Jordan’s King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper today that his country wants its own nuclear programme.

A slip of the tongue by prime minister Ehud Olmert about Israel’s nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis today for the already embattled Israeli leader.

The suspected suicide attack inside a US Army mess hall in Iraq represents a breach of the most basic principles of military security and points to significant weaknesses in the screening of Iraqis who are allowed onto the base, US experts say.