BAGHDAD: Iraqi politicians have been turning up their rhetoric over Kirkuk, the oil-rich city that both Kurds in the north and Arabs in the south want to control.

BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki attacked lawmakers on Tuesday for summoning the oil minister to discuss his distribution of the nation's oil wealth, saying this sent the wrong message to those wanting to invest in Iraq.

WASHINGTON: The US Army's primary support contractor in Iraq is being warned by Pentagon auditors to cut its work force there or face nearly $200 million in penalties for keeping thousands too many on the payroll.

BAGHDAD: Iran and Turkey led commercial interest at Baghdad's first international trade fair in more than six years, at which the presence of 400 foreign firms showed the drop in violence has roused investors' interest.

HAIKOU: China should accelerate its paces to diversify investment channels of the colossal foreign reserves, instead of mainly buying US Treasury bonds, said a senior political advisor.

US official visits Suu Kyi

US base in troubled waters

Police battle protesters

H1N1 cases spike

Arms cargo ship seized

LONDON: An Afghan policeman has shot dead five British soldiers at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, the defence ministry in London said yesterday.

TEHERAN: Tens of thousands of Iranians held demonstrations yesterday across the country to mark the 30th anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Teheran by Iranian students.

TEHERAN: An earthquake struck a key port city in southern Iran early yesterday, injuring at least 700 people and cutting power and telephone lines, the state news agency reported.

Clinton raps settlements

GOP wins governorships

Border agreement reached

MOGADISHU: Somali courtship was different in Hassan Aden's day. When he was a teenager, you gave the girl's parents 11 camels and an AK-47 assault rifle as bride price and then waited respectfully.

NAIROBI, Kenya: Sacdiyo Sheeq used to love listening to Bollywood movie songs on her mobile telephone.

SANTIAGO: Astronomers in Chile and Japan have for the first time seen part of the "cosmic web" of galaxies that permeates the known universe in a gigantic assembly some seven billion light-years from Earth.

SYDNEY: In the world of fiddler crabs, the best form of protection is, apparently, prostitution, according to an Australian study published yesterday.

LONDON: Men have become so openly affectionate with each other using mobile technology that they've taken to signing off text messages to male friends with a kiss (x), giving rise to a new generation dubbed "Metrotextuals".

SYDNEY: Drinking untreated rainwater is safe for your health, according to an Australian study.

Martin, Baldwin to host Oscars