Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas ushered in a new era of hope for Middle East peace at a landmrk summit by calling a ceasefire to end four years of bloodshed. Iraq A suicide bombing against army recruits and a string of other attacks left at least 29 people dead across Iraq, with Al-Qaeda and its allies claiming responsibility for much of the new bloodshed. France US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into France, a hotbed of opposition to the war in Iraq, and urged the French to bury past disagreements and open "a new chapter" in the transatlantic alliance. Togo Shuttered stores and empty streets marked the first day of Togo's 'stay home' strike to protest the hasty swearing-in of President Faure Gnassingbe, stirring sentiment among a population cowed by 38 years of repression under his late father Gnassingbe Eyadema. Denmark As Danes lined up at voting stations, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's government looked set to retain power, largely due to its popular restrictive immigration policy, but large numbers of undecided voters could still cause an upset. Nepal Nepal's army said activists rounded up after the king's power grab a week ago could be locked up for three months, as the new government warned traders and citizens against hoarding food and fuel before a protest strike called by Maoist rebels. Zimbabwe A senior Zimbabwean diplomat was sentenced to six years in jail and two officials given five-year sentences for selling secrets about President Robert Mugabe's party to South Africa, a court source said. Vatican As a frail Pope John Paul II marked a seventh day in hospital, with no news yet on his eventual release, comments by the Vatican's top official brought an old Vatican taboo -- the question of a possible resignation -- into the open. Somalia Somalia's warlords handed over the presidential palace and other key facilities to a national administration, which is seeking from exile in Kenya to rebuild the country after more than a decade of lawlessness and famine.