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Syria's ruling Baath Party opened a congress Monday to discuss political and economic reforms. Syria, which has a centrally planned economy, suffers from a high unemployment rate. Economists and businessmen say they have seen positive changes in recent years, but warn that the government must do more to battle corruption and streamline the inefficient state bureaucracy.

These young politicians have few memories of life under Soviet rule — and they say the war has accelerated their efforts to push for a more Europe-focused future.

Russia has given Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol a chance to surrender as they close in on the port city. Meanwhile, Russia is intensifying rocket attacks elsewhere in Ukraine.

Vice President Dick Cheney says he did not know Ambassador Joseph Wilson. But Cheney's life intersected with Wilson's during the first Iraq war. Wilson is the husband of Valerie Plame, the undercover CIA agent whose name was leaked to the press.

Ukrainian forces have driven Russian attackers out of the city of Kharkiv. Ukraine's second-largest city had been under heavy bombardment for weeks.

President Bush has called for more than $7 billion to find and guard against any dangerous new strain of influenza. The lawmakers who would have to approve that request generally welcomed the initiative, but some have criticized elements of the plan.

Some of the levees in New Orleans patched up after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city were unable to hold back surging waters from Hurricane Rita. Parts of the city that had been mostly drained of standing water are flooded again.

The revelation this week of the identity of Deep Throat, Bob Woodward's celebrated anonymous source on the Watergate scandal, has stirred up the memories of many journalists. These competing reporters, beaten badly at the outset of Watergate, say that the accolades raining down on the Washington Post obscure scoops of their own.

Emergency managers in New Orleans had been debating whether the levee system would work in a major hurricane before Katrina hit. Federal funding cuts left many projects undone and local engineers were not surprised when water surged into New Orleans.

Democrats are running an ad in Montana scorching GOP Sen. Conrad Burns for taking $136,000 from Jack Abramoff, the well-connected lobbyist in trouble for huge casino tribe billings. Burns got a $3 million appropriation for an Abramoff client. The Republicans are crying foul, saying he did it to help two Democratic senators.