Hillary Clinton has vowed to fight on in the contest to be the Democrats' presidential candidate, comparing herself to the film character Rocky. 

Speaking in Philadelphia, where the film Rocky was set, she said: "When it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit." 

Abdul Qader's suffering is part of the human toll of the worst violence in months in Iraq.  

While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tours the United States, Europe and China, Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has launched a 'Listening Tour' of Australia with a message on YouTube. 

Dr Nelson's YouTube message promotes his three-week tour, where he says he will meet with Australians in service stations, shopping centres, farming communities and at barbeques and morning teas. 

Rudd owes US popularity to Coalition: Opposition

The Federal Opposition has welcomed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's warm reception in the United States but says he owes a lot of it to the Coalition. 

Mr Rudd announced today he will seek a seat on the United Nations Security Council from 2013 after an absence of 22 years. 

The Iraqi army's offensive against the Shia militia of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra is failing to make significant headway despite a pledge by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to fight "to the end". 

From the New York Times ….. 

French First Lady More Than Tames British Press 

Was she the new Kennedy-Onassis or a reborn Diana? With her flat Dior pumps and calf-length gray overcoat, was she a high-school student on vacation, or, as one columnist asked, “Jackie O dressed as a nun”? 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for France and Britain to open a new chapter in their long-fractious ties overnight, as he received a red-carpet welcome in London with his glamorous new wife. 

In a rare address to a joint session of the British houses of parliament, the French leader proposed that the traditional 'entente cordiale' between the two countries be transformed into more friendly relations. 

President Bush said Wednesday he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Russia to try to break a logjam between the two nations over a proposed U.S. missile defense system. 

''I think a lot of people in Europe would have a deep sigh of relief if we're able to reach an accord on missile defense,'' Bush said during a roundtable interview with foreign journalists. ''And hopefully we can.'' 

Cheney pledges support for Israel ...

Mr Cheney also plans to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank as part of efforts to reignite the peace process.... 

American Vice President Dick Cheney has given strong backing to Israel during a nine-day tour of the Middle East. 

As the American military death toll in Iraq reached 4,000, President Bush conferred yesterday with top U.S. officials in Washington and in Baghdad and vowed in a public statement that the outcome of the war "will merit the sacrifice." 

Letters to the Editor

The Times Editor,  

We're winning but the other side makes all the points.

Dick Cheney, the US vice president, has met King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia with the soaring price of oil and instability in the region expected to be on the agenda. 

However, it is unclear whether Cheney will urge the leader of the world's largest oil exporter to increase output during the talks at the monarch's horse farm in Riyadh. 

Credit Suisse faced a double whammy of bad news yesterday, revealing it is almost certain to plunge into loss during the first quarter of this year and admitting a group of rogue traders in its London office had forced it to write down the value of its assets by SFr2.86bn (£1.43bn). 

Even as America sinks deeper and deeper into a recession, we can also continue to count the incredible cost of this war.