Iraq has announced an initial conference of world and regional powers will be held in Baghdad on March 10 to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq.

Visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised Thursday in Khartoum that his country would stand on the side of Sudan in the latter’s confrontation with what he called the “Western pressures”.

A roadside bomb exploded Thursday alongside the convoy of a prominent Shiite cleric whose high-level political ties have made him the target of past assassination attempts. The imam was not injured, but several bodyguards were wounded.