Troops dismissed

BAGHDAD, Iraq: The Iraqi Government has dismissed about 1,300 soldiers and policemen who deserted or refused to fight during last month’s offensive against Shiite militias and criminal gangs in Basra, officials said yesterday.

Regional summit

LUSAKA, Zambia: Southern African leaders discussed Zimbabwe’s deepening electoral crisis in a marathon summit that ended before dawn yesterday with a weak declaration that failed to criticize the absent President Robert Mugabe.

Mosque blast

TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian officials yesterday ruled out an attack as the cause of an explosion that killed 11 people inside a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on Saturday.