Mideast Israeli forces raided synagogues in the Gaza Strip to eject Jews opposed to the evacuation of the territory in the fiercest confrontations since the historic withdrawal began. Iraq Russian President Vladimir Putin called here for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign military forces from Iraq. Vatican An emotional Pope Benedict XVI arrived in his native Germany sparking a rapturous ovation from a welcoming party of young pilgrims at the start of the first foreign visit of his pontificate. Saudi Saudi security forces shot dead one of the country's top Al-Qaeda leaders in the holy city of Medina, adding to a toll of the group's successive chiefs gunned down in shootouts. Bangladesh Bangladesh security forces arrested almost 90 people in connection with a wave of simultaneous bombings that police said were linked to a banned group of Muslim extremists. Russia Longtime adversaries Russia and China launched their first-ever joint wargames in a show of military might they insisted was not aimed at any other country after the United States expressed concern. Greece Geece and Cyprus pledged to speed up an investigation into the Cypriot airliner tragedy that killed 121 people at the weekend, but a lack of official information on the probe's progress has sparked speculation on the final moments before the crash. Britain Lawyers for the family of a Brazilian man shot point-blank by police in London who suspected he was a suicide bomber denounced the "chaotic mess" in which his death is being dealt with. Iraq Iraq said the rush-hour bombings that rocked Baghdad sought to create a sectarian crisis in the war-torn country as fresh rebel violence killed 12, including four US soldiers. Afghanistan Taliban rebels freed a Lebanese hostage and two US soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, exactly one month before the country's landmark parliamentary polls. Venezuela French experts arrived in Venezuela to help find the cause of a plane crash that killed 152 French tourists while French authorities said a homicide investigation would be launched. WSahara The Polisario rebels of Western Sahara freed the last Moroccan prisoners they were still holding, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said after monitoring the release of the more than 400 detainees. Pakistan Pakistani voters went to the polls for local elections that are being seen as a test of President Pervez Musharraf's fight against Islamic hardliners and his commitment to women's rights.