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• Top US senator says Basra attack may strengthen Sadr

  - 2008-04-01

  WASHINGTON AFP — The Iraqi government's failure to wipe out Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army during a crackdown in Basra last week may leave the group stronger in the long run, a senior US senator said Tuesday. Joseph Biden, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters on...

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• Insurgent bomb-makers seek edge in roadside arms race

  - 2008-03-20

  PARIS AFP — On the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan and southern Lebanon no weapon poses as big a threat to Western armies' armoured convoys as the simple roadside bomb. For more than half a decade US and European forces have been locked in an arms race with insurgent engineers,...

  Tags: Agence France-Presse, battlefield, bomb, Iraq, Lebanon, SECURITY

• Iraq rock band breaks ground with first Arabic single

  - 2007-12-20

  BEIRUT AFP — Nearly a decade after forming what is probably Iraq's first rock band, the five-member UTN1 (Unknown to no-one) have launched their first Arabic single and are determined to conquer the world. "It was amazing. We were treated like celebrities," Shant, the drummer of the band, told...

  Tags: Agence France-Presse, HARDWARE, Iraq, Keyboards, Lebanon

• Bush to host Italian leaders

  - 2007-10-16

  WASHINGTON AFP — US President George W. Bush will host Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano December 11 and Prime Minister Romano Prodi February 4, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced Tuesday. "Italy is one of America's closest allies," she said in a statement. "Italy has provided assistance in building secure...

  Tags: Afghanistan, Agence France-Presse, Iraq, Italy, leader, Leadership, Lebanon, president

• Iraq conference only way to end chaos: Arab League ex-envoy

  - 2007-08-25

  MONTREAL AFP — A conference between warring Iraqi factions is the only way to end the chaos in Iraq and should be organized by the international community, the Arab League's former envoy to Baghdad believes. "I don't see any other way to stop things deteriorating," said Mokhtar Lamani, who...

  Tags: Agence France-Presse, Baghdad, conference, faction, Iraq, Lebanon

• Iranian FM visits Syria

  - 2007-05-31

  DAMASCUS AFP — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in Damascus on Thursday and held talks with his Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem, reports said. Mottaki made no comments about the reason for his visit to Iran's staunchest ally in the region but Iran's official news agency IRNA said he...

  Tags: Agence France-Presse, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, MARKETING, SECURITY

• 4 Islamists killed near Syria-Iraq border

  - 2007-05-11

  NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon AFP — Syrian forces have killed four members of Palestinian militant group Fatah al-Islam trying to sneak across the border to join the insurgency in Iraq, the group said Friday. A spokesman for Fatah al-Islam, who gave his name as Abu Salim, told AFP that the...

  Tags: Agence France-Presse, clash, Iraq, Leadership, Lebanon, spokesman

• Italy's Prodi holds Mideast talks in Saudi

  - 2007-04-21

  RIYADH AFP — Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi began talks on Middle East developments in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after arriving on a two-day visit during which he will meet with King Abdullah. Prodi told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal that his discussions with Saudi leaders...

  Tags: Agence France-Presse, Iran, Iraq, Leadership, Lebanon, Riyadh

• French, US defence ministers show will to cooperate

  - 2007-02-09

  SEVILLE, Spain AFP — French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and her new US counterpart Robert Gates showed a willingness to cooperate after their first meeting at NATO talks in Seville, Spain. Avoiding the disputed issue of Iraq, the ministers discussed Afghanistan, Kosovo and Lebanon, before mutually praising each other....

  Tags: Afghanistan, Agence France-Presse, Iraq, Lebanon, minister, NATO, Spain

• Merkel, Bush to hold talks on January 4

  - 2006-12-29

  CRAWFORD, United States AFP — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Washington on January 4 for talks with US President George W. Bush on issues like the stalled Middle East peace process, the two governments said. They will also take up efforts to quell violence in Afghanistan and Iraq, Iran's...

  Tags: Afghanistan, Agence France-Presse, chancellor, Government, Iran, Iraq, Leadership, Lebanon, SOFTWARE, White House