AN Italian court convicted three Google executives of privacy violations yesterday because they did not act quickly enough to pull down an online video that showed bullies abusing an autistic boy.

Former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says he was foolish to have revealed the identity of a CIA employee.

A European Union panel of data protection supervisors has launched an investigation into whether US-based Google Inc.’s Internet search engine abides by EU data privacy rules.

President George Bush has defended the quality of intelligence he receives as “darn good”, despite an uproar over disputed reports that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa for nuclear weapons.

AHEAD of his first trip to Africa, US President George W Bush was last night set to announce a $100 million counter-terror plan for the continent and address one of its worst conflicts by calling on Liberian President Charles Taylor to resign.

US President George Bush said he was “deeply troubled” by Israel’s helicopter attack on a senior Hamas leader that killed a bystander and a bodyguard in Gaza City today.

IRAN yesterday warned Washington to stay out of its internal affairs, amid US newspaper reports the White House was contemplating stirring up a popular revolt against the Islamic republic.

DESPITE a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings, Israel relaxed its military grip yesterday in an area of the Gaza Strip where the first steps could be taken to fulfil a US-backed peace plan.

President Bush called Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas today to reiterate the need for both Palestinians and Israelis to fight terror and resume peace negotiations.

US PRESIDENT George W Bush’s spokesman Ari Fleischer yesterday announced he is resigning this summer to pursue more relaxing endeavours “after 21 years of doing nothing but government and politics”.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, the public face of the Bush administration through two wars and a terrorist attack, is quitting.

US President George W Bush is set to announce that major combat in Iraq is over.

US diplomats met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and newly-elected Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas yesterday to present them with an internationally backed Mideast peace plan that envisions Palestinian statehood within three years.

President George Bush will announce tomorrow night that major combat in Iraq has ended from the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

THE US ratcheted up the pressure on Syria yesterday by threatening sanctions over charges that Damascus is harbouring Iraqi leaders, developing chemical weapons and supporting terrorism.

THE White House said yesterday it would consider military action in Iraq a success even if US forces failed to find President Saddam Hussein, whose appearance on Iraqi television could prove he survived a US bombing raid on the first night of the war.

THE US unshackled the full fury of its military, unleashing a fearsome ‘shock and awe’ air campaign on Iraq, with the fate of Saddam Hussein still a mystery.

The White House tonight delivered a grim message to the American public.

US President George W Bush tonight set the US and Britain on course for war within days to depose Saddam Hussein.

White House aides said US President George Bush approved the summit on the Azores and a brief extension of diplomacy out of respect for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose support for the US president has drawn severe criticism in Britain.

President Bush is prepared to delay a UN vote on an Iraqi war resolution until next week if it will help Prime Minister Tony Blair get out of a jam at home, the White House said today.

The White House today said it was open to delaying briefly a vote on its UN war resolution until next week if the delay would help win it support.

Facing almost certain defeat, Britain and the US signalled today they would extend a deadline for Saddam Hussein to disarm or face war for a short period - but not the 45 days six swing council nations said they want.

DESPITE a new Russian veto threat, President George W Bush worked the phones to foreign leaders yesterday in an uphill struggle to gain support for a UN resolution setting up war against Iraq.

SETTING the stage for possible war, the US and Britain have nearly tripled the number of air patrols over southern Iraq’s no-fly zone, a senior defence official said.

THE United States is basing more heavy bombers near North Korea and will formally protest against the communist nation's "reckless actions" in using MiG fighters to intercept a US surveillance plane, officials said.

The White House is considering giving Saddam Hussein a final ultimatum to disarm within a short deadline or face the consequences, senior US officials said today.

The US is considering whether to send fighter jet escorts with reconnaissance planes near North Korea after jets from the country intercepted a surveillance flight and shadowed it for 20 minutes, Pentagon officials said.

The alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, could also turn out to be the man who murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, a Pakistani intelligence official has said.

THE White House yesterday praised Pakistan for the capture of alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, calling the arrest of such a “big fish” a major blow to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

Russia warned today that it might veto the Anglo-American war resolution before the sharply divided UN Security Council. But Pakistan – a Muslim nation that could be a key swing vote – signalled growing support for Washington.

STEPPING up the pressure on both the UN and Baghdad, President George W Bush last night warned Iraq “will be disarmed one way or the other” and the White House said Saddam Hussein would be a legitimate target if it comes to war.

Saddam Hussein may be having second thoughts about his initial defiance of UN orders to destroy Iraq’s Al Samoud 2 missiles.

A US television network has landed an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Bruce Fleisher admitted he found it “hard to believe” he managed to edge out Hale Irwin to win the Champions Tour Verizon Classic in Lutz, Florida.

THE United States yesterday said it had made a final offer of economic aid to Turkey to secure access to its bases for a possible invasion of Iraq, and was preparing to deploy troops elsewhere in the region if Ankara rejected it.

US preparations for war with Iraq suffered a new setback yesterday when Turkey dug in its heels in negotiations over its role as a launchpad for an invasion.

US SECRETARY of State Colin Powell told a Senate panel yesterday that what appears to be a new statement from Osama bin Laden shows why the world needs to be concerned about Iraqi ties to terrorism.

THE United States is ready to deal with any contingencies involving North Korea, a White House spokesman said yesterday in response to new warnings

UNITED NATIONS weapons inspectors have seen no sign of increased co-operation from Iraq since they handed in their report to the UN Security Council on Monday, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said yesterday.

The UN chief weapons inspector told the Security Council today that Iraq has still not accepted the need to disarm – a statement that kept the White House firmly on the war path.

THE gulf between the Anglo-American axis and hitherto close allies over the looming war in Iraq grew wider yesterday despite attempts to cool down the festering feud.

WASHINGTON was last night locked in a transatlantic war of words over the ever-increasing likelihood of war with Iraq.

President Bush will pledge to accomplish America’s “grand purposes” in next week’s State of the Union address, White House officials said today.