US Laboratories worldwide scrambled to destroy samples of a lethal flu strain that killed up to four million people in the late 1950s and whose distribution by a US company sparked a World Health Organization alert. Britain An Algerian suspected of being linked to the extremist Al-Qaeda network was sentenced to 17 years in prison for planning attacks involving ricin and other poisons, in one of the largest British anti-terror operations ever mounted. Bangladesh Another three bodies have been pulled out of the rubble of a collapsed nine-storey factory in Bangladesh, bringing the death toll to 31 with some 120 still missing, rescuers said. Japan China slammed Japan's decision to allow drilling for gas and oil in disputed waters as a "provocation," as ties strained by violent anti-Japan protests here continued to deteriorate. Iraq A US hostage in Iraq pleaded with his government to withdraw its troops as a spate of deadly bombings from Baghdad to Kirkuk coincided with a visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick. Afghanistan Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he wants his war-shattered country to have a permanent security relationship with the United States but stopped short of calling for full-time American bases. Philippines Philippine President Gloria Arroyo ordered the military to compile a list of all known hired gunmen as part of a crackdown following the murder of a former congressman. Vatican Conservative German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger emerged as a frontrunner in the race to find John Paul II's successor as thousands of pilgrims flocked to pay their respects at the tomb of the late pope, open to the public for the first time since his burial. EU EU lawmakers at the European Parliament gave the green light for Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the bloc, paving the way for the necessary treaties to be signed as scheduled on April 25. UN The UN General Assembly adopted a convention to stop nuclear terrorism, which UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called a "vital step forward." US Scientists have begun an ambitious five-year project to collect DNA samples from more than 100,000 people around the world to use them to create a virtual family tree of the genetic connections among humans, project organizers said.