LIKE A CHAMELEON, IMAD Mughniyah, one of the world's most elusive terror masterminds, relentlessly sought by the United States and Israel for the past 20 years, is back in another form. After years in the shadows, one of the world's most wanted terror chiefs may be reemerging in a more deadly form than ever. ... more

SO now there is no doubt: the Libyan government was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing - the worst act of terrorism ever committed in Britain. It is a verdict that will bring some degree of comfort to the relatives of the 270 people who were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a suitcase bomb 13 years ago. ... more

TEHRAN, Iran — Saleheh Najafi, a 40-year-old homemaker swathed from head scarf to socks in layered black, stands in the car showroom looking the very model of Muslim female virtue. She runs a black- gloved hand over the satiny black finish of a new two-seater convertible, the kind of car Iranians could only dream about since the 1979 Islamic revolution. ... more

March 15, 2002; Despite the bad feelings over the "Axis of Evil" tag, Iranian officials admit that there has been direct contact between US and Iranian officials since the war on terror began. The two nations have not had diplomatic relations since the US embassy in Iran was attacked, and diplomats taken hostage, in 1979. ... more

President Bush's State of the Union address, in which he declared that Iran, North Korea, and Iraq form an "axis of evil," was condemned by all factions of the Iranian political spectrum. A great number of reformists believe that his comments could set back the pace of reforms in the country. ... more

Tehran, March 17, IRNA -- A Tehran court will release next Monday each of maverick journalists Akbar Ganji and Emadeddin Baqi from Evin prison for a weeklong home leave. ... more

A total of six tonnes of drugs have been seized by Iranian authorities in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan during the past 10 days, bringing the total amount of confiscated drugs in the province into 32 tonnes in a year. ... more

NEW YORK 16 Mar. (IPS) "My husband Siamak is in such a poor mental state, in such a desperate mood and such a weak psychological posture that has accepted, I fear, to confess to every accusations he has been charged by his interrogators", Mrs. Mehrangiz Kaar told journalists, referring to the detention of her husband, Mr. Siamak Poorzand. ... more

TEHRAN - Iran's government will not stand in the way of talks between Iranian and US legislators and wants to clear up mistrust between Tehran and Washington, the government spokesman said Sunday. ... more

As we have noted, one of the leaders of the national liberation movement of Southern Azerbaijan [northwestern Iran], Mahmudali Cohraqani, is visiting Baku.[Passage omitted: reported details of Cohraqani's arrival] ... more

Tehran - The highest arbitrative body in Iran approved here Saturday important parts related to the buy-back agreements and foreign financing in the 2002-2003 budget bill which had been branded unconstitutional by the Guardian Council. ... more

Iran, who topped group A with three wins, meet Tunisia, runners-up of group B in the first semifinals of the seventh Rashid International volleyball tournament at Saeed bin Maktoum indoor sports hall today at 5:30 pm. ... more

The Al Qaeda network is stepping up its financial activity, suggesting that its leaders may be trying to bankroll more terrorist attacks, a U.S. official says. The flow of money corresponds with an increase in communications among surviving Al Qaeda members, the official said on condition of anonymity. ... more

ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN C. STENNIS, in the Arabian Sea, March 14 — The United States and its allies have intensified their search for Taliban and Qaeda leaders in the waters off Pakistan and Iran, convinced that an American-led offensive in eastern Afghanistan has eliminated a major terrorist haven and forced the Taliban and Qaeda commanders to flee. ... more

ITH fighting now ending in Afghanistan's eastern mountains and Bush administration officials asserting that the Afghan campaign will be over in a matter of months, the world is beginning to focus on rebuilding that shattered country. It is a daunting task. Poor in natural resources, Afghanistan has been ravaged by years of drought as well as war. The president of neighboring Uzbekistan was simply stating fact when he said last week that since time immemorial, Afghanistan has been dominated by warlords and torn by "constant, permanent interethnic strife." ... more

Analysts and officials in Bahrain yesterday praised the initiative of His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, who issued an order to the official media outlets and local newspapers to survey Bahraini viewpoints regarding the Palestinian issue. Sheikh Hamad urged "citizens, columnists and writers to discuss and reflect on the issue in the press and on the Internet to form a collective opinion that will be used as the basis for Bahrain's official position on the issue," ... ... more

ABDELBASET Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi's first Glasgow morning was typically dreich. If the Libyan needed proof of his distance from Tripoli then the drizzle glimpsed through the small barred window of his cell provided it. Megrahi arrived at Barlinnie, Scotland's most notorious prison, in a Puma helicopter in the small hours of Friday. Condemned first by three trial judges and then by five judges in the Court of Appeal, he was finally left to face the magnitude of his fate in a cell ... ... more

ISLAMABAD - A United States diplomat's wife and daughter were among five people killed in a grenade attack on a protestant church in the Pakistani capital on Sunday, a police intelligence officer said. Among the dead are two US citizens. They are the wife and daughter of a US diplomat," the officer told AFP on condition of anonymity. The US embassy confirmed that two Americans had been killed. Sri Lanka's ambassador to Pakistan, his wife and child were among the 41 people injured, the interior ministry's National Crisis Cell, Brigadier Javed Cheema told AFP. ... more

Britain's military leaders issued a stark warning to Tony Blair last night that any war against Iraq is doomed to fail and would lead to the loss of lives for little political gain. As the debate over whether to commit British troops alongside American forces intensified, the leaders urged 'extreme caution' over any moves towards war, saying servicemen faced being bogged down in a perilous open-ended commitment. ... more

Vice President Cheney collected more rebuffs on Iraq yesterday even as he conveyed growing U.S. interest in a Saudi-sponsored Middle East peace initiative. Cheney met with Saudi leaders who have expressed sharp reservations about any U.S. plan to move militarily against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Between Iraq and a Hard Place: Cheney struggles to convince Saudis to help oust Saddam. ... more