Iraq: US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to Iraq, as anti-Shiite attacks left more than 20 dead and fueled further fears of spiralling sectarian strife following landmark elections. NKorea: Defiant North Korea faced deepening international isolation after it torpedoed talks to resolve a standoff over its nuclear weapons while vowing to build more atomic bombs. Britain: Prime Minister Tony Blair set out his six pledges to British voters as his governing Labour Party kicked off its quest for re-election with a call to exploit "the Tory fear factor". Britain: Britain's Prince Charles and bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles were keeping a low profile as they began their two-month engagement with a quiet pre-Valentine's Day weekend. Asia: The number of people believed killed in December's tsunami disaster rose to 285,993, more than six weeks after the catastrophe, as Indonesia increased its toll by nearly 800. Vatican: Pope John Paul II was back inside the Vatican's impenetrable walls but skipped a mass marking the World Day of the Sick as doubts persisted over whether the ageing pontiff is fit to continue leading the Roman Catholic Church. Mideast : Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas arrived in Gaza City, ahead of key talks with militant leaders in a bid to secure their agreement to a ceasefire he declared at a peace summit earlier this week. US: Playwright Arthur Miller, one of the giants of American theatre and the onetime husband of screen idol Marilyn Monroe, has died. He was 89.