While a tentative ceasefire keeps Yemen's capital Sana'a in a relative state of tranquility, denizens of the city are aware that the longer political uncertainty drags on, the greater the risk of war becomes. This fear became apparent when the news reached Sana'a last Wednesday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh had had successful surgery in neighboring Saudi Arabia, where he had been whisked to after being severely injured in an attack on his residence. Chaos erupted in the ...

The family of an Iraqi journalist jailed for throwing his shoes at then-President George W. Bush said they've been told he may not be released as soon as they expected. Prison guards have told Muntadhar al-Zaidi that he won't leave jail Monday, according to his family. There has been no official word from the court handling the case. Udey al-Zaidi, Muntadhar's older brother, said they now expect him to be released on Tuesday, because of procedural delays. The family promised ...

A whistle-blower who helped shed light on misconduct among the ranks of contractors working as guards for the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan is back home in England sooner than he expected after he resigned in the fallout of the scandal. Terry Pearson, who worked as an operations manager for contractor R.A. International at Camp Sullivan in Afghanistan, said he witnessed mistreatment among the guards employed by ArmorGroup North America, who were housed at the camp. "It was just downright stupid, ...

Two George Washington Bridge security guards photographed sleeping on the job have been fired, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. A bicycle tour operator who commutes daily over the bridge from New Jersey to New York snapped photos of the two guards on different occasions, and the photos were published on a New Jersey local news Web site. In one set of photographs by commuter Joey Lepore, taken during a Wednesday rush hour ...

Tensions mounted between American-led coalition forces and the Afghan government Monday as Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded U.S. troops hand over private security guards suspected of involvement in the killing of a top Kandahar law enforcement official. The U.S. military responded with a statement denying any involvement of coalition forces in the attack, which occurred at a Kandahar government office. "Such incidents negatively impact the state building process in Afghanistan," Karzai said in a prepared statement. He asked "coalition forces ...