China Taiwan condemned China for passing an anti-secession law threatening the island with war, as lawmakers vowed to rally one million people to protest the legislation. Mideast UN chief Kofi Annan, on his first visit to the Middle East in four years, hailed moves aimed at reviving the peace process as Israel reportedly decided to tear down rogue settler outposts. Lebanon The Lebanese capital braced for another massive street demonstration by an emboldened opposition determined to bring an end to nearly 30 years of Syrian military and political domination. Kosovo Former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj pleaded not guilty before the UN war crimes court to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Philippines Al-Qaeda-linked detainees who staged a bloody prison revolt in the Philippines capital have agreed to surrender. NIreland The five sisters of slain Northern Ireland man Robert McCartney who have defied the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in their campaign for justice, will spend St Patrick's day on Thursday at the White House. Iraq Kurdish leaders have deflated hopes for the rapid formation of a government in Iraq as they refused to compromise on demands for joining a coalition with the country's powerful Shiite bloc. Vatican Hundreds of wellwishers clapped and chanted "Long live the pope," heartened by the sight of a seemingly alert John Paul II who blessed them from his car as he left his Roman hospital. NKorea Condoleezza Rice's first trip to Asia as the US secretary of state this week will be dominated by the impasse on North Korea's nuclear program and relations with the continent's growing powerhouse, China. Malaysia A gang of 35 pirates armed with machine guns and rocket launchers seized a fully-laden gas tanker in the Malacca Strait, a piracy watchdog reported Monday, rekindling fears of a terrorist attack in the vital waterway. Africa Partial results are expected Monday following the first round of voting at the weekend in presidential and parliamentary elections aimed at restoring a legitimate government in the Central African Republic two years after a coup.