Uzbekistan Uzbek troops reclaimed control over a key town on the volatile Uzbek-Kyrgyz border and reportedly arrested local Islamist leaders, as the Uzbek government worked to contain social unrest after a violent military crackdown. France The leaders of France, Germany and Poland are to join forces in eastern France in support of the EU constitution, 10 days before the French vote on the treaty in a crucial referendum. Afghanistan Six civilians are killed by suspected Taliban in an ambush near Qalat in Afghanistan's restive southern Zabul province as a man claiming to have abducted an Italian aid worker in Kabul threatens to kill her unless his demands are met. Iraq A former top Iraqi oil ministry official is shot dead outside his home in north Baghdad as Sunni religious leaders accuse Shiite militiamen of kidnapping and murdering Sunni Arabs, a charge that has raised sectarian tension to boiling point. NKorea South Korea calls for a promise from North Korea to return to the dialogue process aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programme as inter-Korean talks are about to wrap up with a joint statement. Mideast Israel threatens tougher military action against militants in the occupied Gaza Strip should Palestinians continue to open fire against Jewish settlements and Israeli territory. Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair prepares to host separate meetings with Northern Ireland's rival leaders, but their first talks since Britain's May 5 elections offer little hope of a breakthrough. China Fifty-one miners are missing and feared dead after a gas explosion ripped through an illegally-operating coal mine near Chengde city in northern China's Hebei province, the government said. China Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai says the country will not impose extra curbs on its textile exports, rebuffing demands by the United States and European Union that it must do more. Bangladesh Relatives of scores of people feared drowned in a Bangladesh ferry capsize face a second day of waiting as the death toll rose to 10 and poor river conditions hamper the search.