Vatican Shut away from the eyes of the world, Roman Catholic cardinals opened a days-long conclave of ancient tradition and utmost secrecy to elect one of their number as their 265th pope. Mideast Israel put itself on a collision course with the United States over plans to build 50 new homes in the West Bank as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was poised to delay pulling out of the Gaza Strip. Iraq Iraqi forces regained control of a lawless town near Baghdad, but failed to find any hostages, putting paid to reports that Sunni gunmen had seized scores of Shiite residents and were threatening to kill them. Cyprus The European Union welcomed Mehmet Ali Talat's victory in Turkish Cypriot elections, saying it boosted hopes for reunifying the island which joined the EU last year despite a 31-year division. Italy Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi agreed to resign and immediately form a new government, caving in to pressure from Christian Democrats in his coalition but avoiding snap elections that could have spelled his political ruin. Togo Togo's government said weekend clashes ahead of elections were deliberate "provocation" by the opposition, calling for calm and stating officials were unable to confirm reports of seven deaths. Uganda Uganda"s government said it will not object if prosecutors at the world's first permanent war crimes court decide to suspend investigations into the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, if this meant peace. Serbia Former Bosnian Serb officer Vujadin Popovic denied charges of genocide for the 1995 Bosnian Muslim massacre at Srebrenica, in front of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Cambodia The UN human rights envoy for Cambodia warned the country was riven by top-level corruption and being run in an increasingly autocratic manner by Prime Minister Hun Sen. US All countries except the United States have now destroyed samples of a deadly flu virus that were inadvertently sent out by a US laboratory, the World Health Organisation said.