BAGHDAD (Agencies) — Car bombs killed more than 60 Iraqis on Sunday as Prime Minister Nuri Maliki prepared for a White House visit expected to focus on halting what many see as Iraq’s accelerating slide towards all-out sectarian civil war.

BAGHDAD — With concern on the Middle East focused on Lebanon, this week’s visit to Washington by Iraq’s prime minister may offer US policy makers a timely reminder of how deeply troubled their project in Iraq has become.

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is expanding its military arsenal to counter what it sees as Iran’s growing influence in a region convulsed by violence.