31 March: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urges Pres. Bush "Calm down with the threats; there's a new Congress in town", adding "We respect your constitutional role; you need to respect ours", in attempt to cool tensions over Iraq spending bills with imposed timeline for withdrawal...

28 March: Report suggests US has backed Kurdish PKK guerrilla attacks inside Iran, while opposing PKK activity against Turkey...

26 March: US Attorney General faces new criticism from Republican senators, who question whether he gave misleading statements; top Republicans urge White House to permit sworn testimony from top aides... Iran says detained UK soldiers all well and safe, but held at undisclosed location; Iran accuses sailors of illegally entering Iranian waters, considers event a military provocation... Aide to AG Gonzales to take 5th Amendment when called to testify under oath before Senate judiciary committee this week; her lawyer is quoted as saying "The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real"...

25 March: UK gov't has expressed concern over detention by Iran of 15 sailors taken into custody by authorities there after allegedly entering Iranian waters without permission; PM Blair says incident is "serious"...

23 March: Series of blasts in Maputo center, Mozambique, attributed to inferno at military weapons depot; public calling for accountability, investigation into causes of fire, obvious danger to public caused by location, failed maintenance...

16 March: Pakistan's pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf under fire for deposing country's top judge; opponents, observers suspect Musharraf has detained and charged judge with non-descript "misconduct and misuse of authority", giving only a closed hearing, because Judge Chaudhary would not support Musharraf's wish to remain as army chief beyond the constitutional limit of this year...

14 March: Sen. Warner, ranking Republican on Senate armed services committee may push for allowing gays to serve openly in armed forces; debate rages over "gays in the military", after Marine general Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff declared his view that homosexual acts were "immoral"; Sen. Warner said he "strongly disagrees" with that position and it may be time to force a change... BBC Radio reports London is now "the 7th French city", with more than 300,000 French citizens residing there, many professionals in search of higher pay and global culture...

11 March: 3rd anniversary of coordinated bomb attacks against commuter trains in Madrid... US, Iranian officials meeting in Baghdad security conference say good first step, more meetings could follow for cooperation on reducing sectarian conflict in Iraq; Iran urged US to release 5 officials held in US custody after a raid in Erbil, saying 5 are diplomats, not spies... House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) has warned Bush not to veto Iraq spending bills if passed by both houses, saying he would risk sending message of weakness, lack of foresight to Iraqi leaders, insurgents... Venezuela pres. Hugo Chávez has been staging parallel tour of Latin American countries, to counter Bush visit, spoke to rally in Buenos Aires, told crowd in Bolivia region needed to form a united armed forces for common defense... Pressure expected to mount on VP Cheney as outed CIA agent testifies to Congressional panel; prosecutor who did not charge Cheney in connection with leak said in closing remarks "a cloud hangs over" the VP; jurors also had expressed their concern that Libby who was found guilty of lying, was only a "fall guy", caught covering for his boss...

10 March: US pres. Bush promises to act to correct abuses committed by FBI in spying on American citizens; internal audit showed high frequency of illegal uses of domestic spying authority under PATRIOT ACT... Bush, Lula agree to cooperate on standardizing ethanol composition for trade on international commodities markets, though the two nations will still compete, US will not reduce tariffs on cheaper, higher-energy Brazilian cane-ethanol... Iraq PM al-Maliki urged neighbors to aid Iraq in combatting insurgency, saying "Confrontation of terrorism, dear brothers, requires ceasing any form of financial and media support and religious cover, as well as logistical support and provision of arms and men that would turn out to be explosive tools killing our children, women and elders and bombing our mosques and churches"... Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has said she will support a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq; move is very much like an initiative proposed by her main rival for Democratic nomination for president in 2008, Barack Obama...

