Pakistan Pakistan was battling huge odds to deliver aid to hungry and traumatised people marooned in the northeastern mountains after the weekend earthquake which killed up to 40,000 people. India-Pakistan Pakistan confirmed it had accepted an aid offer from neighbouring nuclear rival India to cope with the earthquake devastation in Kashmir, the disputed territory that twice brought them to war. Germany Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Angela Merkel will turn to the task of building a coalition government capable of injecting new life into the country's ailing economy. Turkey-EU The European Union announced an immediate ban on live bird imports from Turkey after an outbreak of avian influenza, as Europe heightened its state of alert over the potentially deadly disease. Iraq Gunmen ambushed a convoy of Arab League diplomats in Baghdad, underscoring a relentless campaign of violence just five days before Iraqis vote on a constitution that has sharply divided the country. WTO US Treasury Secretary John Snow said he was encouraged by efforts to revive global trade negotiations, saying Washington was prepared to tear down trade barriers if the rest of the world did so. Afghanistan Two blasts ripped through volatile southern Aghanistan's Kandahar city, one of them a confirmed suicide attack and the other killing three people, officials said. Mideast A summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was postponed after both sides acknowledged that it was unlikely to yield results. CentrAm The death toll from devastating mudslides in Guatemala could reach 2,000 as rescuers suspended their search for hundreds of people buried in a muddy tomb. Britain The British government published a list of 15 Islamist groups it wants parliament to ban as part of an anti-terror crackdown following the deadly July bombings in London. Sudan-Darfur All 38 African Union (AU) peacekeepers taken hostage by rebels in Sudan's troubled Darfur region were released, amid expressions of grave concern over the security of their force.