Agencies A US HELICOPTER came down near Baghdad on Monday in what appeared to be the second shooting down of an aircraft in three days, with rebel violence expected to escalate as Iraq’s election results are confirmed.

TEHRAN (AP) — Iran’s president stood fast Saturday behind his decision to conduct uranium enrichment research, shrugging off threats of international sanctions, while his foreign ministry invited Europe and the UN nuclear watchdog back to the negotiating table. In a ringing defence of Iran’s resumption Tuesday of research at its …

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi and US officials said Saturday they were working to free a female American journalist kidnapped off a Baghdad street one week ago but had not yet made contact with her captors. Jill Caroll, a 28-year-old freelance reporter, has not been heard from since she was kidnapped …