Vatican Pope John Paul II was said to be in a stable condition after being rushed to hospital overnight fighting for breath, as millions of Catholics around the world prayed for their 84-year-old spiritual leader amid Vatican assurances they had no cause for alarm. Iraq Iraq's incumbent Prime Minister Iyad Allawi engaged in reconciliation efforts with Sunni politicians, but Sunni clerics branded the general elections illegitimate. Nepal Nepal's King Gyanendra swore in a new cabinet dominated by royalists after firing the government and seizing power in a move that sparked international condemnation. Mideast The Israeli and Palestinian leaders were set for their first summit in more than four years after Ariel Sharon and Mahmud Abbas accepted an Egyptian invitation for talks on the shores of the Red Sea next week. US The United States said North Korea's nuclear programs and sales of sensitive technology posed "a threat to global peace" and urged Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table. India India blamed regional turmoil for Prime Minister Manomohan Singh's decision to pull out of a summit of seven South Asian nations next week. Zimbabwe Zimbabwe deported a delegation of South Africa's largest labour federation upon its arrival in Harare for a second bid to stage a fact-finding mission ahead of parliamentary polls now due in March. SriLanka A Sri Lankan couple ordered to undergo DNA tests to prove their claim to a baby survivor of the December tsunamis said they were hopeful of winning custody of the child despite being arrested for trying to snatch him. India Indian rescuers found nine survivors of December's tsunami disaster in the tropical Andamans archipelago near Thailand, police told AFP. Mozambique Mozambique's newly elected president Armando Guebuza took over the reins from long-serving leader Joaquim Chissano with a pledge to step up the fight against poverty, bureaucracy and corruption. Israel German President Horst Koehler told the Israeli parliament that responsibility for the Holocaust was an integral part of his country's national identity as he warned that the battle against anti-Semitism had not been won.