AFP - Iraq faces a dire humanitarian crisis as huge numbers of displaced Iraqis struggle to survive in squalid camps and Washington has a "special responsibility" to help the war-torn country, a report said Wednesday.

AP - The man who has led Iraq for the past four years is battling for his political survival just as U.S. troops are getting ready to pack up and go home.

AFP - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and main rival Iyad Allawi were locked in a tight election battle on Wednesday, with updated results showing their blocs neck-and-neck in the race for seats in Iraq's parliament.

Reuters - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki reclaimed the lead on Wednesday over secularist challenger Iyad Allawi in results from a March 7 parliamentary election that has been dogged by fraud allegations.

AFP - Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog has charged 356 people with stealing a total 40 million dollars in public funds, it said on Wednesday.

AFP - A Christian shopkeeper was gunned down on Wednesday in the main northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where eight members of the minority were killed in 10 days last month, a police officer said.

AFP - An ally of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday alleged widespread fraud in Iraq's parliamentary elections and demanded a nationwide recount.

The Christian Science Monitor - Iraqâ??s embattled election commission announced Tuesday that 79 percent of the votes from parliamentary elections have been counted, a breakthrough for a process so slow that itâ??s raised suspicions of fraud. The close race got even closer as secular rival, Iyad Allawi, edged nearer to Prime Minister Nouri al Malikiâ??s coalition.

AFP - The US military may set up an additional headquarters in northern Iraq even after Washington scales back its forces by a September deadline, a top US general said on Tuesday.

AP - The U.S. military says an American soldier has died in a vehicle accident in Iraq.

Reuters - The United States may leave a stronger-than-expected force structure in northern Iraq if the situation requires, even as it reduces troops to targeted levels, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Eight people died in two bombings five minutes apart on the main street of an Iraqi town south of Baghdad on Tuesday, nine days after an election Iraqis hoped would bring more stability and less sectarian conflict.

AFP - The nominee for US ambassador to Damascus hinted Tuesday at a chance to drive a wedge between Syria and ally Iran, telling US lawmakers the two regional powers have different goals in Iraq.

AFP - The nominee for US ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, said Tuesday Syria "could and should do" more to stop foreign fighters crossing the border into Iraq.

AFP - The world's biggest steel maker ArcelorMittal said Tuesday it plans to build a 130-million-dollar steel plant in Kurdish northern Iraq in partnership with the Turkish company Dayen.