Iraq US forces shelled rebel holdouts in Fallujah and deadly bomb blasts hit several cities in Iraq, as a report by marine intelligence warned the insurgency would grow despite massive offensives to crush the rebels. Sudan UN leaders attending a rare Security Council session here won a pledge that Sudan's government and main southern rebel group would reach a deal to end their two-decade war this year, after UN chief Kofi Annan warned the special meeting in the Kenyan capital: "There is no time to waste." Britain French President Jacques Chirac began a two-day visit to London for an annual Anglo-French summit with Iraq still a sore point in relations between the two European powers. Mideast Egypt protested over the killing by an Israeli tank shell of three Egyptian policemen mistaken for Palestinian militants on the border with the Gaza Strip. EU European Union lawmakers approved the bloc's new executive commission, ending three weeks of institutional limbo sparked by protests over comments on gays and women by an Italian nominee. Iran Iran angrily denied allegations by an exiled opposition group that it was running a secret nuclear bomb facility near Tehran, and indicated that UN inspectors would be allowed to visit the site. Italy Gianfranco Fini, a former pro-fascist leader, has been named Italy's new foreign minister to replace EU Justice Commissioner-designate Franco Frattini, a government minister announced following a cabinet meeting. UN The Kyoto Protocol to combat global warming will take effect from February 16, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced after Russia formally handed over its instrument of ratification. Mideast Family members of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are preparing a request to obtain medical files detailing his illness and cause of death a week ago at a French military hospital, the French defense ministry announced. India Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reaffirmed his pledge to build a "new" Kashmir while appealing to militants to renounce violence and return to the political mainstream.