US While billing the upcoming Iraqi elections as a democratic milestone, US officials are steadily lowering the bar on what would constitute a successful vote amid escalating violence and intimidation. Indonesia Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh called for ceasefire talks to help the relief aid effort as new restrictions on foreign relief workers in the province prompted Washington to demand clarification from Jakarta. US The United Nations appealed to Indonesia not to impose a deadline on foreign troops providing relief assistance in strife-torn Aceh province after the tsunami disaster. Britain Britain closed its embassy in Jakarta following a bomb threat, the foreign ministry announced. SAfrica Mark Thatcher, the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, pleaded guilty in a Cape Town court to charges linked to an alleged coup plot in Equatorial Guinea and immediately left South Africa. Britain Britain's Prince Harry came under intense pressure to make a public apology after being pictured in Nazi military outfit just a fortnight before the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. UN security-Britain The United Nations announced the creation of a department of safety and security headed by David Veness, the current head of counter-terrorism for London's Metropolitan Police. US Human Rights Watch urged the US government to name a special prosecutor to investigate the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, which it called one of the most flagrant examples of human rights violations in 2004. Russia Russia said Thursday it may take a long time to prepare a peace agreement with Japan ending hostilities dating back to World War II and stuck firmly to its position on the disputed Kuril Islands. Georgia A local businessman was elected leader of Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia, officials said, in a vote that raised ethnic tensions and highlighted behind-the-scenes jostling for influence between Russia and the US-backed government of Georgia.