Senator Insists Bush Aides Testify Publicly  —  The Democratic senator leading the inquiry into the dismissal of federal prosecutors insisted Sunday that Karl Rove and other top aides to President Bush must testify publicly and under oath, setting up a confrontation between Congress and the White House …

Iraq War's Statistics Prove Fleeting  —  The U.S. war in Iraq enters its fifth year today.  That, and 3,197 U.S. military deaths reported by the Pentagon as of 10 a.m. Friday, are among the few numerical certainties in a conflict characterized from the start by confusion and misuse of key data.

The Blame-America-First Crowd  —  "They always blame America first."  That was Jeane Kirkpatrick, describing the "San Francisco Democrats" in 1984.  But it could be said about a lot of Americans, especially highly educated Americans, today.  —  In their assessment of what is going on in the world …

Assignment Zero, Day Six: Help Wanted Section  —  I'm looking for amateur-friendly pros who can work with the people who have joined up with us.  Five days ago we launched AZ.  We now have 450 contributors—each with a profile and a blog—slowly filtering into the site.  What do we do now? they're asking.

We can do more than beg, says new finance chief for Palestinians  —  The new Palestinian Finance Minister gave warning yesterday that the incoming Government was inheriting a "crippling financial crisis" from Hamas.  Salam Fayyad, the internationally respected financier …

Whose Ox Is Gored?  —  The media discover the former vice president's environmental exaggerations and hypocrisy.  —  The media are finally catching up with Al Gore.  Criticism of his anti-global-warming franchise and his personal environmental record has gone beyond ankle-biting bloggers.

BETRAYED  —  The Iraqis who trusted America the most.  —  Text Size: … On a cold, wet night in January, I met two young Iraqi men in the lobby of the Palestine Hotel, in central Baghdad.  A few Arabic television studios had rooms on the upper floors of the building, but the hotel was otherwise vacant.

The regrets of the man who brought down Saddam  —  His hands were bleeding and his eyes filled with tears as, four years ago, he slammed a sledgehammer into the tiled plinth that held a 20ft bronze statue of Saddam Hussein.  Then Kadhim al-Jubouri spoke of his joy at being the leader …

Vehicle warning system trialled  —  Technology correspondent, BBC News website  —  Vehicles may soon be swapping information about road conditions to warn drivers about jams and dangers.  —  A German research project on show at hi-tech trade fair Cebit envisions a peer-to-peer network …

Official Alerted F.B.I. to Rules Abuse 2 Years Ago, Lawyer Says  —  Almost two years before the Federal Bureau of Investigation publicly admitted this month that it had ignored its own rules when demanding telephone and financial records about private citizens, a top official in that program warned …

Observations on Iraq  —  It's hard to describe the noise when a whole cabinet of crockery is emptied on to the floor.  Even harder not to shout in indignation when the American soldier who intentionally tipped it forward, until the plates and dishes slid smashing to the floor, says without regret …