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Increased Iraqi oil revenues stemming from high prices and improved security are piling up in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rather than being spent on needed reconstruction projects, a Washington Times study of Iraq's spending and revenue figures has shown. U.S. officials and outside analysts blame the collapse of the country's political and physical infrastructure for Baghdad's failure to spend the money on projects considered vital to restoring stability in the country. Out of $10 billion budgeted for capital projects in 2007, only 4.4 percent had been spent by August, according to official Iraqi figures reported this month...

The Saudi ambassador to London's allegedly colourful shopping habits have been revealed in an embarrassing expenses claim including guns, karaoke machines and "party night" girls, a report said Friday. The more than three-million-pound claim also includes expenses for top-of-the-range off-road cars, a thermal night-vision kit for his Hummer H2 and a 391-pound bill for a takeaway meal, The Guardian said. The bills were included in documents submitted to the High Court by a former employee of Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz, a nephew of King Abdullah, who is claiming he was not reimbursed for the expenses. His family's...

Anna Nicole Smith collapsed in her hotel room at the Hard Rock Cafe and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and was rushed to a hospital on Thursday. A Hollywood, Fla., fire department spokesman told MSNBC TV that the actress was unresponsive when the rescue unit arrived on the scene. Sources confirmed to Access Hollywood that Smith was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital shortly after 2 p.m. EST on Thursday. Access Hollywood also is reporting that Smith was intubated at the scene. Officials told the Miami Herald, "it does not look good."

Russia's Defense Minister Unveils Plans to Overhaul Military By Lisa McAdams Moscow 08 February 2007 Russia has unveiled plans to replace nearly half the army's hardware by 2015. Welcomed by some as a long-overdue necessity, others question whether the plan can really be carried out. VOA's Lisa McAdams in Moscow reports. Sergei Ivanov (file photo) Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told lawmakers Wednesday the government planned to spend nearly $200 billion on the military upgrade. He said it would allow Russia to maintain its nuclear deterrent, while developing its conventional forces. Ivanov told lawmakers the plan calls for the purchase of...

WASHINGTON - House Democrats in the first weeks of the new Congress plan to establish a dedicated fund to promote renewable energy and conservation, using money from oil companies. That's only one legislative hit the oil industry is expected to take next year as a Congress run by Democrats is likely to show little sympathy to the cash-rich, high-profile business. Whether the issue is rolling back tax breaks — some approved by Congress only 18 months ago — pushing for more use of ethanol and other biofuels instead of gasoline, or investigations into shortfalls in royalty payments to the government,...

He said US coalition forces were in effect fighting two wars against global jihadists - a war of attrition that had had some success in diminishing al-Qa'ida's ability to carry out spectacular attacks, and a war of words "that we are losing". "Today there is not one al-Qa'ida, there are many al-Qa'idas," Dr Hoffman told an international conference on terrorism organised by the Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Herzliya. The Islamist organisations "don't see the resolution of this struggle in their own lifetimes", he said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - In a city already synonymous with flashy developments, a new multi-billion-dollar project may set a new precedent for construction projects across the globe. The project, the Dubai Waterfront, is a conglomeration of canals and islands studded with luxury hotels and homes. Larger than the island of Manhattan, the development will reconfigure the map of this tiny desert emirate by adding 500 miles of man-made waterfront, according to Nakheel, the government-held developer. The Dubai Waterfront is expected to house 400,000 people and transform the last stretch of Dubai's undeveloped Gulf seashore. In a twist unique for...

United Nations-mandated auditors have sharply criticised the US occupation authority for the way it has spent more than $11bn in Iraqi oil revenues and say they have faced "resistance" from coalition officials. In an interim report, obtained by the Financial Times, KPMG says the Development Fund for Iraq, which is managed by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority and channels oil revenue into reconstruction projects, is "open to fraudulent acts". The auditors criticise the CPA's bookkeeping and warn: "The CPA does not have effective controls over the ministries' spending of their individually allocated budgets, whether the funds are direct from the...

ISLAM IN AMERICA, PART 2 How U.S. extremists fund terror Money trail linked to Muslim conference circuit leads to Mideast Posted: January 5, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part WND report by Sherrie Gossett, who went inside a recent "mainstream" Muslim conference in Florida to expose the true attitudes and ideas of the leaders of the movement in the U.S. Gossett attended portions of the conference after all other media representatives had packed up and left the event. In Part 1, Gossett analyzed the words and backgrounds of some of the keynote speakers...

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN Radical Islam's 'plan' to take over America Arab-American author outlines secret 20-year strategy to undermine country Posted: August 4, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com – a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the last 25 years. © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com A refugee from the Muslim Middle East thinks he has discovered Islam's 20-point plan for conquering the United States by 2020 – a plan revealed in the latest issue of Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. Anis...

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein deposited $1 billion before the U.S.- led war against his country according to Lebanese opposition sources. The source based in the United States said Lebanese President Emile Lahoud facilitated a bank transfer by Saddam of $1 billion to the Beirut based Al Marawred Bank.The bank is owned by Marwan Kheireddine and the transfer was arranged by Lahoud's son, who is named Emile.The United States Committee for a Free Lebanon quoted what it termed reliable Lebanese sources on Thursday that the Lahouds arranged a deal for the trading of Iraqi oil.The committee cites this as a reason...