The US army has handed over its second biggest base in Iraq to the Iraqi government ahead of the planned withdrawal of all American forces at the end of the year. Joint Base Balad housed more than 35,000 US military personnel and contractors at the height of the Iraq conflict. At one time, the US had some 500 bases in Iraq. There are 11 left.

在年底撤回全部美国部队之前，美军将其在伊拉克第二大基地交给伊拉克政府。在伊拉克冲突最激烈时期，巴拉德联合基地驻扎了35，000多名美国士兵和合同工。美国在伊拉克一度有500个基地，现在还有11个。

Syrian and Egyptian activists have prevented Syrian opposition leaders from meeting the Arab League in Cairo, accusing them of treachery.

叙利亚和埃及活动分子阻止叙利亚反对派领导人在开罗会见阿盟，指责他们背信弃义。

The activists threw eggs and scuffled with the opposition leaders as they arrived at the Arab League headquarters. Correspondents say the incident reveals again the splits within the anti-government movement in Syria with many dismissing the opposition leadership as out of touch.

反对派领导人到达阿盟总部时，活动分子向他们投掷鸡蛋，还发生了混战。记者称，这次事件再次表明，叙利亚反政府运动内部存在矛盾，许多人指责反对派的领导脱离实际。

Russia says it won't support new sanctions against Iran following the publication of a UN report raising new concerns about its nuclear programme. A Russian spokesman said new sanctions would be interpreted more widely as an attempt to force regime change in Iran. Iran denies any military nuclear ambitions.