On Thursday, the U.S. military shot dead a 12-year-old Iraqi boy suspected of throwing a grenade at them, the military reported Saturday. However, Iraqi police, speaking with Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the boy, named Omar Moussa Salih, had not been involved in the grenade-throwing incident.

Fresh off his town hall meeting in Turkey on Monday, U.S President Barack Obama made a surprise stop in Baghdad on Tuesday.

A small group of adventure travelers chose Iraq as their next tourist destination. A group of eight people, including two Americans traveled Iraq as the country hopes to get back to normalcy by attracting tourists from around the world.

Muntadar al-Zaidi, 30, who has been in custody in Iraq since hurling his shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush during a mid-December press conference, has been found guilty and sentenced to 18 months per shoe.

In a speech at the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., President Barack Obama outlined his plans for troop withdrawal from Iraq, as well as (and this drew the most applause) new perks for the military, including a pay raise.

President Barack Obama, in an NBC interview aired prior to tjhe Super Bowl, said that a substantial number of the 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq will be able to return home by next year.

Blackwater Worldwide, the oft-criticized security contractor that some have labeled mercenaries, will no longer be allowed to work in the Iraq, according to Iraqi officials.

Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve has reported that Muntadar al-Zaidi, the so-called "Bush Shoe Thrower" who has been in custody in Iraq after hurling shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush during a mid-December press conference, has asked for asylum in Switzerland.

The Arizona Cardinals won the first playoff game of the 2008 NFL playoff schedule, 30-24 over the Atlanta Falcons. Prominently displayed at the stadium were references to former Cardinal player Pat Tillman. The question arose, via an impromptu remark by analyst Cris Collinsworth: should Pat Tillman be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Foreign Minister of IraqHoshyar Zebari "We Support any Effort Agreed by Arab States Concerning the Israeli Bombing"

Sales of a particular brand of shoe, the Ducati Model 271, have risen since the now world-famous shoe-throwing incident, in which reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi, 29, of Al-Baghdadia television, gave U.S. President George W. Bush the ultimate insult in the Arab culture: a close look at the soles of two of his shoes.

Iraqi authorities say security forces have arrested at least 35 interior ministry officials accused of working to restore Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.