More than 2,000 Iraqis demonstrated in front of Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison today, chanting “democracy doesn’t mean killing innocent people” and demanding that the United States apologise for humiliating Iraqi prisoners.

Egypt today offered to host a new meeting of Arab leaders, but the head of the Arab League said there were no immediate plans to do so following the collapse of the Arab summit two days before its scheduled opening.

AS the US death toll in Iraq climbed to 417 over the weekend, an Arab television network last night broadcast a purported audio tape by fugitive dictator Saddam Hussein warning of more deaths for US-led troops.