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Norway, a major oil exporter, is prepared to help Iraq build up its oil industry by sharing experience, training and technology, a deputy minister said Tuesday. "There is real interest in doing this and getting it going this year," Norwegian Deputy Minister of International Development Leiv Lunde told The Associated Press. (snip)

SYDNEY, Australia Oct. 9, 2004 — Prime Minister John Howard scored a stunning victory in Australia's federal election Saturday in a vote ensuring the country keeps its troops in Iraq. Labor Party leader Mark Latham conceded defeat in a speech to his supporters in western Sydney, saying he called Howard to congratulate him on his fourth straight election victory. "Tonight was not our night," Latham said. The election was widely seen abroad as the first referendum for the three leaders who launched the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, with President Bush facing a ballot next month and British Prime Minister...

LAST NOVEMBER, suicide bombers killed 19 Italians stationed at a military police barracks in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq. It was the largest single-incident loss of life for the Italian military since the Second World War, and the shock and pain that reverberated through the country was palpable. Hundreds of thousands of mourners paid tribute at a memorial service in Rome. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi cut short a visit to the United States to return home.Inevitably, the tragedy led some Italian politicians to call for the withdrawal of the country's forces from Iraq. The war was never popular with Italians, and such...

Four Jordanian men were freed but the fate of three others is unclear The US says all 32 countries in the multinational force in Iraq have agreed not to give in to the demands of hostage-takers. "We are united in our resolve to make no concessions to terrorists," the state department announced. This is a clear message to militants that seizing foreigners to put pressure on governments to withdraw their troops will not work, correspondents say. Six Jordanian and Turkish hostages were released earlier on Wednesday. The US announcement came as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the force...

AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan and Yemen offered troops to Iraq - a major policy shift that could be an attempt to encourage other Arab and Muslim nations to help the country's new U.S.-backed government restore security. But the risks are considerable if Jordan and Yemen are seen taking up arms against the Iraqis, or if Iraq's neighbors, like Turkey and Iran, which already have influence or ambitions in that country, follow their lead and offer forces. Iraq's new authorities have been opposed to neighboring states, particularly Iran, Turkey and Syria, sending in troops. But the offers from Iraq's western neighbor,...

Latham's call to bring troops home from Iraq has not been popular, writes political editor Peter Hartcher. Mark Latham's call last week to bring home Australia's troops from Iraq by Christmas may have been populist, but it turns out that it's not popular. The Labor leader took the political risk of breaking the convention of bipartisanship when troops are in the field. He took that risk in pursuit of political advantage, and it has evaded him. Today's Herald poll, conducted by ACNielsen, finds that 61 per cent of the 1403 people polled at the weekend favoured the Prime Minister's formulation...