The clock is ticking for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the hapless, feckless leader of the Shiite fundamentalist party Al Dawa. From Washington, London, Baghdad, and other capitals come rumors that Maliki's government will soon be overthrown by a nationalist general or colonel or that he will resign in favor of an emergency "government of national salvation." A coup d'etat in Iraq would put a period -- or rather an exclamation point -- at the end of the Bush administration's bungled experiment with democracy there. And it would open an entirely new phase in that country's post-2003 national nightmare. Would it result in the creation of a Saddam-like strongman to rule Iraq with a heavy hand? Or would it force the warring parties (Sunni insurgents, Iranian-backed Shiite militias, and Kurdish warlords) to intensify the bloody civil war that is tearing Iraq apart? No one knows

OAXACA REVOLUTION

The conflict in Oaxaca is part of a larger movement of demands for wider democracy in Mexico, often spearheaded by Native groups, the most well-known of which is the Zapatista movement in the Lacandon jungles and other areas of Chiapas, south of Oaxaca.The Oaxaca stand-off has been a hidden story, largely ignored by the U.S. press. What has been silenced with the death of an independent reporter like U.S. journalist Brad Will, unfunded by any large organization, was one of the few voices that has tried to tell the story to the world. Teachers began the strike in May by requesting a salary raise and peacefully occupying the city center. In the following weeks Gov. Ulises Ruiz ordered the teachers forcibly removed, which drew other demonstrators to join the occupation and eventually paralyzed the city. Paramilitary and off-duty officers have shot at the demonstrators -- at least 13 deaths, including Will's have been counted. Residents called for the resignation of Ruiz, an iron-fisted governor blamed for the deaths, and for a corrupt administration

Oaxaca Tense After Police Crackdown

At least 3 dead, more than 50 under arrest, several 'disappeared'

U.S. Journalist's Death Bringing Oaxaca to World's Eye

Brad Will was shot with a camera in his hand, and photos taken by others show him lying on a sidewalk, bullet holes ringed with red blood on his solar plexus, as if targeted by a sharpshooter

Mexico Sends Federales To Oaxaca As Protesters, U.S. Journalist Slain

Gunmen open fire on protest camp, kill 4

Oaxaca Protesters Reach Mexico City

Thousands march, vow to stay in capitol until political prisoners released and police punished

Revolutionaries Near Takeover of Oaxaca

Radio stations taken over, all public officials expelled from local government posts

THE STATE OF IRAN 2006

While the West stays focused on Iran's nuclear intentions, fear and discontent is growing in the country over the rightward turn of domestic policies. Instead of making good on election promises to crack down on corruption and improve the dismal economy by distributing Iran's vast oil revenues more equitably, Ahmadinejad is bending to the will of religious extremists, enforcing for the first time a 1994 ban against satellite dishes that allow Iranians to pick up foreign TV stations. Provincial publications and journalists also face mounting official pressure, especially among those dealing with minority affairs. And in May, the government announced that will identify Internet users and keep a record of the sites they visit. Most alarming, however, is the increasing number of children put to death for moral crimes. Amnesty International has documented at least 10 youths executed by the state in the last two years