Iraq A fresh car bomb attack killed 17 people south of Baghdad, as violence continued to engulf Iraq ahead of the announcement of the country's election results. Germany The United States and Europe agreed on a need to renew their transatlantic security vows to confront Islamic extremism and other modern threats, but acknowledged they did not yet know how to adapt their old alliance to new dangers. Pakistan The death toll from a week of severe weather in Pakistan approached 200 as authorities said they had recovered 80 bodies after a dam burst and scores were killed in avalanches. Togo Two protestors were killed and two policemen badly hurt in an opposition demonstration against the assumption of power by the son of Togo's late ruler Gnassingbe Eyadema, officials said. Mideast Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas was to hold talks with leaders of the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements in a bid to persuade them to sign up to a permanent ceasefire with Israel. Vatican Convalescent Pope John Paul II is to lead the weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday in his first public appearance since his dramatic return to the Vatican from hospital aboard his trademark Popemobile. Nepal Traffic on Nepal's roads slowed to a trickle as a transport blockade called by Maoist rebels began to take effect, while officials reported that rebels were massing in the remote west of the Himalayan outpost. Iran EU negotiators showed themselves to be more serious in the latest round of talks with Iran over its nuclear program but considerable differences remain, Tehran's senior negotiator said. Zimbabwe Zimbabwean police arrested at least 40 women in the country's second largest city of Bulawayo during a pre-Valentine's Day march "to spread a message of love," one of the organisers of the march told AFP. US A river of saffron ran through New York's Central Park as artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude unfurled their latest creation "The Gates" -- the largest public arts project the city has ever seen.