The bombings, shootings and fighting across Iraq in nearly five years of war have left more than 85,000 Iraqis dead, a government ministry said in a report. The Iraqi Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from 2004 to October 31, 2008, in the violence across the country. There were 147,195 people wounded during the same period. The figures include civilians and Iraqi security forces but not insurgents and militias. The review is considered the first official report ...

They say that breaking up is hard to do, especially when millions of eyes are there to witness every caustic comment and verbal volley. No one knows that better than Jon and Kate Gosselin, whose divorce is playing out on a world stage, complete with tabloid covers, he-said-she-said television appearances and court orders. Such public spats can do a great deal of harm, said divorce attorney Randall M. Kessler, who's handled several celebrity cases. "I just gave a presentation where ...

The first images are emerging of an adult Jaycee Dugard, the woman who was kidnapped when she was 11 and allegedly held captive for 18 years by a couple in an elaborate compound hidden in the backyard. Dugard is featured on the cover of the new issue of People magazine, smiling brightly in the photo, her face framed by long brown hair. "I'm so happy to be back with my family," Dugard told the magazine. She lives ...

Switzerland's largest city has permitted the use of controversial posters which call for a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques in the European country. The posters are part of a campaign by the nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP) and feature a veiled woman against a background of a Swiss flag pierced by several minarets resembling missiles. The cities of Basel and Lausanne have described the posters as racist and banned them in publicly-owned spaces. However, Zurich is among ...

President Obama urged the International Olympic Committee on Friday to pick his hometown of Chicago as the host of the 2016 Games, saying the city represents the American dream as well as the Olympic spirit. Obama's address to the 106 IOC members gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, was the highlight of the Chicago bid committee's final presentation before the vote to choose the host city. "Chicago is a place where we strive to celebrate what makes us different, just as we ...

Michael Jackson was one of the most famous people in the world. Yet for all his global notoriety, the man himself was shrouded in mystery. Now some of that mystery has been peeled away. Jackson recorded about 30 hours of deeply personal thoughts with his friend and spiritual adviser, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, between August 2000 and April 2001. The results are the basis of a new book, "The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation." ...

Honduras is accusing Brazil's government of instigating an insurrection within its borders, and gave the Brazilian Embassy 10 days to decide the status of ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya, who has taken refuge there. "Since the clandestine arrival to Honduras by ex-president Zelaya, the Brazil embassy has been used to instigate violence and insurrection against the Honduran people and the constitutional government," the secretary of foreign affairs for Honduras' de facto government said in a statement late Saturday night. ...

Kate Winslet has one more reason to call 2009 a great year. Not only did "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road" actress dominate this year's awards circuit, she looked great doing it, earning the title of "best red carpet" on People magazine's 10 Best Dressed List. People's annual list was revealed Wednesday, giving kudos to the ladies who know how to take the best of fashion and consistently spin it to fit their style. (The magazine is part of Time ...

In the developing world millions of people struggle to operate machinery, read from a blackboard, or just see the world around them, because they don't have access to the eye glasses they need. But a pair of glasses developed by Joshua Silver, a physics professor at the University of Oxford, offers an affordable solution. The glasses can be adjusted to the right strength by the wearer, without the need for them to visit an optometrist. A major reason for ...

Who got fat, who got hot, and is that old crush of mine still single? Whatever happened to that weird kid with the hair? Wait, am I the one who got fat? Such are the essential questions at the core of every high school and college reunion. For decades, the routine has remained the same: a bunch of old classmates get together and catch up, settle grievances and swap glory-days stories. Yet the ability to locate former classmates ...