Iraq A police chief was gunned down in Baghdad in an ambush that also killed two of his companions, as a wave of violence swept through Iraq one week before the newly-elected parliament meets to choose a new government. Lebanon Syrian troops accelerate their pullback in Lebanon, ahead of the arrival in the region of a UN envoy to press for a full withdrawal, as caretaker pro-Syrian premier Omar Karameh is due to return to office to the fury of the opposition. Russia The family of Chechen rebel chief Aslan Maskhadov killed by Russian forces this week appealed to the West to pressure Moscow to return his body to them for burial, after Chechen rebels vowed to continue their battle against Russia after the slaying of the moderate chief. Italy Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi demanded "maximum collaboration" from the United States in a joint probe into the friendly fire killing of an Italian agent in Iraq, but played down any notion of a rift between the allies. HongKong Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa was poised to resign, cutting short a turbulent eight-year tenure overshadowed by economic recession, policy blunders and unease over China's interference. Philippines Grieving parents began the grim task of collecting their dead children after up to 30 died in a central Philippines hamlet from eating poisoned sweets. China China slammed as "irresponsible" US criticism of its new legislation authorizing military force against Taiwan, and urged Washington not to "embolden" Taiwanese separatists. Kosovo Former Kosovo prime minister and guerrilla leader Ramush Haradinaj surrendered to the United Nations war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, in a move that was widely praised for setting an exmaple of cooperation with the UN tribunal. South Africa Rescuers working frantically through the night freed 36 miners trapped underground at a gold mine after a quake hit South Africa's mining heartland, killing one miner, officials said. US Michael Jackson's child sex accuser, now 15, faces a gruelling day in court when he is expected to offer graphic details of his alleged molestation two years ago at the hands of the pop icon.