Politics

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The interior of a damaged passenger bus is pictured after one of three attacks in southern Israel near the Egyptian border on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Channel 2 TV)

Albrecht Gero Muth has often donned a military costume and claimed to be a secret agent and Iraqi army general. Mr. Muth, 47, was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Viola Herms Drath. (Mai Photo News Agency)

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Obama for America campaign staffers work at headquarters, a 55,000-square-foot office in a high-rise in downtown Chicago. Specialists in digital media work side by side with field operators, Web designers and phone-bank volunteers. The integration of employees with digital expertise together with more traditional political campaign staff is now standard operating procedure. (Dave Boyer/The Washington Times)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS A demonstrator shouts slogans against the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid on Wednesday. The pope is due to arrive Thursday to celebrate World Youth Day, and thousands of protesters railing against his visit marched through central Madrid.

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A pair of Republican presidential hopefuls, Rep. Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney, and the tea party movement get the cartoon treatment from Bluewater Comics. (Bluewater Comics)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Iranian cleric lawmaker Hossein Hashemian (right) talks with a colleague in parliament in Tehran on Wednesday. Iran's internal power struggles are shifting into election mode with hard-line political forces banding together to groom candidates for next year's parliamentary elections and punish allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS President Joseph Kabila (far left) arrives for the yearly national parade held in Kinshasa. He has held office for more than 10 years and recently secured constitutional changes that strengthen his powers and revise the country's voting system. He faces a possible challenge at the polls this November from Jean-Pierre Bemba, Vital Kamerhe and Etienne Tshisekedi (starting second photo, left). Mr. Bemba is awaiting a war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, and National Assembly President Vital Kamerhe, right, shake hands in Kinshasa, Congo, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007. Ki-moon held up Congo's first elections in 46 years as a sign of hope for the rest of war-torn Africa, praising the country's fragile democracy Saturday. (AP Photo/John Bompeng) Veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi is seen at his residence in Kinshasa, Congo in this Thursday, June 15, 2006 photo. A former prime minister under the Mobutu regime, he remains an influential figure and his support could boost any of Congo's presidential hopefuls. (AP Photo)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Kiss' Gene Simmons predicts Texas Gov. Rick Perry will win the presidency in 2012. He has a good track record, having voted for Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama but says Mr. Obama's stance on Israel has made him regret that choice.

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In this photo taken on a government-organized tour, Syrian soldiers atop armored personnel carrier cheer on their way out of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, Syria, on Aug. 16, 2011. (Associated Press)

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (right) and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, walk to their meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

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In this photo taken on a government-organized tour, Syrian soldiers atop an armored personnel carrier cheer on their way out of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, Syria, on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling greets employees of Hadpro - Hood and Duct Professionals - at Tuesday's ribbon cutting for the company's new headquarters in Alexandria. Mr. Bolling will serve at Mitt Romney's Virginia campaign director. (Drew Angerer / The Washington Times)

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"The Amazing Kreskin," the renowned mentalist, has made his prediction of who will win next year's presidential election and gave it to five people in sealed containers not to be opened until Nov. 7, 2012. (Associated Press)

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Huawei made its presence at a wireless trade show in Las Vegas this year. Some in Congress fear the Chinese telecommunications giant, said to have ties to China's military, poses a risk to national security with its deal to supply components to a supercomputer lab that is a defense contractor. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta share a laugh during an event at the National Defense University in Washington on Tuesday. "There is a debate going on inside Pakistan about the best way to deal with what is an increasing internal threat," Mrs. Clinton said.

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican presidential candidate, has drawn criticism from a number of one-time George W. Bush aides for remarks made in the opening days of his campaign. (Associated Press)

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Molly Day takes her sons, Brady, 3, and Shane, 11 months, as she votes in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., on Tuesday. Wisconsin voters went to the polls for the third time in two months for a final state Senate recall vote. (Kenosa News via Associated Press)

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Tony Villegas, 7, of Gaithersburg, Md. plays "Ring-A-Bottle" to try and win a stuffed animal. (Pratik Shah/The Washington Times)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Retired Gen. Solomon Mujuru, one of Zimbabwe's main political power brokers, died overnight Tuesday in fire at one of his homes. His death raises questons about who will take control of the party of longtime President Robert Mugabe should he die or retire.