Iraq Tens of thousands of Shiites commemorated their most important holiday of Ashura in Baghdad, surrounded by stringent security measures the day after attacks left at least 34 of them dead. Italy Tens of thousands of peace demonstrators gathered in central Rome at the start of a march to demand the release of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, held hostage in Iraq since February 4. US President George W. Bush said he would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to explain decisions seen as autocratic, such as moves against the oil giant Yukos, a media clampdown and alleged interference in Ukraine's presidential election. Britain The British government said it will roll out fresh legislation to control terrorism suspects after it failed to win the support of opposition leaders for its proposals. Asia Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush arrived in Thailand on the first stop of their tour of Asian nations hit by December's catastrophic tsunamis. Britain About half a million hunters and supporters rallied across England and Wales in a massive display of force against a new fox hunting ban, vowing to reverse the controversial law. UN The UN's top official for refugees, Ruud Lubbers, said in a bizarre press conference that he was "friendly to women" but denied allegations of sexual harassment and said he would not resign. UN The situation in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region is deteriorating, with millions at risk of starvation if the world community cannot agree to act soon, the UN's top relief official warned. Czech The Czech Republic's Christian Democratic coalition partners demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Stanislav Gross over an alleged corruption scandal, throwing the government into turmoil. Ireland The head of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, denied the party had any ties to a money-laundering probe in the Irish Republic in which several people have been arrested in recent days. AFPLifestyle South African movie "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha" has won the Golden Bear award for best film at the 55th Berlin Film Festival, jury president Roland Emmerich said. Togo Thousands of people protested in Togo's capital against the new president installed by the military after his father's death, despite a promise to hold new elections within 60 days.