BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to oversee a big offensive against al Qaeda in what the U.S. military says is the group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah’s humbling of Lebanon’s U.S.-backed government has dealt a further blow to American credibility in the region less than a year after Hamas Islamists seized Gaza from Palestinian leaders supported by Washington.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has named his team of close advisers, with key posts going mostly to officials who performed similar roles for previous Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.