9 March: Reuters reporting "Greek Cypriots razed to the ground a wall symbolizing Cyprus's decades-old division running through the heart of the capital Nicosia and challenged Turkey to respond by withdrawing its troops from the area"... Vietnam has come under heavy criticism for a severe crackdown on political dissidents, the worst in 20 years, in the wake of its accession to the WTO; HRW reports "The government’s ongoing criminalization of peaceful political dissent and violations of basic human rights threatens to undermine its economic achievements... On February 18, dozens of police in Hue raided the parish home of Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest and former prisoner of conscience. They confiscated computers, telephones and more than 200 kilograms of documents. The authorities moved him to a remote location, where he remains under house arrest"... Report finds FBI made "mistakes", improperly gathered personal information in process of its counter-terrorism operations; AG said to be "incensed", vows mistakes will not be repeated; an estimated 19,000 top-secret national security letters, which order the release of information without court warrant, were issued in 2005 alone, an amount exceeding past uses of the procedure "exponentially"... US military officials to start hearings in prosecution of "high-value" detainees at Guantánamo Bay prison camp in Cuba; reporters will not be allowed to attend hearings and will be given redacted transcripts... Valerie Plame, CIA agent outed by Bush administration officials, to testify before Congressional committee; in wake of Libby verdict, Congress wants to know more about how leak affected operations, private life of Plame, what possible legal ramifications may stem from testimony given in Libby trial...

7 March: Spain's ruling socialist party reminds public opposition PP freed 295 ETA convicts before their sentences were completed during 8 years in power: "54 etarras tenían condena que oscilaba entre los 30 y 327 años de prisión, todos liberados después de cumplir penas entre los 15 y 20 años... 250 tenían penas inferiores a los 30 años y salieron a la calle con cumplimientos entre los seis meses y los catorce años"; PP leaders have been trying to stir voter outrage at the gov't liberating De Juana Chaos, who had completed his sentence, due to his extreme hunger strike... At least 146 Shi'a pilgrims killed in bomb attacks across Iraq; sectarian violence continues to intensify amid plans for regional conference to discuss civil war in Iraq...

6 March: Ugandan gov't forces have stormed the offices of the high court; security forces invaded the building to detain several political figures accused of treason for supporting opposition movements; police also attacked demonstrators in the streets outside; the judiciary has started a work stoppage in protest of the authoritarian tactics; HRW deputy Africa director has said "The security forces surrounded the High Court to intimidate the judges and thwart the decision to release these men on bail... The Museveni government’s attempt to intimidate the courts shows its profound lack of respect for the law"... US envoy Christopher Hill says talks with North Korea "on right track"; normalization of relations could be in store if North denuclearizes, after 50 years of ideological, diplomatic and military standoff... Human Rights Watch is calling on US officials to investigate the death of Afghan civilians in two incidents on 4 and 5 March; in the wake of a suicide bomb attack on coalition positions on 4 March, which took no US or Afghan lives, "Witnesses told journalists and Afghan officials that US forces, while speeding away from the attack, shot at vehicles and pedestrians along at least a six-mile stretch of highway. At least eight and as many as 16 civilians were killed, and approximately 25 others were wounded. The dead included a woman and two children"...

5 March: China has announced a 17.8% increase in its military spending, bringing official budget to US$45 billion; some reports suggest overall military budget may be 3 to 4 times the official figure, percentage increase in spending has been double-digit for at least 15 years running; US security officials have expressed concern over China's military build-up... Germany's foreign min. has called for calm debate in Europe and with Russia, regarding US plans to place missile defense bases in central Europe and Britain; Germany currently holds rotating EU presidency; Russia says its planes can destroy or disrupt any missile defense capabilities; NATO chief has said issue should be treated as legitimate bilateral security negotiation between US, host countries... Russian journalist investigating wrongdoing in defense industry found dead on Moscow street; according to the Guardian newspaper, "The body of Ivan Safronov, the 51-year-old defence correspondent for Russia's progressive Kommersant newspaper, was discovered on Friday. He apparently fell from a fifth-floor window", colleagues said he had no cause to commit suicide; Safronov is only most recent in worrying string of journalists or investigators who die mysteriously while probing high-level corruption in Russia...

1 March: Democrat leaders in Congress craft plan to force Bush "to sign repeated waivers for units and report to Congress those units with equipment shortfalls and other problem" without restricting funding to provide for and protect troops; the Senate is moving "to repeal the 2002 measure authorizing the war and write a new resolution restricting the mission and ordering troop withdrawals to begin by this summer"; Senate majority leader Reid has said Homeland Security legislation will come first... US spokesman says meeting with Iran, Syria at Baghdad security summit does not mean direct negotiations with either state... Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has announced his run for the presidency on late-night television; formal announcement to come at later date; McCain was top Republican challenge to Bush candidacy in 2000... Canadian parts giant Magna in bid to bailout top customer Chrysler; deal will not amount to takeover by Magna; Chrysler had provided funding to save Magna when company hit hard times...