Kuwait names 1st ambassador to Iraq since Gulf War

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, talks to the leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority, Saad Hariri, in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 17, 2008. Hariri's trip is a diplomatic success for Iraq, which wants closer ties with the region. (AP Photo/Ali al-Saadi, Pool) By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD (AP) - Kuwait on Thursday named its first ambassador to Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War, in a major step toward healing the two countries' painful past and boosting regional ties with Baghdad's post-war government. The announcement came as the Sunni leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority met Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki _ also reflecting Iraq's efforts to reconcile with aloof Arab neighbors and tamp down sectarian tension across the region. Sunni Arab leaders suspect Shiite power Iran... [read full story]