UAE beats Americans' environmental harm  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - When it comes to squandering the earth's natural resources, residents of this desert land of chilled swimming pools, monster 4x4s and air-conditioned malls are on a par with even the ravenous consumption of Americans, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  —  (CBS) On Jan. 12, 2007, two days after President George W. Bush told the country that he would send 21,000 more troops into Iraq, the president sat down with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley for a candid conversation.  The two met in Camp David's Laurel Cabin …

Hussein's half-brother decapitated during hanging … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq hanged two of Saddam Hussein's aides early Monday, and one of the men was decapitated in the process.  —  The official video of the hangings showed Hussein's half-brother lying headless below the gallows …

Iran target of US Gulf military moves, Gates says  —  Mark Tran and agencies  —  Increased US military activity in the Gulf is aimed at Iran's "very negative" behaviour, the Bush administration said today.  —  The defence secretary, Robert Gates, told reporters that the decision to deploy …

Secret understandings reached between representatives of Israel, Syria  —  In a series of secret meetings in Europe between September 2004 and July 2006, Syrians and Israelis formulated understandings for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria.  —  The main points of the understandings are as follows:

Despite Lessons on King, Some Unaware of His Dream  —  In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.  —  That's the good news.

USAT Poll: Americans 'more pessimistic' after Bush's Iraq speech  —  "President Bush's address to the nation last week outlining a 'new way forward' in Iraq failed to move public opinion in support of his plan to increase U.S. troop levels and left Americans more pessimistic about the likely outcome …

Allard: No third term  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Wayne Allard said today he will honor his term-limits pledge and leave at the end of 2008, creating a replacement fight that should turn Colorado into one of the country's biggest electoral battlegrounds.  —  "I just didn't think I could back away from the (term limits) commitment.

For Democrats, This May Be THE Week....  "They're in lock-down."  —  That's what a Clinton outsider tells us about the small circle of insiders who're preparing a presidential bid for Sen. Hillary Clinton.  —  Excitement among Clinton supporters is building in anticipation of an expected announcement …

Adultery could mean life, court finds  —  That's what the law says in sex-drug case Cox appealed  —  In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct …

IRAQ: WHY THE MEDIA MISSTEP  —  JUST outside Um al-Qasar, a port in south east Iraq, a crowd had gathered around a British armored car with a crew of four.  An argument seemed to be heating up through an interpreter.  —  The interpreter told the Brits that the crowd was angry and wanted U.K. forces out of Iraq.

"Because the language they use is killing:" An Interview with a Fallujan Police Officer  —  The difficulty of obtaining this interview underscores the political and cultural complexities of the American effort in Fallujah.  In order to get a few minutes of alone candor with an Iraqi patrolman …

Video: "Dispatches: Undercover Mosque"; Update: Part 2 added; Update: Part 3 added  —  Here it is, fresh from Channel 4 (UK) by way of our pal kasper kasper's Tivo: what happens when "moderate" Muslims stop being polite and start getting real.  —  Parts 2 and 3 to follow, promises kk.

France and UK considered 1950s 'merger'  —  Staff and agencies  —  Britain and France talked about a "union" in the 1950s, even discussing the possibility of the Queen becoming the French head of state, it was reported today.  —  On September 10 1956, Guy Mollet, the then French prime minister …