WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush keeps revising his explanation for why the US is in Iraq, moving from narrow military objectives at first to history-of-civilisation stakes now. Initially, the rationale was specific: To stop Saddam Hussein from using what Bush claimed were the Iraqi leader’s weapons of mass destruction …

ISRAELI TROOPS KILLED eight Palestinian fighters in clashes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, including seven from the Hamas group, amid a surge in violence in the coastal territory. In the past three days, 21 Palestinians have been killed in fighting in Gaza, the majority of them fighters, and two …

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Shiite-dominated interior ministry, whose police forces have been accused of complicity in the sectarian attacks wracking the country, will change top commanders and has already fired 3,000 employees accused of corruption or rights abuses, a spokesman said Saturday. Thousands have died this year in the cycle …