Washington - Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, a NATO official and former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, was nominated to be the United States' next ambassador to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
Eikenberry is currently deputy chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's military committee. A career military veteran, he served as the commander of the Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan for 18 months before moving to NATO's Brussels headquarters in 2007.
Baghdad - Iraq's Criminal Court Wednesday sentenced two half-brothers of former President Saddam Hussein to death for the execution of 42 merchants in 1992, and also jailed close Saddam advisor Tariq Aziz for his role in the executions.
The court sentenced Aziz and also Ali Hassan al-Majid - or "Chemical Ali" - to 15 years imprisonment each for their role in executing the 42 accused of breaking state price controls when Iraq was under UN sanctions imposed after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Baghdad - Iranian artillery fire Tuesday night killed a two- year-old child and injured his parents in a northern Iraqi village near the Iranian border, Iraqi radio reported Wednesday.
Iranian forces fired artillery rounds for two hours into the village near Zarawa, a police official told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency. Zarawa is more than 500 kilometres north of Baghdad.
The child's mother is in a stable condition, but the father's health is critical, the official added.
Washington - For years the Pentagon believed Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher was killed when he his plan was shot down by the Iraqis during the 1991 Gulf War, but his case remains a mystery.
His body was never found. The Pentagon concluded in 2001 after a review that he was missing in action, and following additional inquiries the Pentagon said Tuesday it still believes that to be the case, even though the intelligence community says he's dead.
Tehran - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to attend the 10th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) as guest and observer.
Iran, Pakistan and Turkey founded the ECO in 1985. Later Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan joined the group.
Talabani was in Tehran three weeks ago and discussed with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expansion of bilateral ties.
Washington - Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, a NATO official and former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, was nominated to be the United States' next ambassador to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
Baghdad - Iraq's Criminal Court Wednesday sentenced two half-brothers of former President Saddam Hussein to death for the execution of 42 merchants in 1992, and also jailed close Saddam advisor Tariq Aziz for his role in the executions.
Baghdad - A roadside
Baghdad - Iranian artillery fire Tuesday night killed a two- year-old child and injured his parents in a northern Iraqi village near the Iranian border, Iraqi radio reported Wednesday.
Washington - For years the Pentagon believed Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher was killed when he his plan was shot down by the Iraqis during the 1991 Gulf War, but his case remains a mystery.
Tehran - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to attend the 10th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) as guest and observer.
