CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) — President George W. Bush said on Saturday US troops in Iraq were fighting to protect Americans at home from more attacks like those of Sept. 11, 2001, starting a five-day focus on his case for the war amid growing public discontent. “Our troops know that they’re …

GAZA CITY (AP) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree Saturday appropriating Jewish settlement land for public use once Israel’s evacuation of Gaza is complete, and announced that overdue Palestinian legislative elections will be held January 25. Both measures are meant to ease suspicions among Abbas’ political rivals over …

VIENNA (AFP) — The UN nuclear watchdog is to meet here next week with Pakistani officials as part of its efforts to determine if Iran was using smuggled Pakistani equipment to make enriched uranium that could be used for atom bombs, diplomats said Saturday. Pakistan had in May sent centrifuge …