Italy criticizes US over its Iraqi checkpoints
Reuters - 53 minutes ago By Crispian Balmer. ROME (Reuters) - Italy criticized the US military on Monday for failing to establish rules for checkpoints in Iraq, saying nervous US troops manning a haphazard road block were to blame for the killing of an Italian agent near Baghdad.

UPDATE 6-Verizon wins MCI with $8.5 billion offer
Reuters - 1 hour ago By Justin Hyde. WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) won its 10-week battle for MCI Inc. (MCIP.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday, as Qwest Communications International Inc.

Hostage 'realised dangers' of post-war Iraq
ABC Online - 37 minutes ago A journalist who met Australian man Douglas Wood, who has been taken hostage in Iraq, says Mr Wood was a well-liked man who, like many others, was taking advantage of the business opportunities in post-war Iraq.

Stand up. Tongue update. Time travelers.
Houston Chronicle - 3 hours ago By KYRIE O'CONNOR. 1. I was, I confess, slightly disconcerted by Laura Bush's stand-up act at the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night. Now, I'm thrilled she'd have the gumption to take on that

Praise for Minutemen Riles Hispanics
HispanicBusiness.com - 7 hours ago California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's praise for US anti-immigrant vigilantes patrolling southern Arizona have rankled many in his state's huge Hispanic community. The chairman of the state Democratic Party

Sharansky quits government over Gaza withdrawal
Independent - 36 minutes ago By Eric Silver in Jerusalem. A senior minister in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet has resigned in protest at the plan to evacuate all 21 Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip and four from the northern West Bank this summer.

Nonproliferation plus disarmament
The Japan Times - 1 hour ago An international conference to review the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) opens at the United Nations Monday. The 1970 treaty is riddled with inefficacy, as illustrated by North Korea's nuclear-weapons program

Charges not ruled out for runaway bride
CNN - 4 hours ago ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jennifer Wilbanks, the betrothed suburban Atlanta woman whose pre-wedding flight spawned a national search, could face misdemeanor or felony charges, a prosecutor said Monday. Gwinnett

Judge halts Abu Ghraib case to consider plea
Independent - 47 minutes ago By Andrew Buncombe in Washington. The US Army reservist Lynndie England, who appeared in some of the most notorious photographs associated with the torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib

Purcell Must Mend Morgan Stanley's Wounds
ABC News - 3 hours ago The Morgan Stanley building in New York's Times Square is seen, Thursday, April 14, 2005 in New York. Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Phil Purcell survived a challenge to his position over the weekend after