TEHRAN — After eight years of often conciliatory diplomacy and a presidential election where resuming ties with the United States was floated as a real possibility, Mahmood Ahmadinejad’s victory has abruptly slammed the door on any immediate chance of making up with Washington, analysts say. The final say on the …

SHIRAT HAYAM, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli bulldozers knocked down a row of abandoned buildings next to this seaside settlement on Sunday, clashing with Jewish settlers in the first military operation aimed at heading off opposition to Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. In a foretaste of what could …

WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush will try to persuade sceptical Americans this week that the war in Iraq is winnable while shoring up his own weak approval ratings. Neither task will be easy. As part of a newly honed White House focus on Iraq, Bush will travel to an …