BAGHDAD, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government's hardball tactics with oil majors demanding a bigger slice of the profits from taking over the country's rundown oil fields are paying off.

UPI Almanac for Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009.

BAGHDAD, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The ability of Iraqi insurgents to repeatedly carry out murderous suicide bombings in the heart of Baghdad marks a critical intelligence failure for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's security services.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The debate over what to do next in Afghanistan has been politically polarized between those who attack the Obama administration for "dithering" and supporters who believe the president needs ample time to be a "decider." Unfortunately, this is a wrong and false debate.

BAGHDAD, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Iraqi officials say they are considering the country's first public execution since the fall of former President Saddam Hussein, who regularly staged them.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The president of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region has demanded the disputed, ethnically divided city of Kirkuk, which dominates the northern oilfields, be put under his control.

ERBIL, Iraq, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Kurdish Prime Minister Barham Saleh pledged to maintain regional stability while working with Turkish and Iraqi leaders to resolve outstanding issues.

KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A national election law for Iraq is stalled on the issue of voting procedures in Kirkuk, a contested area claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, authorities say.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Nine Iraqis deported by Britain to their homeland say the Home Office has sent them to their deaths.