Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, who's currently in London, has insisted his government will win its battle with insurgents and go ahead with planned elections in January. This report from Roger Hardy:

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He's already spelt out some of themes he's anxious to address. Iraq needs the world to honour its pledges of economic aid and to write off most of Iraq's foreign debt. And it needs help in training its fledgling security forces.

But if Mr Allawi has some urgent demands to put to world leaders, they have some urgent questions to put to him. What makes him so sure he can gain the upper hand against the insurgents responsible for the bombings and kidnappings? What makes him so confident elections can go ahead in January when the UN Secretary-General and others have warned that's impossible if current levels of insecurity persist? And what does he plan to do about Fallujah and other towns which right now are effectively in the hands of the insurgents?

As the Iraqi prime minister continues his travels, and the violence continues back home, the more urgent the questions will become.

Roger Hardy, BBC

Listen to the words

prelude
introduction, a smaller event that happens before the main event

spelt out
clearly explained

address
sort out, solve, talk about

honour its pledges
keep its promises

write off
to accept that something, often money, will not be returned or paid back

fledgling
young, inexperienced

gain the upper hand
have an advantage

insurgents
people fighting against the government or army in their own country

persist
continue

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