Steve Shickles

AP - Hundreds of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein on Sunday as they tossed flowers onto his tomb one year after he was executed.

Reuters - A score of young Iraqi women in tight,
shimmering gowns shuffle across the nightclub dance floor under
the hungry eyes of Gulf Arabs at nearby tables.

AP - The second half of 2007 saw violence drop dramatically in Iraq, but the progress came at a high price: The year was the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion, with 899 troops killed.

AP - As of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007, at least 3,902 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,175 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.

AFP - A third pharmaceutical giant said Sunday it is being investigated by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over alleged breaches of the United Nations oil-for-food programme in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

AFP - Saddam Hussein loyalists gathered at the ousted dictator’s graveside on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of his execution, as former opponents expressed joy over the end of his rule.

AFP - Saddam Hussein loyalists gathered at the ousted dictator’s graveside on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of his execution, with security tight in the regions of Iraq where he drew his most fervent support.

AFP - Despite a drop in violence across Iraq, there is still no place in the country that is safe from attack by extremists, the US military warned on Sunday.

Reuters - Black graffiti lauding Saddam
Hussein appeared overnight in his home town and small groups of
mourners turned out at his grave on Sunday, the first
anniversary of the former Iraqi leader’s execution.

AFP - Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden warned Sunni Muslims in Iraq not to take up arms against the terror network and promised the “liberation of Palestine,” in a new online message.