Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric on Tuesday called off a huge demonstration in the capital less than 24 hours before it was to take place.

Russia wants its military officers to be present at all times at the planned US missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic to make sure Russia is not a target, the Russian foreign minister said Tuesday.

The rival US presidential hopefuls have aired bitter disagreements over the Iraq troop surge as they put questions to American military commander General David Petraeus.