Iraq Nine Iraqi soldiers were feared executed in Mosul as US and Iraqi troops chased down insurgents in the city amid continued violence across the country, including an ambush that killed one US soldier in Baghdad. Poland A Polish woman hostage abducted in Iraq more than three weeks ago was back home after being released by her captors who she said had treated her well. Germany German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said the Paris Club had reached a framework agreement to forgive 80 percent of Iraqi debt. Mideast The race to succeed the late Yasser Arafat as Palestinian leader formally kicked off with the opening of the registration period for potential presidential candidates. Africa Fifteen African presidents and UN chief Kofi Annan signed a common declaration pledging to promote peace and security in the continent's volatile Great Lakes region. India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his first visit to India's troubled northeast appealed to insurgents in the region to lay down their arms and join the political mainstream. Myanmar Myanmar's junta has freed the nation's number two political prisoner Min Ko Naing as part of a release of 4,000 inmates after 16 years in detention. Mideast Suha Arafat has been given the medical file of her late husband Yasser Arafat and flew off to Tunisia as the late Palestinian president's nephew said he would soon travel to Paris to collect the ame documents. South Africa South African President Thabo Mbeki said his talks with Ivory Coast Prime Minister Seydou Diarra and the head of the west African country's rebel forces would focus on ensuring that existing peace accords were fully respected. Britain Chinese company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. may be ready to step in to save ailing British car manufacturer MG Rover, a media report said.