Iraq US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Iraq's new Shiite leaders against pushing their opponents out of the security forces and indulging in corruption as he made a surprise visit to the country. US US authorities revealed terrorism charges against three Britons whose arrest in Britain on similar charges followed heightened security last year at major financial institutions in US cities. US-Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held talks with US Vice President Dick Cheney a day after a US-Israeli summit which highlighted gaping differences between the two allies over Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank. US-Iraq US President George W. Bush ranked Saddam Hussein's ouster from power with the fall of the Berlin Wall and said changes in Iraq may herald a "global democratic revolution." US The World Health Organisation said thousands of laboratories across the world were destroying potentially deadly samples of the virus that caused the 1957-58 Asian influenza pandemic that were sent out unintentionally for tests. Sudan Donors pledged 4.5 billion dollars (3.5 billion euros) for the next three years, far more than what they were asked for, at a conference to help rebuild Sudan's pacified southern and northern areas. But the United States tied its aid to improvements in the strife-torn Darfur region. Vatican Roman Catholic cardinals, gathered at the Vatican to elect a new pope, tackled the Church's ailing finances, likely further hurt by the cost of the momentous funeral of Pope John Paul II. Japan-China 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. Indonesia Government troops shot dead a local rebel chief in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh region as peace talks between the government and separatists continued in Finland, a report said. Germany Four schoolgirls held by an Iranian man armed with two knives were freed by police after a five-hour hostage-taking in western Germany. US US pop princess Britney Spears confirmed she is pregnant with her first child, ending weeks of frenzied tabloid speculation.