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.

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.

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.

New Orleans Voters Support Their Man Over F.B.I.  —  Outside the Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, there was no surprise on Sunday at the re-election of Representative William J. Jefferson, only satisfaction.  —  The late-night comedians could joke all they wanted about the $90,000 …

Suspicion about imams grows as terror links pile up  —  The grounded imams incident at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been a public relations coup for the imams, their supporters and their claims that the group's only suspicious activity was saying evening prayers.

Iraq Is Failing to Spend Billions in Oil Revenues  —  Iraq is failing to spend billions of dollars of oil revenues that have been set aside to rebuild its damaged roads, schools and power stations and to repair refineries and pipelines.  —  Iraqi ministries are spending as little as 15 percent …

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.

U.S. Report Rejected By Iraqi President  —  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Sunday strongly rejected a bipartisan U.S. panel's report on U.S. war strategy in Iraq, calling some of its recommendations "dangerous" and a threat to his country's sovereignty.  —  "The report does not respect …

Arab states study shared nuclear program  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The oil-rich Arab states on the Persian Gulf said Sunday that they will consider starting a joint nuclear program for peaceful purposes.  —  The announcement comes as the U.S. and its allies allege Iran is developing atomic weapons …

Imams seek to settle with airline  —  A group of Muslim imams is seeking an out-of-court settlement with US Airways, saying they should not have been removed from a Minnesota-to-Phoenix flight last month and were not behaving suspiciously.  —  Five of the six Islamic religious leaders …

Exploratory Committees Build Buzz  —  It is the season of exploration.  —  Everywhere you look, prospective 2008 presidential candidates are forming exploratory committees.  Three leading Republicans and one prominent Democrat who have long been pursuing the presidency announced such committees …

Bolton's Spot May Sit Empty for Months  —  It's beginning to look like the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is once again going to be vacant for several months.  John Bolton's recess appointment ended over the weekend — he's said to be heading back to his perch …