Iraq At least 76 people were killed in a bloody wave of bomb blasts in three Iraqi towns, as US troops battled insurgents in the western hinterland to flush out supporters of rebel leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. US Fighter jets roared across the blue skies over the US capital to intercept a small plane which flew into restricted airspace and triggered the emergency evacuation of the White House, Congress and Supreme Court. Georgia Georgian and US security officials launched an investigation after a hand-grenade was found near the open-air stage where US President George W. Bush and Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili made speeches to a huge crowd in Tbilisi. Iran Iran appeared determined to back away from a deal with the European Union and end its suspension of some sensitive nuclear activities, dismissing the threat of being hauled before the UN Security Council as propaganda. NKorea A US envoy confirmed that North Korea had begun preparations for a nuclear test as the Stalinist state claimed it had taken a key step towards the manufacture of more atomic bombs. US Afghan troops were deployed on the streets of an eastern city after four people died and scores were wounded in riots sparked by reports that US soldiers had desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay. US A controversial British MP and a former top French minister received huge oil allocations in kickbacks from the ousted Saddam Hussein regime under the UN Oil-for-Food program, a US Congress panel said. Health Indonesian health authorities said they had confirmed two more cases of polio, taking the total to six in an outbreak that has sparked fears of a larger health scare. Australia The Pakistani army's drive against Al-Qaeda has paralysed its communications network and "vastly reduced" its capacity for terrorism, said Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri. Austria The lower house of the Austrian parliament voted to ratify the European Union constitution treaty, with the only 'no' vote cast by a far rightist whose party had unsuccessfully demanded a referendum on the measure. Canada Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, whose minority government has been rocked by a sponsorship scandal involving kickbacks to the previous Liberal government, will consider a budget vote May 19 to be a confidence motion, he announced. France The curtain went up on the Cannes film festival, the world's top showcase of cinema, with a red-carpet screening of a surreal French drama -- one of 21 pictures lining up for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize.