AP - A fleeting smile ­href="http://lit.livepress.com­">lit up the stern face of­Sheik Abdul-Atheem al-Bahrani­when asked if he worried that­the sectarian tensions in ­href="http://iraq.livepress.co­m">Iraq would spread to ­href="http://the-gulf.livepres­s.com">the Gulf. "The­good in ­href="http://iraq.livepress.co­m">Iraq overflows, but so­do its evils," ­href="http://said.livepress.co­m">said the Bahraini­Shiite cleric, quoting an old­saying.

AFP - Two Canadians and a­Briton working for a ­href="http://christian.livepre­ss.com">Christian peace­group kidnapped in Iraq three­months ago issued a new plea­for their release, according­to a video broadcast on­Al-Jazeera.

AP - Most of Britain's 8,000 troops in Iraq could be withdrawn by the middle of 2008, the senior British general in Baghdad said in an interview published Tuesday.

AFP - Two Canadians and a Briton working for a Christian peace group kidnapped in Iraq about three months ago pleaded for help from Gulf leaders, according to a video broadcast on Al-Jazeera.