Kerry upbeat after talks with Iraqi PM

US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Iraq’s top Shiite leaders to give more government power to political opponents before a Sunni insurgency seizes more control across the country and sweeps away hopes of lasting peace.

The closed-door meeting in Baghdad between Mr Kerry and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki was not thought to have been friendly, given that officials in Washington have floated suggestions that the premier should resign as a necessary first step towards quelling the vicious uprising.