Germany Germany's ruling Social Democrats will propose holding general elections late this year, one year ahead of schedule, the party's chairman announced after the party lost control of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Afghanistan The United Nations condemned new allegations of abuse of prisoners by US troops in Afghanistan and called for tough action, a day before President George W. Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai meet in Washington. Iraq Three Romanian journalists captured in Iraq nearly two months ago were freed, as an Iraqi court handed down death sentences for the first time in the anti-insurgency crackdown. Health China has ordered the immediate vaccination of three million birds among other emergency measures to stop the spread of bird flu after discovering the H5N1 virus had killed some migratory birds, state media said. Uzbekistan Uzbekistan's state-controlled media upped its campaign against demands for an international investigation into a recent military crackdown, as the European Union was due to increase its pressure for such a probe. EU France entered a last week of campaigning ahead of next weekend's referendum on the EU's constitutional treaty, with polls pointing to a stunning defeat for President Jacques Chirac and other supporters of the text. Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insisted the Gaza Strip pullout would begin as planned in mid-August as he sought to silence calls Sunday for a further delay to deal with the radical Islamist group Hamas. NKorea North Korea acknowledged a rare meeting with the United States earlier this month and announced it would contact Washington when the time was right to update its position on the nuclear stand off. SKorea North Korean cargo ships arrived in South Korea for the first time in two decades to pick up fertilizer aid and take it back to the impoverished communist state, officials said. India A series of blasts rocked two cinema halls in the Indian capital New Delhi leaving dozens of people injured, police said, while local media quoted a witness as saying there had been fatalities. Mongolia Mongolians went to the polls to elect a new president whom they hope will restore stability to the country after a politically rocky year due to disputed legislative election results. Ethiopia Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been re-elected to parliament, election authorities said, as early results from last week's polls showed his ruling party edging ahead of the opposition.