Iraq Prime Minister Iyad Allawi threatened a military assault on Fallujah if the rebel bastion does not surrender Iraq's most wanted man Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, while the war-ravaged nation pleaded for aid at an international donor conference in Tokyo. Afghanistan-Iraq The United States persuaded its NATO allies to consider ways to merge Alliance-run and US-led forces in Afghanistan, despite deep reservations notably from Germany and France. US President George W. Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry geared for their final televised debate, hoping to break open a race for the White House virtually deadlocked three weeks before the election. Iraq The UN nuclear watchdog, blocked from returning to Iraq since the US-led war, is ready to send inspectors back after reports of the disappearance of high-tech equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons, a spokesman said. Britain British Prime Minister Tony Blair apologized for flawed intelligence on Iraq, but angrily denied charges he "misrepresented" it to make the case for joining the US-led invasion last year. Afghanistan The deadline for complaints about the conduct of Afghanistan's landmark presidential elections was extended until late Thursday, electoral officials said, leaving it unclear when vote counting would begin. Nigeria Defiant Nigerian union leaders took their nationwide general strike into a third day and gave no sign of faltering over their demand that President Olusegun Obasanjo find a way to slash fuel prices. Mideast The Israeli army widened its massive operation in northern Gaza, as an 11-year-old schoolgirl became the latest victim of a fortnight of violence in the Palestinian territory. Holland The UN war crimes court will hear an appeal against defence lawyers assigned to Slobodan Milosevic later this month, judges presiding over the trial of the former Yugoslav president said. Holland The UN war crimes court will start its first ever trial of former ethnic Kosovo Albanian guerrillas accused of committing war crimes during the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo on November 15, a spokesman said. Sudan A European Union delegation led by Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot was holding talks here after renewed EU sanctions threat against Khartoum over the Darfur crisis.