Twin suicide blasts kill 64 at Pakistan munitions factory

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main army munitions factory Thursday, killing 64 workers in the deadliest attack on a military installation in the country's history.

In the second bombing to rock the feuding coalition government since President Pervez Musharraf resigned Monday, the attackers struck a crowd of workers leaving the huge complex in Wah, near Islamabad.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the atrocity and threatened to carry out further attacks if an army offensive against militants near the Afghan border is not stopped.

It's a massive attack," local police chief Nasir Durrani told AFP. "Two men apparently blew themselves up outside the factory during a shift change.

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Jordan's king visits Iraq, urges Arabs to support country

Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks with Iraqi leaders on Monday on the first visit to Iraq by an Arab head of state since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country.

The monarch went immediately on arrival in the Iraqi capital into talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki before meeting Vice President Adel Abdel-Mehdi, officials said.

Discussions focused on means "to improve bilateral relations in all fields" and were "frank and positive," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Maliki's hailed the ties between the neighbors.

"This visit will open a new page in relations between the two countries which will help to maintain the stability and security in Iraq and all the region," Maliki said.

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Washington must be ‘very clear' on timeline for withdrawal - Iraqi minister

The United States must provide a "very clear timeline" to withdraw its troops from Iraq as part of an agreement allowing them to stay beyond this year, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Ze bari said on Sunday.

It was the strongest public assertion yet that Iraq is demanding a timeline. US President George W. Bush has long resisted setting a firm schedule for pulling troops out of Iraq, although last month the White House began speaking of a general "time horizon" and "aspirational goals" to withdraw.

Iraq's leaders have become more confident of their ability to provide security as the country has become safer. But attacks which killed at least 15 people on Sunday, including a US soldier, were a reminder it is still a violent place.

In an interview with Reuters, Zebari said the agreement, including the timeline, was "very close" and would probably be presented to the Iraqi Parliament in early September.

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Massive Baghdad blast kills at least 51, wounds 75

A car bomb at a bus stop in northern Baghdad killed at least 51 people and wounded 75 on Tuesday in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in months, security officials told AFP.

The attack took place in the mainly Shiite Al-Hurriyah neighborhood at around 5:30 p.m., at the peak of the evening rush hour, the officials said.

Several nearby buildings and vehicles caught fire in the aftermath of the explosion that was so powerful it could be heard more than 5 kilometers away.

The casualties, many of them women and children, were taken to several city hospitals, officials said.

The car bombing came just hours after a bomb hidden on a motorcycle exploded at a checkpoint in another area of northern Baghdad, killing four fighters of a group battling Al-Qaeda militants.That attack took place at around 10 a.m.at a checkpoint run by the US-funded militia in the Al-Sulek district, security officials said. Four other members of the group were wounded, along with two civilians.

Al-Qaeda has repeatedly targeted such groups, whose members were once its allies but in late 2006 turned against the Islamist group after receiving funds from the US military.

In recent months, insurgent attacks such as car bombs and suicide strikes have dropped significantly in Baghdad amid improved security.

Tuesday's attack in Baghdad was the biggest since March 7, when 68 people were killed in twin bombings.

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Bush, Sarkozy pressure Syria over Lebanon

The United States and France on Saturday jointly called on Syria to establish "friendly" diplomatic ties with Lebanon.

A joint statement following talks in Paris between President George W. Bush and President Nicolas Sarkozy called on the two countries to "quickly establish full diplomatic relations" based on "respect, equality, security and sovereignty."

Syria, the former power broker in Lebanon, withdrew its troops in 2005 in the aftermath of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, ending a military presence of nearly three decades.

The absence of formal diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria is seen by some Lebanese as a sign of Syrian designs on their country.

The United States and France also called for "supporting the international investigation and creation of a special tribunal" to try the perpetrators of Hariri's assassination.

Syrian President Bashar alAssad earlier this month said Damascus was ready to open an embassy in Lebanon once a unity government is formed and develops good relations with Syria.

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