SAsia Pakistan said nearly 20,000 people died in an earthquake it called the biggest tragedy in its history, as the devastated nation reached out for help from around the world. SAsia Rescue experts, medical teams, sniffer dogs and supplies were mobilised as a worldwide effort began bringing aid to victims of a massive earthquake that struck South Asia. SAsia The United States, moving quickly to tighten its bonds with a key ally in the war on terror, said late Sunday it was allocating up to 50 million dollars for initial aid to Pakistan hit by a massive earthquake said to be the worst in its history. CentrAm The official death toll from massive floods ravaging Central America and Mexico surged to 763 as hundreds more were feared dead in Guatemala following last week's mudslide that swallowed two small towns in the west of the country. Romania Europe awaited confirmation of its first outbreak of the deadly bird flu strain as Romania and Turkey scrambled to cull infected birds and prevent the virus spreading to people. Poland Polish voters took another decisive step to the right when they gave Donald Tusk of the centre-right Civic Platform the most votes in the race to find a successor to left-wing President Aleksander Kwasniewski. Iraq Saddam Hussein is to stand trial on October 19, but the first day will likely consist of a simple reading of charges against him and top aides along with motions by defense lawyers, a source close to the court said. Germany German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met his conservative rival Angela Merkel amid reports he was ready to concede defeat and allow her to become chancellor. US-Syria-Iraq The United States recently debated launching military strikes inside Syria against camps used by insurgents operating in neighboring Iraq, a US magazine reported. Azerbaijan Azerbaijani riot police beat dozens of opposition activists holding an unsanctioned rally to call for free elections, amid a violent crackdown ahead of parliamentary polls seen as a test of stability in this oil-rich republic. US The US government has proposed reducing its agricultural subsidies by 60 percent by 2010, US Trade Representative Rob Portman said.