New York  - The UN mission in Iraq said Thursday it stands ready to help Baghdad's parliament complete a set of electoral laws after it failed to reach an agreement before adjourning for the summer.

Iraqi legislators and political parties did not agree on Wednesday on the law, which may affect the holding of provincial elections in October. The electoral law was aimed at consolidating gains in establishing stronger security through the electoral process.

New York  - Automakers Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Co are in talks to significantly expand cooperation and jointly produce a mid-size car, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

According to people familiar with the talks, Japan's Nissan would build a mid-size sedan that US firm Chrysler would sell and market under its own name in the United States.

New York  - The United Nations urged the Sudanese government Thursday to review the death sentences of 30 African rebels in Darfur because the decisions may have failed to meet international standards.

Sudan's counter-terrorism court ruled that the rebels took part in the failed attacks against Khartoum in May and sentenced them to death. But the UN special envoy for Sudan Ashraf Qazi raised concerns that the rebels did not receive a fair trial.

New York  - Sprint Nextel, the third-largest US mobile phone company, on Wednesday reported losses in the second quarter as its number of customers continued to decline.

Quarterly losses were 344 million dollars, or 12 cents per share, after earnings of 19 million dollars, or 1 cent per share, in the year-earlier period, the Overland Park, Kansas-based firm said.

Revenue fell 11 per cent to 9.1 billion dollars.

New York  - New York next month will launch a citywide campaign to fight groping and sexual harassment in its crowded subway system, which has gone largely unreported and unpunished, news reports said Wednesday.

The city's transit system plans to distribute some 2,000 posters in September in the vast subway network that carry millions of commuters each day. New York City has a population of 8 million, but rush hour bring millions more people from suburbs in Connecticut and New Jersey to their offices in Manhattan.

New York  - US consumer pharma