Politics

BAGHDAD—The Iraqi government has released from prison a top Saddam Hussein loyalist after he was found innocent of helping the former regime punish opponents by draining the country’s fabled marshlands, a judge said Wednesday. Khamis […] […]

WASHINGTON: Barack Obama has urged young African leaders to bolster democracy on the continent. He has slammed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and other independence-era leaders who were elected but clung to power. Welcoming more than […] […]

THE rift between Pakistan and Britain has widened after Asif Ali Zardari and David Cameron offered starkly differing assessments of the war in Afghanistan. The President of Pakistan flew into London yesterday having claimed that […] […]

TEHRAN, Iran—Iran has obtained four S-300 surface-to-air missiles despite Russia’s refusal to deliver them to Tehran under a valid contract, a semiofficial Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday. The Fars news agency, which has ties to […] […]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands—War crimes judges on Tuesday ordered special security measures for fashion model Naomi Campbell when she testifies at the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, barring photographers from catching her entering or […] […]

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Everything from helicopters to printer cartridges is being wrapped and stamped and shipped out of Iraq. U.S. military bases that once resembled small towns have transformed into a cross between […] […]

WASHINGTON AND KABUL – With United States troop strength approaching 100,000, the Afghan war is entering its decisive phase. Without measurable progress in the coming months, political support for the conflict may collapse. Yesterday President […] […]

ROBERT Gates has conceded the Afghan and Pakistan governments would have legitimate fears about the US withdrawing its forces. Given the US abandoned the region 21 years ago, the US Defence Secretary said yesterday he […] […]

Pakistan’s Prime Minister yesterday hit back at remarks by his British counterpart, David Cameron, linking the country to the export of terror. Yousaf Raza Gilani, the normally conciliatory Premier, used a speech to make Islamabad’s […] […]

DUTCH troops have ended their mission in Afghanistan after four “proud” years, in a departure which experts said signals the beginning of a drawdown of foreign forces that will leave a worrying void. The pull-out […] […]