CAIRO — Dabbing sweat from his brow with a neatly folded white handkerchief, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak plods on with his election campaign speech, promising building land for the young and more investment in agriculture. He starts with the ritual homage to the history of the town he is visiting …

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran does not consider Britain, France and Germany to be the sole negotiating partners on its nuclear programme and believes the process should be opened out beyond Europe, the foreign ministry said Sunday. “We will continue negotiating with them, but on the other hand we will not …

BAGHDAD — Since the early days of the occupation, the United States has aimed for a democratic constitution to serve the interests of all Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups. Getting one has proven tough. The tortured process, now approaching a climactic stage, has been marked by false starts, overblown optimism …