Bush in Vietnam warning over Iraq

President George W Bush has warned a US withdrawal from Iraq could trigger the kind of upheaval seen in South East Asia after US forces quit Vietnam.

"The price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens," he told war veterans in Missouri. Mr Bush said the Vietnam War had taught the need for US patience over Iraq.

No pressure on Mugabe from summit

Southern African leaders are putting no public pressure on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to solve his country's dire political and economic crises. After a two-day conference in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, delegates said only that they welcomed "progress" in talks between Zimbabwe's rival politicians.

The US called on the region's leaders to "press vigorously" for an end to the country's "man-made crisis".

Darfur rebels seek unity in talks

Leaders from Darfur's fractured rebel movement are to hold their first main day of talks in Tanzania, aimed at finding common ground. The talks are being mediated by the United Nations and the African Union.

The UN envoy to Sudan, Jan Eliasson, said he was hopeful the talks would lead to peace negotiations with the Khartoum government in several weeks. But an influential rebel leader has boycotted the discussions, signalling the divisions within the movement.