The Paris club of creditors is reported near agreement on a deal to waive billions of dollars in Iraqi debt owed member nations.
The United States, Germany, France and 16 other industrialized nations agreed early Sunday to write off up to $33 billion. Officials say only Russia has not signed off on the deal. Russian negotiators in Paris are reported awaiting Moscow's final approval of the agreement.
In other developments, the Iraqi government says its first democratic national elections in decades will take place January 30.
An Iraqi elections spokesman, Farid Ayar, says ballots for a new national assembly, provincial councils and a Kurdish regional parliament will be cast nationwide, including areas now gripped by insurgency. He did not say why the polls were moved from the earlier date of January 27.
There were no U.S. reports of major combat operations today.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
