An American official said: “He now has to choose whether to buy into the political process or to try to work against the process.”On Friday, Mehdi Army gunmen tried to put a brave face on the order from Sadr to leave the holy sites, reluctant to rule out resuming the conflict at some future date. He said there had been “surprisingly little” contact between the cleric and the US. US officials were claiming that the end to the fighting was a “tactical victory” over Sadr.Iraqi security forces have already significantly tightened their control of the city, entering the Imam Ali shrine compound for the first time since the fighting began. It’s a choice between democracy and fanaticism, and until now democratic governments have never conceded to fanatics … It was reported to be the same group that abducted and killed the freelance Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, 56, this week.On the tape, the militants described the French law banning the wearing of Islamic headdresses as “an aggression on the Islamic religion and personal freedoms”.Al-Jazeera reported the group saying it was giving the French government 48 hours to overturn the law, without mentioning any ultimatum.RTL’s editorial director, Jacques Esnous, said: “We saw [on the video] that they are in good health, but we also saw that they have an appalling sword of Damocles hanging above them The terrible decision rests with the government. The pair have not contacted their news organisations since 19 August and were last sighted about 20 miles outside Baghdad, on the road to Najaf.The group purporting to be holding the pair calls itself the Islamic Army in Iraq. Ambulances crunched slowly over the rubble and spent ordinance to reach the dead bodies.Exchanges of prisoners are under way after Sadr militants secured the release of a top aide to the cleric, Ali Smeissm, on Friday – in exchange for the kidnapped relative of the Defence Minister, according to Ahmed al-Shabani, another Sadr aide..

Otherwise he is like a robot.” US officials acknowledged that they had no details on the fate of weapons rounded up by Sadr officials on Friday.Pressed on another clause in the Ayatollah’s formula, compensation for the devastation wrought in Najaf by the fighting, US officials said a “needs assessment” would be conducted in the next few weeks. “You have to obey orders to avoid great damage to me and to you,” said the order circulated at Najaf’s Imam Ali mosque on Friday.An American official said: “He now has to choose whether to buy into the political process or to try to work against the process.”On Friday, Mehdi Army gunmen tried to put a brave face on the order from Sadr to leave the holy sites, reluctant to rule out resuming the conflict at some future date. Monet was so fascinated by the play of light on the building that he painted it 27 times in 1892-93, from three different viewpoints, at different times of day and in different weather conditions. He tattooed the aristocracy of Australian batting, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden, after such a roughing up not one of them was able to produce anything like the usual command.Harmison, with admirable assistance from his lieutenants Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Andy Flintoff, claimed most of the spoils with 5 for 43 and his own period of personal rampage, four wickets for seven runs in 14 balls.The consequence was the most dramatic shift in the balance of Ashes power since Mike Gatting’s England team last won a series in 1987.The Aussies, with Shane Warne providing some of the most profitable resistance and finishing second top scorer with a mere 28, were shot out for 190. McGrath, the hammer of the English for so long, made the Long Room celebrations as premature as they were inappropriate.

He defined the art of the thinking man’s pace bowler.

But that was when England’s young bowling Turks were strutting around Lord’s as though 18 years of Ashes cricket under the heel of Australia was officially at an end.It was before Glenn McGrath, aged 35, reminded everyone in the home of the game that there is nothing more thrilling – no partisan advantage for your team, no winning bet – than an old champion near the end of his competitive days finding the best of himself. On a day of stupendous cricket and theatre it was possible to produce a sworn affidavit saying that elderly members of the MCC had been seen dancing in the Long Room. “I had a bit of a laugh, but I am feeling younger than I ever have,” he said.For his fellow paceman Harmison, the turn of events was more of a downer. “I was pleased with the way I bowled,” he said, “but I was pretty disappointed with the way the second half of the day went.”. McGrath said last night: “I would like to think that with four and a half Tests to go and 504 wickets under my belt, I will be able to overtake Courtney Walsh during this series.”The Australian fast bowler, sporting a specially made pair of boots acknowledging in gold lettering his 500 wickets, admitted he had read reports writing him off as over the hill. Yesterday, the great Australian fast bowler chose Lord’s as the setting to make those poor judges of his abilities eat their words.He single-handedly silenced a nation of cricket-lovers with a devastating spell of five wickets for two runs in 31 balls to reduce England to a shambolic state by the close, and cast a blight over the home side’s morning glories, when they had Australia reeling and eventually bowled them out for modest 190.Harmison recorded his sixth five-wicket haul during that innings, but McGrath, with his third significant haul at Headquarters, stole the Durham man’s thunder.With his first wicket, that of opener Marcus Trescothick, McGrath became the fourth bowler to pass 500 Test wickets and the second Australian to do so after his leg-spinning team-mate Shane Warne. I’ll be very happy if my Test career ends with 110 Tests and 500 wickets.

it is unfortunate, but it’s the game.”

Harmison’s first five-wicket haul in a Test match at Lord’s – 5 for 43 – was overshadowed by Glenn McGrath’s stunning reply as the Australian paceman passed 500 Test wickets with 5 for 21.Harmison said: “It is the first time I’ve got five wickets at Lord’s and it is more special getting it against Australia.” Of McGrath’s achievement, the England fast bowler said: “To get 500 Test wickets is a phenomenal achievement I don’t think Glenn McGrath has to prove any points. “I don’t like it when there is blood shed,” the England paceman said “My intention was to put the batsmen on their back foot I don’t go out to hurt people Unfortunately, a couple of players got hit on the head … Steve Harmison defended his ferocious bowling which left the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, with a one-inch gash on his right cheek yesterday and had other batsmen ducking and diving. England First Innings K P Pietersen c Martyn b Warne 57 M J Hoggard c Hayden b Warne 0 S J Harmison c Martyn b Lee 11 S P Jones not out 20 Extras b1 lb5 nb5 11 Total (48.1 overs) 155 Fall: 1-10 2-11 3-18 4-19 5-21 6-79 7-92 8-101 9-122 Bowling: McGrath 18 5 53 5 Lee 15.1 5 47 3 Gillespie 8 1 30 0 Warne 7 2 19 2 Umpires: Aleem Dar and R E Koertzen. Jones was the main aggressor and, when paceman Brett Lee replaced Warne, he conceded 13 runs in a single over before being taken out of the attack. McGrath’s five overs in the morning cost 32 runs but Lee ended the innings with his first ball when replacing the veteran paceman as Harmison (11) drove straight to Martyn at mid-off That left Jones unbeaten on 20 from just 14 balls. That left England on 122 for nine but the last pair of Steve Harmison and Simon Jones entertained another capacity crowd with a stand of 33 in five overs.