It was deemed as a conversation with U. S. troops, but critics are now calling it a PR move, after it is revealed the questions President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to coincide with his goals for the war, and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution. Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense secretary said, coaching the soldiers before Bush arrived, "This is an important time. The president is looking forward to having just a conversation with you. "

A Brazilian court will hear a psychic's claim that the U. S. government owes him a $25 million reward for information he claims to have provided on the hiding place of dethroned Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, reports Reuters. Brazil's second-highest court, the Superior Court of Justice, has decided on Thursday that the Brazilian justice system can deliver a verdict on this issue. The court has directed a court in the psychic's home state of Minas Gerais to judge the case.

An increasing number women in Baghdad are opting to wear Western clothing in public over the traditional Islamic dress of the region, causing violent attacks against them. Police report women choosing alternative dress are being attacked with corrosive acid.