France Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Jacques Chirac of France met for bilateral talks ahead of a summit with the leaders of Germany and Spain aimed at bolstering strained EU-Russian ties. Iraq Iraq's Kurdish political bloc said it had settled its differences with the election-winning Shiite list and the sides were now wooing outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi and the country's Sunni minority. Mideast Israel gave a guarded welcome to an agreement by Palestinian militant groups to extend an informal truce until the year end, but concerns were raised after one Gaza-based militant group vowed to continue attacks. EU The European Union's top official in charge of its enlargement warned Bulgaria and Romania that their hopes of joining the bloc in 2007 could be delayed if they do not fulfil accession commitments. Japan US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Japan on the fourth leg of her Asian tour, with the close allies set to talk strategy on North Korea but expected to clash over Japan's ban on US beef imports. Ukraine Ukraine admitted that it had exported nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China, amid tense diplomatic debate over Tehran's alleged quest for nuclear weaponry. Iraq A Dutch prosecutor accused businessman Frans van Anraat of selling chemicals to the Iraqi regime of former President Saddam Hussein in the full knowledge that they would be used in genocidal killing. India India condemned the United States' refusal to allow entry to hardline Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi, who is accused of complicity in a massacre of Muslims, saying the step was "uncalled for". ICoast Ivory Coast's foes were racing to meet a United Nations deadline to compile a list of their artillery and weapons stocks ahead of a long-delayed disarmament campaign in the restive west African state. China Nineteen coal miners were confirmed dead after an underground explosion, as China set up a government-run office to try to stem the huge number of mining accidents. Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's Supreme Court has thrown out a plea by a group representing more than three million expatriates demanding the right to vote in the March 31 parliamentary elections, a state-run newspaper said. Mideast Foreign Jewish investors have paid millions of dollars to buy two large properties at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City through a secret deal with the Greek Orthodox church, an Israeli newspaper reported