Mideast The Palestinian Authority won ringing support from the European Union, the United States and other world powers for an ambitious raft of reforms intended to create a viable Palestinian state once an elusive Middle East peace becomes reality. Vatican Pope John Paul II, who underwent throat surgery last week, spoke to a top Vatican cardinal and demonstrated he was capable of "saying the essential things in his own words," a Vatican official said. US The US Supreme Court abolished the death penalty for those convicted of crimes they committed as minors in a tight five-to-four vote of the court's nine justices. Iraq French journalist Florence Aubenas, missing for nearly two months in Iraq, made a desperate plea for help on a video broadcast, saying her health was "very bad." Congo An investigation into the killing of nine UN troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo took a decisive turn when it emerged that one rebel leader suspect had been arrested and another had turned himself in. Iran Iran is refusing to cooperate in key areas with UN experts investigating possible atomic weapons work, including blocking a follow-up visit to a military facility where Washington charges Tehran is simulating testing of nuclear weapons, the UN's nuclear watchdog agency said. Taiwan Taiwan's president warned that EU plans to lift an arms embargo on China threaten the military balance in East Asia and accused some in Europe of double standards in currying favour with Beijing. Uruguay Tabare Vazquez, 65, was sworn in as president of Uruguay, becoming the first leftist leader in the tiny South American state's 180-year history, and consolidating Latin America's shift to the left. US Two US human rights groups filed a lawsuit charging Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with "direct responsibility" for the illegal torture and abuse of eight men held prisoner in Iraq and Afghanistan. US The journalist whose explosive documentary led to child molestation charges against Michael Jackson became the first witness to testify at the superstar's trial.