Iraq Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said his US-backed interim government was "prepared for the worst" on election day in less than two weeks' time but argued an "imperfect" poll was better than none at all. Iraq Secretary General Kofi Annan said the United Nations would be willing to expand its role in Iraq if conditions permit after this month's anticipated election. Mideast New Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas ordered an end to anti-Israeli attacks, issuing instructions for large numbers of security forces to deploy along the Gaza border with Israel. Srebrenica Former Bosnian Serb officer Vidoje Blagojevic became the second person to be convicted of genocide charges by the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia over the 1995 massacre of more than 7,000 Muslims in the eastern Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica. Rwanda The international court dealing with Rwanda's 1994 genocide praised a former local Rwandan official for pleading guilty to the charges against him last month and expressed hope that other suspects would follow suit. Asia The United Nations said it had no information of a new security threat to aid workers in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province, despite an earlier warning from Denmark. Britain Britain's opposition parties launched their election campaigns aiming to chip away at Labour's dominance by promising major tax cuts and exploiting deeply unpopular issues like the Iraq war. Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a larger-than-planned hike in pensions for the elderly after protests by pensioners angry at the withdrawal of Soviet-era benefits spread throughout the country. EU The European Union pledged Monday to discuss calls for a Europe-wide ban on Nazi insignia, as demanded by German lawmakers after a gaffe by Britain's Prince Harry which sparked widespread outrage. Britain The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it was considering legal action against Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich for failure to pay-off a debt, in a case that has uncovered alleged misuse of company funds by the London-based tycoon.