BUSH'S UNWILLINGNESS to carry through on his freedom agenda in the face of unrelenting opposition from Europe, the Arabs and his foreign policy establishment is what has prevented him throughout his presidency from contending with the greatest source of volatility and danger in the region - Iran.

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But thanks to Pope John Paul II, with his new ruling to German Catholic bishops on the issue, that is what they face.

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If the Republicans quit, refuse to do a deal in the face of what looks like the president being so willing to compromise that he is damaging his reputation with his own party, they will look like ideological hotheads.

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What makes the latest about-face so embarrassing is that Mr Fox and his officials have insisted that the issue at stake in the mayor's prosecution is one of principle: the rule of law and the notion that nobody is above it.

ECONOMIST: The race is on | The

Meanwhile, my wife, who I initially feared would struggle with the pain of watching her husband face his mortality and the burden of nursing him back to health, has shown me just what strength is.

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Now, 3, 000-year-old ivory artifacts recovered by Mallowan between 1949 and 1963 from the ancient city of Nimrud, in what is now Iraq, and likely cleaned by his famous wife using cotton wool buds and face cream, go on display Monday at the British Museum in London.

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But no matter what he does on the euro, he is more than likely to face a challenge to his leadership after the Tories' expected defeat at the next general election.

ECONOMIST: Roll up that map of Europe