AFP - A Briton held hostage in Iraq for more than two-and-a-half years has revealed harrowing details of the torture meted out to him by his captors.

AFP - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was locked in a tight contest with rival Iyad Allawi to keep his job, as results from Iraq's elections were set to flow in on Friday.

AP - First results from Iraq's parliamentary election showed the prime minister and his secular rival locked in an extremely tight contest Thursday amid fraud allegations by rival parties and a chaotic, unpredictable vote count.