Former Sunni insurgents asked the US to stay away, then ambushed members of Al Qaeda in Iraq, killing 18 in a battle that raged for hours north of Baghdad, an ex-insurgent leader and Iraqi police said Saturday.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema held talks Saturday in Libya on a joint treaty to settle the question of compensation for Italy’s colonisation of the country.

Freed from house arrest, Pakistani opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto has had a busy day, attending anti-government rallies and demanding an end to the country’s state of emergency.