Articles

On April 11, the day after American forces proclaimed the capture of Baghdad and the fall of Saddam Hussain’s regime, Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Ali Khamenei, the Rahbar of the Islamic State of Iran, presented a detailed and broad-ranging analysis of the background and implications of the US’s war on Iraq as the first part of his jum’a khutbah in Tehran. Here we publish an abridged translation of this khutbah.

America’s superhawks, also known as "neocons" (neo-conservatives), are ecstatic about the turn of events in Iraq, especially the lack of any effective resistance to the military takeover of Baghdad.

General Jay Garner, the American-appointed ruler of Iraq, faced massive demonstrations in the centre of Baghdad on April 28, as he convened a conference of Iraqi leaders intended to discuss the formation of an interim administration — under his supervision — for the country.

Washington increased pressure on Syria last month, immediately after the fall of the Ba’athist regime in Baghdad. Although White House sources privately denied that there were any plans for further military action against other regimes in the region

The president of the most populous and "most powerful" Arab country and the prime ministers of Britain and Spain, two former imperial powers, have been conspicuous supporters of Uncle Sam’s imperial ambitions. These have been reflected in George W Bush’s "doctrine of pre-emptive strike"...

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria was returned to a second term in office as a result of the elections held on April 19, amid loud complaints of foul play by the opposition and serious reservations of international and local monitors. The official results, announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were that Obasanjo had met the dual requirement for victory of winning an overall majority...

The peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers have hit a snag: the Tigers have boycotted the meeting to be held in Japan in June to solicit financial support from donors. A ceasefire in effect since February 2002 is now in jeopardy because of an announcement on April 21 by Anton Balasingham, the Tigers’ representative

After defying international law by holding about 660 Muslims in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since January 2001, the US has been forced to admit that there are juveniles among the detainees. The admission on April 22 came after ABC television of Australia reported that children are being held at Camp X-ray.

Tariq Ayoub, an correspondent for the independent Arab satellite television channel al-Jazeera, was killed in Baghdad on April 8 when the al-Jazeera office was attacked by a US aircraft while showing some of the mounting slaughter being committed by US troops throughout the Iraqi capital.

The US made great play of jubilation in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on April 9, when the US invasion seemed to have forced the collapse of the Iraqi regime.