Eye Catching New

Just a few items that caught my eye as I looked around the different news sources.

Iraq Casualties Continue Decline in First Half of October
The U.S. casualty count in Iraq continued to decline in the first half of October, according to Department of Defense reports. Through the afternoon of October 15, the Defense Department reported that 15 U.S. military personal had been killed in Iraq since October 1. Thirteen of these were combat-related, while the other two were not. The most recent Defense-Department-reported death occurred on Oct. 12.

Problems remain ahead of EU treaty summit
15.10.2007 - 17:44 CET By Renata GoldirovaEUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – With only three days until EU leaders meet in Lisbon to adopt a new EU treaty, a number of issues are continuing to cloud the horizon.
EU foreign ministers at their final pre-summit talks in Luxembourg on Monday (15 October) left the contentious issues to the 27 heads of states and governments to work out a deal at the end of this week (18-19 October).

US Builds Bunker of an Embassy in Iraq
The United States is building a fortress in Baghdad's Green Zone to serve as its embassy. But the giant project may turn into a disaster as questions are raised about how the construction is being run -- and whether a self-contained bunker is the best approach to diplomacy.

OPEC raises forecast for oil demand
FRANKFURT: The price of a barrel of oil crashed through $85 on Monday for the first time as leading oil exporters said it was increasingly likely that the United States would dodge a recession - ensuring that U.S. demand would help keep the cost of crude high.