Assault on Iraqi Civilians Is Deadliest Since 2003  —  A barrage of car bombs, mortar attacks and missiles battered the Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City on Thursday afternoon, killing around 200 people and injuring as many more in the single deadliest assault on Iraqi civilians since the start of the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

Spy 'Poisoned By Radiation'  —  A large quantity of radiation, probably from a substance called Polonium 210, has been found in the body of dead ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.  —  The "major dose" of alpha radiation was detected in his urine, said Government experts, who added that Polonium 210 is only dangerous if ingested.

Russian rocket deliveries to Iran started  —  Russia has begun deliveries of the Tor-M1 air defence rocket system to Iran, Russian news agencies quoted military industry sources as saying, in the latest sign of a Russian-US rift over Iran.  —  "Deliveries of the Tor-M1 have begun.

Drug Industry Is on Defensive as Power Shifts  —  Alarmed at the prospect of Democratic control of Congress, top executives from two dozen drug companies met here last week to assess what appears to them to be a harsh new political climate, and to draft a battle plan.

Senate Democrats Revive Demand for Classified Data  —  Seeking information about detention of terrorism suspects, abuse of detainees and government secrecy, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are reviving dozens of demands for classified documents that until now have been rebuffed …

DOUBLE THUMP  —  GOP WOES DEEPENING  —  PRESIDENT Bush contributed a new word to the political lexicon when he called the GOP defeat on Election Day a "thumpin'."  Now, two weeks after the election, the full nature of the "thumpin' " is coming through pretty clearly …

AWB given advance warning of Iraq troop deployment  —  Previously secret AWB documents have revealed that the wheat exporter was told Australia would join the war against Iraq a year before the Federal Government says it decided to commit troops.  —  The information came from Australia's Ambassador to the United Nations, John Dauth.

Policeman kills PSG fan in post-match racist violence  —  A French police officer — a black man in plain clothes — shot dead a Paris-Saint Germain football fan after being turned on by a mob during racist violence that followed the team's defeat by Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv.

An Electronic Canary  —  Americans can be grateful that Sarasota County is in Florida and not in Montana or Virginia.  —  There's nothing wrong with Sarasota, a lovely place.  But if the voting snafus in the contest for Florida's 13th District had hung up either of this year's two closest Senate races …

Is "Seinfeld" ruined?  (My advice to Jerry.)  —  David Bernstein has started a conversation over at Volokh Conspiracy about whether Michael Richards' racist rant makes his Kramer character unwatchable.  —  I happened to try an old episode of the show the other day.

'Flying While Muslim'  —  When six Muslim leaders were pulled off an airplane this week, some advocacy groups said it was another example of religious and racial profiling.  —  Janet Hostetter / AP  —  Omar Shahin purchased a ticket from Northwest Airlines on Tuesday after being removed …