KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and eight Arab counterparts called on Iran Tuesday not to meddle in Iraq’s affairs after discussing Washington’s plan to quell sectarian violence in the country, Kuwait’s foreign minister said.

MOGADISHU (AP) — The first African peacekeepers to help the government assert its authority in Somalia are expected by the end of January, the prime minister said Tuesday.

AMMAN — US President George W. Bush’s plan to bring peace to Iraq, already facing resistance in Congress, also has highlighted differences between Washington and Baghdad over how to deal with Syria and Iran.