World - Tuesday

Iraq presses neighbors for help

Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki chided neighboring nations for not doing enough to support his gov't, including writing off debts incurred by ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and stopping militants from crossing Iraq's borders. "Iraq has passed its crises and divisions," al-Maliki told 29 foreign diplomats at a conference in Kuwait.

EGYPT: In an audiotape message, Osama bin Laden's chief deputy accused Shiite Iran of trying to discredit al-Qaida by spreading the conspiracy theory that Israel was behind 9/11.

COLOMBIA: The chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of a cousin of Pres. Alvaro Uribe, bringing a scandal linking politicians and illegal paramilitary groups deeper into the president's inner circle.

SOMALIA: Security forces in northern Somalia stormed a hijacked ship carrying food, rescued hostages and arrested seven pirates, officials said. The seizure was the latest in a spate of pirate attacks off the increasingly lawless Somali coast.