At a second meeting with his Iranian counterpart in two months, the US ambassador blasted Tehran on Tuesday for arming and training Shiite militias but agreed to set up a security subcommittee with Iran and Iraq to carry forward work on stabilising the country.

Six foreign medics sentenced to death then life imprisonment in Libya in a controversial AIDS case were free in the Bulgarian capital Tuesday after the EU struck a multi-million-dollar financial and trade deal with Tripoli.

Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit are expected in Israel today for talks to activate an Arab peace initiative.