NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* New York City has failed to collect on millions of dollars in water bills because of records riddled with errors and outdated information.

* After discussions with the Bush administration, several of Iraq's major political parties are in talks to form a coalition whose aim is to break the powerful influence of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr within the government, senior Iraqi officials say.

* Communism is gone and democracy is well implanted in the countries of the old Warsaw Pact, but the Soviet era's security services are still sending shudders through Eastern Europe nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

* Criminals are not the only ones profiting from identity theft; financial institutions are making money, too.

* Congress is offering a raise to Medicare doctors who report how often they provide quality care, as defined by the government.

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