Meanwhile in Iraq

More than 80 killed in Iraq: Police said they found 44 bodies in different parts of Baghdad, all apparent victims of sectarian violence.

Another 51 killed in Baghdad blasts: A resident spoke of three huge blasts going off in the space of two or three minutes, sending black smoke billowing through the narrow lanes and leaving a scene of carnage and devastation.


US Iraq raid kills child and women: Residents in the village of al-Lihaib near the town of Garma, said 24 people had been killed and some buildings levelled in the assault.

Death squads roam Baghdad's hospitals: “I’m an Iraqi doctor, working in one of the biggest hospitals in Iraq and I want you to read this carefully because the suffering and the lives of many poor people have become the cheapest things that you can buy in my country.”

Annan: Iraq in civil war, worse than under Saddam: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Iraq was in the grips of a civil war and many people were worse off now than under Saddam Hussein, according to an interview to be broadcast on Monday.

Iraq government to police press: The Ministry further threatened to sue journalists who do not modify stories that the ministry deems inaccurate upon receiving a demand to do so.

Rumsfeld pre-resignation memo urged Iraq shift: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the White House before he resigned last month the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq was not working and he proposed changes, including possible troop reductions, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Rumsfeld’s Memo of Options for Iraq War: Following is the text of a classified Nov. 6 memorandum that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent to the White House suggesting new options in Iraq. The memorandum was sent one day before the midterm Congressional elections and two days before Mr. Rumsfeld resigned.

Iraq: Corruption: the 'second insurgency' costing $4bn a year: The Iraqi government is in danger of being brought down by the wholesale smuggling of the nation's oil and other forms of corruption that together represent a "second insurgency."

Ahmadinejad wants US out of Iraq: Ahmadinejad said that Iraqis should govern themselves without any interference and blamed the US for stirring up divisions between Iraq's Shia, Sunnis and Kurds.

Saudis and Iran prepare to do battle over corpse of Iraq: The gulf's two military powers, Sunni-Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, are lining up behind their warring religious brethren in Iraq in a potentially explosive showdown, as expectations grow in both countries that America is preparing a pull-out of its troops.

Baghdad triple car bomb kills more than 50: The massive blasts ripped through the crowded commercial district as many Iraqis hurried home before nightfall, killing 51 people and wounding another 90, security officials said. Many of the dead were women. Together with corpses found around the city, the toll for Saturday was a staggering 110 killed.


Bush, Hakim to discuss Iran influence on Baghdad militias: Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim is to make an unprecedented call on US President George W. Bush amid reports Washington is to adjust its strategy in Iraq to counter mounting Iranian influence.

Iraq takes over army division from US: Iraq's government on Friday took command over another army division in the north, a US general announced, in an apparent demonstration of the US's commitment to accelerate the handover of military control to Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister.

Triple trouble: The incriminating memorandum was published in The New York Times on Wednesday morning. U.S. President George W. Bush's national security advisor, Stephen Hadley - so the report went - said he doubts whether Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki can control the sectarian violence in his country. A few hours later, Bush was scheduled to meet with Al-Maliki in Jordan. The Iraqi prime minister was insulted, and canceled the planned dinner with Bush and Jordan's King Abdullah.

Arab foreign ministers urge Rice to act on Mideast woes: "Of course, we realize that many of you have strong and passionate opinions about U.S. policy with regards to Iraq and Lebanon and the Palestinian territories," Rice said in prepared remarks for the meeting. "At the same time we all agree on the importance of reform and the need to move forward actively with a robust reform agenda."


Bush reaches out to Iraqi Shiite, Sunni leaders: US President George W. Bush has scheduled talks with key Shiite and Sunni leaders of Iraq, the White House said, ahead of a potentially pivotal week for US strategy in the battered nation.

At least 32 killed in another day of U.S. occupation: U.S. ground and air forces killed 14 "insurgents" and wounded two after they attacked their convoy with machinegun fire in southwest of Samarra.

Expert says Saddam's troops shot babies in mothers' arms: Of 301 corpses in the graves, 183 were Kurdish children killed during Saddam's Anfal campaign in 1988, said Trimble, who is the head of the mass graves investigation unit at the Iraqi High Tribunal.

Iraqi data shows 44% leap in civilian deaths in Nov: The number of Iraqi civilians killed in violence appears to have leapt by more than 40 percent in November from a record level the previous month, data from Interior Ministry officials showed on Friday.

Iraq $100 billion spending bill to test Democrats: The Bush administration is hammering out its largest-ever appeal for more Iraq war funds - a record $100 billion, at least, and that figure reflects cuts from wish lists originally circulating around the Pentagon.

US Air Force seeks $33.4 bln in extra 2007 funds: The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday said it asked Pentagon officials for $33.4 billion in extra funding for fiscal 2007 to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and costs related to the "longer war on terror."

Report: U.S. military equipment worth billions wearing out in Iraq, Afghanistan: About 2 billion U.S. dollars' worth of U.S. Army and Marine Corps equipment, from rifles to tanks, is wearing out or being destroyed every month in Iraq and Afghanistan