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 last week's violent military crackdown. France-Germany-Poland The leaders of France, Germany and Poland formed a united front in defense of the EU constitution, just 10 days before the French vote on the treaty in a crucial referendum. NKorea South and North Korea agreed to resume high-level reconciliation talks next month but failed to reach a breakthrough in efforts to get the Stalinist country back to nuclear disarmament talks. NKorea The United States made its first direct contact with North Korea in nearly half a year via Pyongyang's UN mission in New York amid a deadlock over the communist state's drive for nuclear weapons, a US embassy official said. Iran Iran's decision to resume some of its sensitive nuclear work is "irreversible" despite the danger of being referred to the UN Security Council, a senior official told AFP. Mideast Israel threatened tougher military action against militants in the occupied Gaza Strip should Palestinians continue to open fire against Jewish settlements and Israeli territory. Afghanistan-Italy A man claiming to have abducted an Italian aid worker in Kabul threatened to kill her unless his demands were met, even though Afghan officials said there was no imminent threat to her life.