Japan A row between Japan and China intensified as the Asian powers each demanded protection for their nationals and Beijing insisted Tokyo did not deserve a cherished permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Iraq Visiting US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Iraq's new Shiite elite against a purge of the country's fledgling security forces and to steer clear of corruption in government. Iraq Poland will withdraw its troops from Iraq at the end of 2005, when the mandate of the UN multinational stabilisation force in the country expires, Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said. Mideast Prime minister Ahmed Qorei said the Palestinians would categorically reject the continued presence of large settlement blocs inside the occupied West Bank after Washington appeared to endorse their retention by Israel. Vatican Cardinals meeting daily in Rome to discuss the main issues facing the Roman Catholic Church ahead of a conclave to elect a pope next week have signed a petition asking a future pope to "accelerate" the beatification of John Paul II, a report said. US The US trade deficit rose to a record-high level of 61.0 billion dollars in February, up from a revised 58.5 billion in January, the Commerce Department said. Indonesia A volcano spewed into life on Indonesia's disaster-blighted Sumatra island, spreading new panic after the recent tsunami and earthquakes and driving thousands from their homes. Finland Organizers expressed cautious optimism as a third round of peace talks between Indonesian officials and leading Aceh separatists began here, aiming to end a protracted independence war that has killed more than 12,000 people in the western region. Turkey Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis began a two-day visit to Turkey aimed at further boosting a remarkable improvement in the traditionally stormy ties between the two neighbors. ICoast A flurry of diplomatic activity was under way in Ivory Coast to secure backing for a newly linked peace deal which Ivorian rebels have already accused President Laurent Gbagbo of seeking to "torpedo". Sudan International donors meeting here Tuesday have come up with the necessary funding to help rebuild Sudan's pacified southern and northern areas, Norway's minister for development aid said.