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Last update: November 5, 2009 - 7:08 PM

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is defending his government's military commitment to Afghanistan in a major speech today, saying the war is essential to his country's security, according to excerpts released in advance. The speech comes after the deaths of seven British soldiers in the past week, including five who were shot by an Afghan police officer they were training.

The Iraqi parliament failed again to approve a law to regulate a national election in January, deepening doubts about whether the vote can be held on schedule. Legislators will make another attempt on Saturday. U.S. military officials have said a postponement of the Jan. 16 parliamentary election could delay the withdrawal of American troops out of fear for Iraq's political stability.

Two U.S. soldiers died in Iraq on Wednesday -- one in combat and one of noncombat-related injuries, the military said. That brings the toll for U.S. military personnel in the war to 4,359, according to an Associated Press count.

The Iraqi government signed a deal with a consortium led by U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil Corp. to develop a major oil field in southern Iraq, marking the first entry by an American-dominated group into Iraq's oil industry since it was nationalized in 1972.

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