Israel, pressured by international alarm over a brewing Palestinian humanitarian crisis, has agreed to release millions of pounds in funds it has withheld from the Palestinians and is considering easing restrictions on the transport of goods between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

He may represent the greatest challenge to the US-led coalition's plans for restoring sovereignty to Iraq, but powerful cleric Ali al-Sistani hides behind an arcane and near-impenetrable curtain of Shi'ite Muslim ritual and austerity.