What I've Learned  —  Nearly 50 years ago, when I arrived in Minnesota as a student fresh from Africa, I had much to learn — starting with the fact that there is nothing wimpish about wearing earmuffs when it is 15 degrees below zero.  All my life since has been a learning experience.

Rapturous reception for Obama  —  Americans want new kind of leadership, Illinois senator says during visit  —  llinois Sen. Barack Obama made his first visit to New Hampshire yesterday, drawing the kinds of crowds and news media attention usually reserved for a sitting president or a presidential nominee.

Diana was bugged by secret service in U.S.  —  American intelligence agencies were bugging Princess Diana's telephone over her relationship with a US billionaire, the Mail's sister paper has learned.  —  Evening Standard reports that she was even forced to abandon a planned holiday with her sons …

Holocaust conference begins in Teheran  —  Iran opened a conference on the Holocaust on Monday, saying it would not be an attempt to deny the World War II genocide but merely to discuss it in an unrestricted atmosphere.  —  However, the conference was initiated by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad …

Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from cars  —  Meet the world's top destroyer of the environment.  It is not the car, or the plane,or even George Bush: it is the cow.  —  A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife.

The Best of Both Dictators  —  The parallels are striking: Two ruthless dictators who sacrificed human rights for political aims.  Two men idolized by their followers and despised by the exiles they drove away.  Two archetypes of the Latin American strongman, one in dark sunglasses, the other with that ever-present cigar.

Seeking Iran Intelligence, U.S. Tries Google  —  Internet Search Yields Names Cited in U.N. Draft Resolution  —  When the State Department recently asked the CIA for names of Iranians who could be sanctioned for their involvement in a clandestine nuclear weapons program, the agency refused …

Iran students heckle Ahmadinejad  —  Iranian students have disrupted a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a prestigious Tehran university, setting fire to his picture and heckling him.  —  "Some students chanted radical slogans and inflamed the atmosphere of the meeting" …

Pelosi piques public's interest  —  As incoming head of the House, with more eyes on her, she intends to paint her own picture.  —  WASHINGTON — When Nancy Pelosi appeared on national television on the morning after voters returned the House to Democratic hands, Leon Rebibo's phone started ringing in Los Angeles.

For Iraq's Sunnis, Conflict Closes In  —  Mixed Neighborhoods Unravel as Shiite Militiamen Expand Violence  —  A few blocks from Ali Farouk's three-story home, an empty house provides a glimpse of what he fears will be the future.  Once owned by a Sunni Muslim, the paint is peeling, the windows are blown out.

The Fifth Annual Warblogger Awards (For 2006)  —  In order to recognize the excellent work some of our fellow bloggers have been doing, RWN has put together the "5th Annual Warblogger Awards".  More than 235 bloggers were invited to vote for their favorite blog in numerous categories and 41 responded.

2008 hopefuls woo Bush clan donors, aides  —  McCain, Romney seek edge that family's GOP network could provide.  —  WASHINGTON — With the Bushes preparing to stand down from a quarter century in top elected offices, a frenzied competition has erupted in the Republican Party over who will inherit …

Inquiry Sought Over Evangelical Video  —  Defense Department Asked to Examine Officers' Acts Supporting Christian Group  —  A military watchdog group is asking the Defense Department to investigate whether seven Army and Air Force officers violated regulations by appearing in uniform …

GOP alienation marks turnabout for Bush  —  Dissent and calls for checks on the president have mushroomed since the party lost Congress in the midterm election.  —  WASHINGTON — President Bush, weakened by an unpopular war and the loss of Republican control in Congress …