Meanwhile in Iraq

Survey indicates Iraqis in despair: More than 90 per cent of Iraqis believe the country is worse off now than before the war in 2003, according to new research obtained by Al Jazeera.

U.S. Weighed Sunni Offer to "Clean Up" Militias: WASHINGTON (IPS) - U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad negotiated with Sunni armed groups for several weeks earlier this year on an agreement that would have supported Sunni forces in attacking pro-Iranian Shiite militias, according to accounts given by commanders of armed Sunni resistance organisations.

"I lost my only two sons in the explosion": A man driving a pick-up truck pulled up alongside a large group of Shi'ite day workers, calling them to him. He then detonated his explosives packed truck. At least 70 people were killed in the attack. Kawkab Barakat, 62, lost her two sons in the explosion. Needing sedatives to stay calm, she speaks about her tragic loss: "I lost my only two sons in the explosion. I cannot control the pain. Now I understand what every Iraqi mother who lost their sons feels. They were trying to work to bring food and pay our rent, which is three months late."

Iraq's border refugees reject new proposals: AMMAN - Iranian Kurds stuck on the Iraq-Jordan border for nearly two years say they will not leave their make-shift camp until they are resettled to a third country. Some 200 Iranian Kurdish refugees living in deteriorating conditions categorically rejected recent proposals by US-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) to resolve their problem.

Health officials in Iraq ordered to deport HIV-positive foreigners: ARBIL - Health officials in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region have said they lack anti-retroviral drugs and the necessary equipment for testing for the HIV virus and that they have been instructed by health authorities in Baghdad to deport foreigners who have been found HIV-positive.

Top US military calls for more support of Iraqi army: report : The chiefs do not support sending large numbers of more troops to Iraq and believe that bolstering the Iraqi army is key in obtaining stability in the war-torn country, the Post reported.
Bush to seek $100 bln more war funds-US House report: Such a large request would mark a rapid escalation in the cost of the Iraq war at a time when public support is plummeting and Bush is looking for new answers to stem violence that threatens to spin out of control.

McCain Calls For More U.S. Troops In Iraq: Sen. John McCain said today that America should deploy 15,000 to 30,000 more troops to Iraq.

Iraq: More than 40 killed in continuing violence in Iraq: Police found the bodies of 15 men, shot and tortured, near an irrigation canal in Khallisa village, 35 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said

A Way Forward, a Look Back: The abrupt resignation of the Saudi ambassador to the United States and the postponement of George W. Bush's new Iraq policy speech mark a troubling new chapter for a U.S. strategy for the Middle East that continues to spiral toward catastrophe.

Abduction of Women on the Rise in Iraq: Thousands of Iraqi women have been executed, assaulted, or kidnapped and released only after their families paid considerable ransom money. The Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq has estimated from anecdotal evidence that over 2,000 Iraqi women have gone missing in the period from the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 until spring 2006.

Appalling conditions of women prisoners disputed: According to the Iraqi Minister of Women's Affairs and local NGOs, female prisoners in Iraq are held in appalling conditions, often without charge, and are sometimes raped and tortured.