Baghdad - The Iraqi soldier who killed 4 US soldiers on Wednesday was acting in anger after the Americans mocked him while he was praying, witnesses told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Thursday.

Earlier reports about the incident in the northern city of Mosul had said that the Iraqi soldier opened fire on a group of US soldiers after a verbal dispute.

Praying five times a day is a religious obligation for Muslims. Men usually go to mosques to pray.

New York - Israeli President Shimon Peres said Wednesday his government agrees with a Saudi peace proposal to settle the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

Peres told the UN General Assembly that Israel agrees with the Arab call that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be solved through military means and that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East is "the strategic option of the Arab countries."

"This is Israel's strategy as well," Peres said in a UN debate on religion and peace.

"These expression in the Arab peace initiative are inspirational and promising - a serious opening for real progress," he said.

Cairo - Although he rejects the idea that good corporate governance would have decreased the effect of the global financial crisis, Martin Steindl, of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), believes that better corporate governance would have saved some companies from being part of the crisis.

"Such a crisis affects everyone, but when it comes to getting up again, better corporate governance will play a role," says Steindl, who is Programme Manager in Corporate Governance Advisory Services for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, at the IFC. The IFC is part of the World Bank group.

New York - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday ahead of meetings at UN headquarters on religion and peace that the opportunity it would provide for Arab and Israeli leaders to meet was "quite unique."

Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Tipzi Livni were to find themselves in one room if not at the same table for dinner Tuesday with Ban.

Jerusalem - Israeli caretaker prime minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that Israel must cede parts of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.