BEIRUT (AFP) — UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged Israel Monday to lift its blockade of Lebanon, and pressed Hizbollah to free Israeli soldiers whose capture sparked a devastating 34-day onslaught on the Jewish state’s northern neighbour.

DIWANIYAH (AP) — Shiites armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic assault rifles battled Iraqi forces for 12 hours Monday, leaving 40 people dead, mostly soldiers, and underlining the Shiite-led government’s difficulties as it tries to rein in the violent sectarian forces of a cleric.

TIBNINE — “UN welcome” reads a faded sign on an old tailor’s shop in the south Lebanese town of Tibnine. In a nearby village, Ghanaian soldiers peruse the shelves of a shop selling everything from rugs to radios.