Iraq

(AFP) "A suicide car bomb exploded across the street from a children's hospital in the Iraqi city of Hilla on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 69, police and medical officials said..... hours before the US ambassador to Iraq and his Iranian counterpart met."

(FT) "Despite pressure from Washington and Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, Iraq’s parliament appeared poised on Sunday to adjourn for the month of August, with debate on critical laws including draft oil legislation delayed until September." (Might I recommend getting out of the country for awhile?)

(AP) The US and Iraqis are blockading Husseiniyah, a Mahdi town just NE of Baghdad.

The Shiite-dominated parliament has said al-Maliki should intervene to end the crackdown.... The town is dominated by the Mahdi Army.... and straddles the highway to Baqouba, where U.S. forces are in the second month of a drive to cleanse that region of al-Qaida in Iraq.....

Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, spokesman for U.S. forces north of Baghdad, said American and Iraqi forces were now allowing "commercial vendors to bring food to the south of Husseiniyah. Civilians are authorized to walk to these vendors to buy food. Donkey carts may be used, but no vehicle movement is authorized. We are also allowing civilians that need medical aid, to walk to the Hamid Shaub Hospital for free treatment.

(Independent) With the Turkish elections over and more Kurds in the ruling coalition, expectations are that the Turks will lessen the pressure on the Iraqi border.

Iraqslogger has a map of the bodies found in Baghdad over the last month. Unsurprisingly, they're mostly in the Sunni border neighborhoods.

And, McClatchy has a very interesting read on the aftermath of one of yesterday's carbombings. US, civilians, medical, fire, Iraqi Police, Iraqi Army, Mahdi, and Badr were all on the scene, all working against each other.