Mideast Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas urged Israel to stop all its settlement activity in the West Bank if it was serious about peace as the evacuation of settlers from Gaza was put on hold for the Jewish sabbath. Mideast Mahmud Abbas confirmed that the second ever Palestinian legislative elections are to be held in January next year, paving the way for an electoral showdown between his mainstream Fatah movement and the Islamists of Hamas. Vatican Pope Benedict XVI was to hold talks with Muslim leaders in his latest bid to reach out to other religions before holding a prayer vigil for hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims. Iraq Iraq's Kurdish negotiators said they would drop their demand for secession, but strongly opposed Islam as the main source of legislation even as US softened its opposition to enshrining religion in the new charter. US New legal troubles loomed for US pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. after a Texas jury found it guilty in a wrongful death case brought by the widow of a man who died after using its blockbuster arthritis painkiller Vioxx. Bangladesh Bangladesh was hit by a nationwide strike called by the opposition to protest at a wave of bombings earlier in the week linked to an Islamic extremist group. Russia-China The first ever large-scale Sino-Russian war games moved on to Chinese soil with elite troops from the two former adversaries taking part, state media reported. Japan Riding on strong public support, Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi launched his campaign for elections that will hinge on his plan to privatize the powerful post office -- effectively the world's biggest financial institution. Britain Police in London are reviewing a shoot to kill policy after its first use took the life of an innocent Brazilian man, the head of the authority that oversees the Metropolitan Police told a newspaper. Greece Six days after the worst air crash to occur on Greek soil, Greek investigators have taken a step closer to piecing together the tragic Cypriot plane's final moments by matching blood found in the cockpit wreckage to a flight steward. Afghanistan-NATO-Spain State funerals were held for the 17 Spanish soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, in the presence of King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.