Iraq Iraq was on the brink of an all-out assault on rebel-held Fallujah following deadly clashes between US troops and insurgents in the neighbouring city of Ramadi and the slaying of 15 people by insurgents in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. US George W. Bush and John Kerry entered the final day of presidential election campaigning with the outcome balanced on a knife edge amidst frantic bids to win last-minute support. Afghanistan A breakaway Taliban group threatened to execute three foreign hostages by midday (0730 GMT) Wednesday unless foreign troops and the United Nations leave Afghanistan and the United States releases all Taliban prisoners. Iraq Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed that Japanese troops would continue their domestically unpopular mission in Iraq after Islamic militants demanding a pullout killed a 24-year-old Japanese tourist. Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signaled he was ready to open negotiations with a new Palestinian leadership, as Yasser Arafat's top lieutenants filled the void left by his medical treatment in Paris. Mideast Ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's condition is stable and curable, officials said as French doctors ran further tests to determine whether he is fit to stay on as Palestinian Authority president. Iran Iran's parliament passed a bill backing the resumption of uranium enrichment, as the government left the door open for further negotiations with Europe over the controversial practice. US The United States warned US citizens living in or passing through the Nordic and Baltic states of possible imminent terrorist attacks in crowded public places in those countries. Liberia UN peacekeepers arrested a dissident rebel leader and seized weapons in a clampdown on the Liberian capital on the last day of a campaign to disarm fighters in the west African state. China Several people have been killed in violent ethnic clashes between the Muslim Hui minority and the Han majority in central China's Henan province, officials said.