While expectations are not high for the talks, the fact that they are being held in the Iraqi capital at all can be seen as a sign of progress for Iraq, the BBC's Wyre Davies says.
These elections are being seen as a key test of the commitment to political reform of the new government - which is led by a civilian but backed by the military
The meeting is preparing for a summit of Nato heads of state being held in Chicago next month, where a final commitment on funding Afghan security is expected to be announced
A man has drowned after being attacked by a swan, which knocked him out of his kayak and stopped him swimming to shore. So how dangerous are these graceful white birds
On Saturday morning, the married father of two set out in a kayak across a pond at a residential complex in Des Plaines, just outside Chicago, where he was tending the birds.
The birds are one of the largest waterfowl in North America and Europe, weighing up to 13kg (28lbs) and with a wing span of up to 2.4m (7.9ft). They are among the heaviest flying birds in the UK.
They have a reputation for being a bit aggressive, but it's only that it's a matter of size, I guess. Presumably a duck wouldn't attack you because you look a bit big."
Poland has the fastest-growing economy in the European Union and the power that drives it comes from the dirtiest of fossil fuels, coal. How can the country cut its dependence on this polluting source of energy?
It is Europe's largest thermal power plant and its biggest polluter, emitting the equivalent of close to 39 million tonnes of CO2 last year, a rise of 31% from 2010 thanks to the commissioning of a new unit in September
It burns lignite, also known as brown coal, the cheapest fossil fuel, which produces energy at half the cost of hard coal and a quarter the cost of natural gas.
The open cast mines that fuel the plant are so large they could accommodate small towns. The bucket wheel excavators that dig out the lignite are the height of 30-storey tower blocks
