Plus ça change...

In Iraq, the interim cabinet has been sworn in with Sunni tribal chief Ghazi al-Yawir as its president just as a number of explosions rocked Baghdad killing at least 25. The ceasefire with Sadr's forces has been broken with at least two American soldiers killed in new fighting. Internationally, there is still no consensus on the sovereignty resolution at the United Nations

Saudi forces have launched a massive manhunt for suspected al-Qaeda forces responsible for killing 22 civilians. They have also released a statement reiterating that Saudi Arabia's oil resources are safe from terrorist attack to calm fears that al-Qaeda would be successful in attacking resources. The Economist explores what the potential impact of such an attack would be.

In the Presidential race, John Kerry has come out with his foreign policy initiative, stating that the United States should be respected, not just feared. The Democrats have also picked up a congressional seat in South Dakota, which has to be good news for Tom Daschle. The New York Times also published an article about how several Southern senatorial seats are actually competitive for the Democrats.

The federal election campaign in Canada continues to roll along, with many media outlets pointing out that Paul Martin could lose his majority government after June 28th. Conservative leader Stephen Harper has trotted out their usual machismo-dripping 'get tough on crime' plan.

It has been a big week in astronomy, as astronomers have possibly discovered the youngest planet yet found around a distant star that challenges current theories of planet formation, found the largest stars on record, come up with new support for the existence of global warming by looking at the moon, hypothesized about the existence of huge black holes in the early universe, and found a new estimate for the size of the universe.

In brief:
- A genetically modified virus has been successful in hunting down and destroying cancer cells.
- Scientists and engineers have come up with a new system to produce energy from the heat of smokestacks.
- We have a new prime number discovered with 7 million digits.
- A large dinosaur discovery in Niger has given additional information to the historical movement of continents.
- An Alaskan earthquake in 2002 produced a ripple effect that triggered smaller earthquakes unblocking geysers in Yellowstone National Park.
- NASA is looking into sending up robots to save the Hubble telescope.
- It might not self destruct in five seconds, but after a few hours, a new disposable DVD will be unusable.
- A UN report on globalization has found that trade is not improving the economic conditions of the poor.
- Things in Haiti seem to be getting worse after floods and mudslides cause further problems.
- Norway has banned smoking in all bars.
- In Sierra Leone, a special court has ruled that the recruiting of child soldiers constitutes a war crime.
- Nelson Mandela has announced that he is stepping down from public life.
- Iran's supreme court has once again revoked the death sentence of dissident academic Hashem Aghajari.
- A Saudi man has been convicted and sentenced to six months in prison and 300 lashes over severely physically abusing his wife.
- A prominent Russian journalist has been fired from his television station after interviewing the wife of a murdered Chechen rebel leader, sparking fears of government censorship.
- Amnesty International has criticized the government of Turkey for not adequately protecting women's rights.
- A discussion on France's love of farming.
- The Anglican Church of Canada has selected a new primate who has openly supported same-sex marriages, a development that might lead to the same internal schisms as American church.
- The Christian Science Monitor tackles whether denying communion for contrary Catholics is a good idea for the Church.
- China is continuing to expand its government censorship, now including online games.
- Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe is following in China's Big Brother footsteps, proposing to force internet providers to divulge the contents of email.
- A story on the effects of Christian charity abortion lobbying on development issues in Africa.
- Meanwhile in America, a federal judge in California has ruled that the 'partial birth abortion' ban is unconstitutional.
- The UN is warning that steps to reduce Afghanistan's opium trade are insufficient.
- The New York Times looks at the reintegration problems of soldiers coming back from Iraq.
- According to this article, we may see the browser wars heat up again.
- The Economist on the history and current popularity of poker.
- Michael Moore has found a distributor for Fahrenheit 9/11.
- The problem surrounding the use of female sexuality in classical music.
- Painting, a medium that has received less attention in recent years, is making a comeback.
- Slate on the success of widescreen format for movies.
- Why is Christopher Walken to popular?
- Turns out that the 'secret code' to launch American nuclear weapons during the cold war was 00000000.
- How bohemian culture became everyday culture.
- An added bonus to living in Sweden: now you can have emergency condoms delivered to you by car.