During the past two years, it has at times been difficult to track up-to-date numbers on non-Iraqi soldier fatalities from major media sites. And the Pentagon -- which doesn't announce running totals in its daily press releases -- hasn't helped. Enter the folks at Obleek.com who, using maps from GlobalSecurity.Org and data provided from Icasualties.org, which has monitored all of the official information and news reports, have created an animated graphic that tracks the deaths of US, British and other coalition soldiers  across time and space in Iraq. The animation shows the attacks by date, where they occurred and the nationalities that were affected. The site says it cannot guarantee 100 percent accuracy, but it does provide an on-the-mark portrayal of where and when the most significant insurgent attacks have taken place.

Can You (Blank) What Word Comes Next in this Headline

So you spend a fair amount of time cruising the BBC, Reuters, and, of course, SPIEGEL ONLINE. Just how well do you know what's going on in the world -- well enough to be able to guess what word is coming next in today's biggest news stories? It's a game that's tough to explain, simple to play and hard to win: check out Prognosticate.com  to try your hand.

Time for Tsunami Donors to Cough Up

After hundreds of thousands of people were killed and around five million made homeless in the tsunami of December 26, $5.32 billion was promised in aid by the top 10 governments or multinational organizations. But according to Reuters Tsunami Aidwatch  only $3.46 billion of that has so far been distributed or at least earmarked.