Georgia Lags in Its Bid to Fix Army

35 Iraq Officials Held in Raids on Key Ministry

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and TARIQ MAHER

The arrested officials — which included four generals — have been accused of quietly working to reconstitute Saddam Hussein’s Baath party.

Russia, Testing U.S. Sway, Offers Lebanon 10 Warplanes

By ROBERT F. WORTH

The 10 MIG-29 fighter jets would significantly upgrade their antiquated air force and serve as a slap to the United States, Lebanon’s main military partner.

U.N. Force for Somalia Unlikely

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

There is almost no international support for sending a peacekeeping force to Somalia as the United States has proposed, the United Nations secretary general said.

Tumult in Iraqi Parliament Over Shoe Hurling

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS and ATHEER KAKAN

A session of the Iraqi Parliament erupted in an uproar on Wednesday as the continuing detention of an Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush was hotly debated.

• Video: Iraqis on Bush, Obama and a Shoe
• Baghdad Bureau: G.I.'s Laugh Off Incident

Blackwater May Be Banned From Iraq, Report Says

By SCOTT SHANE

The security contractor’s license may not be renewed next year to protect American diplomats in Baghdad.

Russia Plans to Test Obama, U.S. Diplomat Says

By REUTERS

A senior diplomat said that talks in Moscow had failed to narrow differences between Russia and the U.S. on the missile shield plan and suggested that Russia was pausing to take stock of the Obama team.

Thailand’s Winds Shift, Setting a Power Broker Adrift

By SETH MYDANS

Without a sympathetic government in power to protect him, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has become more vulnerable to the workings of institutions he once commanded.

2 Uighurs Sentenced to Death for West China Police Assault

By EDWARD WONG

A court in the western region of Xinjiang has sentenced two men to death for an attack in August that killed 17 paramilitary officers, according to a state news report.

Generals Propose a Timetable for Iraq

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and THOM SHANKER

A new plan for troop withdrawals would take more than the 16 months Barack Obama has said he wants, military officials said.