In brief: Biden arrives in Iraq for talks

Baghdad – Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq early today for talks with the new government’s leaders about the future of American troops in the country as they prepare to leave at year’s end.

Biden’s unannounced trip marks the first visit by a top U.S. official since Iraq approved a new Cabinet last month, breaking a political deadlock and jump-starting its stalled government after inconclusive elections last March.

Iraqi officials said they expected the issue of whether to keep some U.S. forces in Iraq beyond the Dec. 31 deadline would dominate Biden’s talks with President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Kurdish President Massoud Barzani.

Drug killings reach 34,612

Mexico City – A total of 34,612 people have died in drug-related killings in Mexico in the four years since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared an offensive against drug cartels, officials said Wednesday.

The killings reached their highest level in 2010, jumping by almost 60 percent to 15,273 deaths from 9,616 the previous year.

The rate of killings grew in the first half of 2010, but then stabilized and began to decline in the last quarter of the year, federal security spokesman Alejandro Poire said.

Calderon said Wednesday that 2010 “has been a year of extreme violence.”

“We are aware that we are going through a very difficult time on security issues,” he said at a meeting with anti-crime groups during which the government presented a new data system to track drug-related crimes.