Farrakhan in Baghdad to avert war

The controversial black American leader, Louis Farrakhan, has arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

He said his aim was to prevent a possible war between the United States and Iraq.

Mr Farrakhan - who leads the Chicago-based Nation of Islam - opposes United Nations sanctions on Iraq.

He has visited Baghdad twice before and has met President Saddam Hussein.

Mr Farrakhan came to prominence in the US when he organised a rally in Washington in 1995, known as the Million Man March, to promote traditional family values among African American men.

Critics accuse him of anti-semitism and of inciting racial tensions.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service