OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A year after Ariel Sharon’s stroke abruptly propelled him into the prime minister’s seat, Ehud Olmert finds himself badly out of favour and under a darkening cloud of scandal.

RIYADH — Saddam Hussein’s unruly execution on the feast of Eid Al Adha by masked Shiite hangmen taunting him on the gallows has revived Sunni Arab fears that the Iraqi government is run by vengeful sectarian Shiites backed by Iran.

QAZVIN — Banned from becoming president and with just a dozen MPs, women have started making inroads in the male-dominated world of Iranian politics by boosting their numbers on local councils.