An official with the Army Corps of Engineers overseeing fuel contracts in Iraq is defending Halliburton’s pricing of fuel in Iraq. This comes a month after a Pentagon audit determined the oil service company had overcharged the government $60 million. The official said yesterday Halliburton has “continued to negotiate the best price possible.” In other Iraq reconstruction news, Bechtel was awarded a $1.8 billion contract to repair Iraq’s infrastructure including the country’s electricity grid, roads and ports.

8 Children Among 17 Killed in Afghan Blast
In Afghanistan, the death toll has risen to 17 people in Tuesday’s double bombing in Kandahar. Eight of the dead were children. Dozens were also injured in the blast. The bombing came one day after the country adopted a new Constitution. Kandahar’s governor blamed the Taliban for the explosion.