Iraq Iraq was on the brink of an all-out assault on rebel-held Fallujah as deadly clashes erupted between US troops and insurgents in the neighbouring city of Ramadi. Afghanistan A breakaway Taliban group threatened to execute three foreign hostages by midday (0730 GMT) Wednesday unless foreign troops and the United Nations leave Afghanistan and the United States releases all Taliban prisoners. Iraq Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed that Japanese troops would continue their domestically unpopular mission in Iraq after Islamic militants demanding a pullout killed a 24-year-old Japanese tourist. US President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry scrambled for votes in the key states of Florida and Ohio, keeping a bruising pace on the campaign trail in a race still too close to call with less than 48 hours until election day. Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signaled he was ready to open negotiations with a new Palestinian leadership, as Yasser Arafat's top lieutenants filled the void left by his medical treatment in Paris. Mideast Ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's condition is "curable", officials said as French doctors carried out further tests to determine whether he is fit to stay on as Palestinian Authority president. Iran Iran's parliament passed a bill backing the resumption of uranium enrichment, as the government left the door open for further negotiations with Europe over the controversial practice. Ukraine Ukrainians voted in a knife-edge presidential election held amid high security and watched closely as a test of whether the former Soviet state will turn its face to the West or favor bonds with Russia. Liberia UN peacekeepers arrested a dissident rebel leader and seized weapons in a clampdown on the Liberian capital on the last day of a campaign to disarm fighters in the west African state. Zimbabwe Zimbabwe toughened up on critics by kicking out South African fact finders, jailing a feisty white lawmaker and announcing plans to appeal against the recent acquittal of opposition chief Morgan Tsvangirai on charges of high treason.