Ewen MacAskill

· President backs McCain's call for offshore extraction · Democrats in Congress are blamed for high fuel prices

Despite denials, Pentagon plans for possible attack on nuclear sites are well advanced

· Bill for Iraq conflict will soon overtake Vietnam · $78bn squeeze on medical care for elderly and poor

· Findings also show fall in support for war on terror · Decline in America's image 'all to do with Iraq'

New Iraqi leader reveals more urgent and ambitious troop withdrawal than UK and US had admitted

· Report warns of effects of American or Israeli strikes · Military operations would mean long confrontation

UK leads last minute effort to rein in US objections

A consortium of western oil companies, led by ExxonMobil, has drawn up legal agreements with African governments that potentially override the human rights of the local populations, according to a report published today by Amnesty International.

The cry of "something must be done" is becoming louder. Each new report on the plight of the Sudanese refugees evokes fresh sympathy.

Osama bin Laden, two years and three months after the New York and Washington attacks that were part of his jihad against America, appears to be winning.

Hawks in the US administration stepped up pressure on President Saddam Hussein, yesterday by claiming he may have covertly developed biological weapons in the past three years.