The number of civilians killed in Iraq fell sharply in June to the lowest monthly total since a US-backed security clampdown was launched in February, Iraqi government figures showed on Sunday.

US military officials have admitted civilians were among those killed in a US-led air raid on a village in Afghanistan.

KABUL (AFP) – In a small room that looks like a prison cell, files stand in waist-high piles on the floor. An official explains there is no fixed price for a bribe to pick one out and send it moving through the courts.