This should be obvious to anyone watching polls for this election, but I just wanted to point it out for the benefit of any Democrats who are in a position of decision-making power for this election.  There is no way we can win this election unless we turn out Democrats at high levels.

Gen. says U.S. may boost forces in Iraq  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. military will likely maintain or possibly even increase the current force levels of more than 140,000 troops in Iraq through next spring, the top US. commander in the Middle East said Tuesday in one of the gloomiest assessments yet …

American becomes first woman space tourist  —  An American who fled Iran's Islamic revolution two decades ago has fulfilled a childhood dream when she became the first woman to pay for her own journey into space.  —  Anousheh Ansari, a 40-year-old Iranian American telecommunications entrepreneur …

McCain Stand Comes at a Price  —  Battling Bush over rules for detainee treatment, senator jeopardizes his courtship of the right.  —  WASHINGTON — Conservative activists are heaping criticism on Sen. John McCain for fighting President Bush over proposed rules for the interrogation of terrorism suspects …

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.

Race may be a motive in abortion kidnap case  —  SALEM, New Hampshire (AP) — A Maine couple accused of tying up their 19-year-old daughter, throwing her in their car and driving her out of state to get an abortion were upset because the baby's father is black, a Maine sheriff said Tuesday.

War Clouds, Plus — Worst Idea Ever  —  Fred Kaplan wonders if the "prepare to deploy" order that's "been sent out to U.S. Navy submarines, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers, and two mine-hunting ships" means we're going to war with Iran.  Sam Gardiner, former US Air Force Colonel …

At the UN, Bush Cites Human Rights Declaration  —  When George W. Bush addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, he glowingly referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN in 1948.  He said: … That is some endorsement.

7 days, still counting in Wynn-Edwards race  —  TEMPLE HILLS // Denise Diaz stood in a nearly empty office yesterday, surrounded by signs proclaiming "Donna Edwards for Congress."  The place was strangely silent compared with the bustle of a week earlier, when supporters were making …