Middle Orient

US Democrat Senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s Iraq withdrawal plan, which is under attack by Prime Minister John Howard, calls for the removal of all US combat brigades by March 31, 2008.

Officials say they are working to equip vehicles with protection against deadly new weapons.

President Ahmadinejad celebrated the 28th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution yesterday by defiantly vowing to pursue his country’s nuclear programme.

The US military claimed yesterday that 170 soldiers had been killed in Iraq by sophisticated armour-piercing weapons supplied by Iranian agents acting on behalf of the highest levels of the Tehran Government.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel is to press ahead with excavation work near Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, but will open up to public discussion plans to build a pedestrian bridge there, officials said on Monday.

Even before they cast symbolic votes against the Iraq war, newly empowered congressional Democrats are clamoring for a chance to limit and eventually end US involvement in a conflict that has killed more than 3,000 troops.

The Palestinians have begun a diplomatic blitz aimed at persuading reticent leaders in the US and Europe to accept their new power-sharing deal and lift painful economic sanctions.

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels are to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme. The 27 ministers have pledged to strictly implement United Nations sanctions against Teheran, something that was already basically agreed upon in January.

In Iraq, two German citizens have gone missing. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said shortly before a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels that the two Germans had been missing for one week.

JERUSALEM – Israel successfully conducted its first nighttime test of the Arrow anti-missile system after sundown Sunday, the Defense Ministry said.