Czech-Iranian relations should be stabilized and a space for communication should open, Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova told CTK after a meeting between Foreign Minister Karel Sschwarzenberg and Iranian parliament foreign committee head Alaaddin Borujerdi Tuesday.

Prime Minister John Howard, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and Defence Force head Angus Houston have joined mourners at Brisbane’s Saint Stephen’s Cathedral for the military funeral of trooper David Pearce.

The Canadian government plans to extend the country’s Afghanistan mission until at least 2011 — two years beyond the proposed February 2009 deadline.