World Scene: Iraq

UN chief meets PM

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday to meet Iraq's prime minister, a day after official election results showed the Iraqi leader's allies swept to victory in provincial elections.

Ban and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki discussed the virtually violence-free Jan 31 election and how it would affect relations between Iraq and the UN, said al-Maliki's spokesman Yassin Majid. "This visit is to give more support to Iraq and to show the strong relationship between the UN and Iraq," Majid said.