UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Wednesday gave a guarded welcome to Sudanese President Omar Bashir’s readiness to accept the deployment of a joint African Union-UN force in strife-torn Darfur.

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) — President George W.  Bush met with top advisers at his Texas ranch on Thursday to hash out a new Iraq strategy that he plans to unveil next month to an American public weary of the war.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator who spent his last years in captivity after his ruthless regime was toppled by the U.S.-led coalition in 2003, was hanged before dawn Saturday for crimes committed in a brutal crackdown during his reign. The execution took place shortly after …