Iraq

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Dozens of US military personnel have filed 34 lawsuits against KBR accusing the defense contractor of incinerating and releasing into the atmosphere toxic waste in Iraq and Afghanistan. Full Story »

Former top executives at Blackwater Worldwide say the U.S. security contractor sent about $1 million to its Iraq office with the intention of paying off officials in the country who were angry about the fatal shootings of 17 civilians by Blackwater employees, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - A British newspaper has been ordered to pay Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki financial compensation for describing him as increasingly autocratic in an article, the paper said Wednesday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Executives at US security firm Blackwater approved secret payments of about one million dollars to Iraqi officials to "silence their criticism" after company guards killed 17 civilians in Baghdad in 2007, the New York Times has said. Full Story »

As of Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at least 4,362 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Blackwater executives authorized about $1 million in payments to Iraqi officials to buy support and silence criticism of the private security firm after a deadly shooting in Baghdad in 2007, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. Full Story »

BAGHDAD - The ongoing dispute between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish authorities in the country's north threatens to create a "human rights catastrophe" for minority communities in the region, a leading rights watchdog warned in a report Tuesday. Full Story »

DETROIT - The federal government has agreed to pay $218,500 to settle a lawsuit over the fatal drug overdose of a young Michigan veteran who served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq. Full Story »

BAGHDAD — Obama administration officials breathed a collective sigh of relief Sunday when Iraq's parliament, after weeks of delays, approved a law to hold national elections in January, very likely permitting a major post-election withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Babylon, Sinbad, the Garden of Eden -- war-scarred Iraq touted its attractions for tourists Tuesday, as it sent a delegation to a major industry fair for the first time in a decade. Full Story »

BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister on Tuesday denied reports he will form an alliance with the nation's leading Shiite parties ahead of national polls in January. Full Story »

BRUSSELS (AFP) - An oil dispute between Iraqi Kurdistan and the central government in Baghdad is unlikely to be resolved by the elections on January 21, 2010, the autonomous region's leader said Tuesday. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq has arrested 73 people suspected of playing a direct role in two massive bombs that killed more than 150 people in Baghdad on October 25, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has severely criticised Saudi Arabia for its negative stance towards Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Minorities, including Christians, in northern Iraq are the collateral victims of a conflict between Arabs and Kurds over who controls the country's disputed provinces, Human Rights Watch warned Tuesday. Full Story »

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurdish-Arab tensions in the disputed Nineveh province may create a human rights catastrophe for minority groups that have faced rising attacks since the 2003 U.S. invasion, a rights group said on Tuesday. Full Story »

Army Spc. Paul E. Andersen Full Story »

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's general election will be held on January 21, the country's electoral chief told AFP on Monday, a vote seen as crucial to consolidating its fledgling democracy and ensuring a smooth US military exit. Full Story »