Matthew Borghese - AHN Staff Writer Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A meeting between the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, U.S. European Command and U.S. Naval Forces Europe is underway to discuss "Maritime Safety and Security in the Gulf of Guinea." With participants from 11 African nations,...

Stock markets in the Gulf region suffer a sharp sell-off as a "crisis of confidence" weighs on trade.

AP - Scientists working on an independent study of a floodwall that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina said Monday that a government test 21 years ago predicted the wall could fail.

AP - Senate minority leader Harry Reid said Saturday he was "ashamed for our country" after visiting the thousands of FEMA-owned mobile homes lined up at Hope Airport that have yet to be used as shelters for hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast.

AP - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill met with reporters to talk about their upcoming tour, but ended up venting their frustration with the cleanup efforts along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

AP - A fleeting smile lit up the stern face of Sheik Abdul-Atheem al-Bahrani when asked if he worried that the sectarian tensions in Iraq would spread to the Gulf. "The good in Iraq overflows, but so do its evils," said the Bahraini Shiite cleric, quoting an old saying.

AFP - Ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney has urged the governor of Arizona to prevent a US drugs firm accused of mistreating monkeys from setting up a laboratory in the southwestern state, a US animal rights group said.

AP - The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a $91 billion measure providing $72 billion in new funds for supporting U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and $19.1 billion in hurricane relief funds for the Gulf Coast. Highlights include:

AP - Much of the controversy has focused on 10 words: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

AP - Six months after Hurricane Katrina, President Bush got a close-up look Wednesday at the mountains of debris, the abandoned homes and the boarded-up businesses that are shocking reminders of the "pain and agony" New Orleans endures still.

AP - Much of the controversy has focused on 10 words: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

AP - CHALLENGES: President Bush made a 10th trip to the Gulf Coast since it was hit by Hurricane Katrina, focusing on problems in restoring New Orleans' levees, removing debris and getting displaced people into housing.

Denise Royal - All Headline News Staff Writer Reston, VA (AHN) - Sprint Nextel is making it easier for cell phone users in the Gulf Coast to reach out and touch someone. The company outlined the details of its participation in the Federal Communications Commission's Katrina Lifeline Program....

Reuters - It isn't the spring-break beach holiday most U.S. college students dream of, but with the shore still strewn with wreckage and homes in shambles from Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast is the destination of choice for thousands like Greg Hall.

AP - Down where this great American river meets the Gulf of Mexico, river pilots negotiate a new reality as they steer oceangoing oil tankers, cruise ships and gigantic cargo carriers toward the warehouses, docks and rail yards of New Orleans.

AFP - US President George W. Bush says he had no objections to a proposed pipeline to supply Iranian natural gas to India and Pakistan, signalling a change in Washington's position on the controversial project.

AP - Years ago, the sound of a boat sometimes spelled death for the heavily hunted sperm whale. Now, some of them have figured out, it means dinner.

Ayinde O. Chase - All Headline News Staff Writer Washington DC (AHN) - A newly released video show as Hurricane Katrina churned over the Gulf Coast, federal and state officials still were in a state of confusion about the threat to levees and lives. Even hours after the storm ravaged her state,...

AP - Years ago, the sound of a boat sometimes spelled death for the heavily hunted sperm whale. Now, some of them have figured out, it means dinner.

AP - Paul McCartney and his wife took to the frigid ice floes off the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday in a bid to halt Canada's annual slaughter of weeks-old seal pups.