Iraq A half-brother of ousted president Saddam Hussein, accused of masterminding Iraq's deadly insurgency from neighbouring Syria, has been arrested. Mideast Israel warned there would be no progress in the peace process until the Palestinians crack down on militants, threatening to halt the planned release of 400 prisoners in the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Vatican Pope John Paul II made a surprise appearance at his hospital window, his first since undergoing surgery on his throat last week. Iran Iran and Russia signed a landmark nuclear fuel accord that paves the way for the firing up of the Islamic republic's first atomic power station, a project the United States alleges is part of a cover for weapons development. Lebanon Lebanese opposition movements vowed to maintain their call for a peaceful sit-in in downtown Beirut on Monday in defiance of a ban on public demonstrations. WHO A landmark treaty aimed at cutting deaths and illness caused by smoking came into force after 57 countries ratified international restrictions on tobacco producers and smokers, the World Health Organisation said. DRCongo A dangerous humanitarian crisis is looming in the Democratic Republic of Congo with sharply increasing unrest in the region of Ituri where nine UN soldiers were killed on Friday, the UN warned. Vietnam A 69-year-old man has died of bird flu in Vietnam, the fourteenth fatality from the disease in the country this year, and another is in critical condition, health officials said. Tajikistan Polls closed in Tajikistan's legislative elections with more than 84 percent of the country's 3.1 registered voters casting ballots, the country's election commission announced. US Opening arguments get under way in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial, promising a gloves-off legal brawl and an outcome that could leave the greatest pop icon of his generation behind bars for years.