Iraq Iraqi commandos backed by US troops prepared to storm rebel strongholds in the northern city of Mosul as fighting wound down in Fallujah. Britain British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac called for "a stable and democratic Iraq" as well as urgent efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sudan UN ambassadors agreed unanimously on the text of a resolution aimed at restoring peace to war-ravaged Sudan, as the country's main foes promised to conclude talks on their 21-year-old conflict by the end of the year. UN UN employees were readying to make a historic vote of no confidence in scandal-plagued Secretary General Kofi Annan, sources told AFP. Mideast Prime minister Ahmed Qorei called for an end to "armed chaos" in the occupied territories as the interim Palestinian leadership held a raft of talks with political factions here. Mideast Cairo lodged a formal protest after the Israeli army killed three Egyptian border policemen by mistake, threatening to plunge their delicate diplomatic ties into crisis mode. North Korea North Korea angrily rejected reports that portraits of leader Kim Jong-Il had been taken down, claiming they were scurrilous lies spread by countries wanting to overthrow the Pyongyang regime. Philippines Nine Filipino policemen are under investigation over the fatal shooting of seven protesters at a riot outside a farm belonging to former president Corazon Aquino's family, police said. Pakistan Pakistan is "not encouraged" by the signals coming from India over their joint pledge to try solving their half-century dispute over Kashmir, President Pervez Musharraf told AFP in an exclusive interview. Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin went before the nation to defend his controversial decision to eliminate direct national elections by saying the move would make government more accountable and effective.