Americans are driving less for the first time in nearly 30 years as they face up to skyrocketing fuel prices, putting a dent in lifestyles in a country where the car has long reigned as king.

Increasing numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and minds, an ever-larger pool of disabled veterans that will cost the nation billions for decades to come - even as the total population of America's vets has begun to shrink.

A highly sensitive internal report into the state of the British Army has revealed that many soldiers are living in poverty. Some are so poor that they are unable to eat and are forced to rely on emergency food voucher schemes set up by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This is happening because war today is all about profit

"Turning to the United States, after seven years of doing precious little about the conflict and nearly five years of responsibility for a roadmap to nowhere, the Bush administration convened the Annapolis conference five months ago to re-launch that roadmap more energetically." A lot has changed, and nothing has changed, since the roadmap was introduced five years ago (April 30, 2003).

The historic city's intellectuals are mobilising to halt a wave of consumerism and cuts to the arts. The intellectuals of Prague - copies of Kafka to hand, fuelled by too many espressos and cheap cigarettes, black polo-necks and scarves to the ready - are on the march. After the stag nights, the coming of McDonald's and Starbucks, and the shopping malls, the final straw was a banal administrative order. Now the 'culture wars of Prague' are reaching their climax.

It was last updated at 16:51 on May 11 2008.Experts were revising upwards their predictions of how many will die in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis as Oxfam warned today the figure could reach 1.5 million and foreign secretary David Miliband said the death toll would rise "significantly" from the 100,000 currently predicted. 'This regime is good at killing people, not helping them' Refugees from the Burmese cyclone face second battle for survival

“There is considerable speculation,” writes the former CIA officer, “and buzz in Washington today suggesting that the National Security Council has agreed in principle to proceed with plans to attack an Iranian al-Qods [Revolutionary Guards]-run camp that is believed to be training Iraqi militants. The camp that will be targeted is one of several located near Tehran.”

Lebanese troops deployed in the northern city of Tripoli on Sunday after fierce battles between rival clans as the Hizbullah-led opposition handed over control of west Beirut to the army.

The ordeal of Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami Al- Haj has touched the Arab world. He has become an iconic figure and his release has demonstrated to all and sundry that the world's most powerful nation has committed a terrible blunder.