Iraq Four US soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in central Baghdad as Iraqi authorities said they were hunting for a top member of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime freed from custody by the former government because of poor health. Britain Washington's policies of promoting democracy in Iraq and elsewhere look "increasingly effective", and even the threat from terrorism abated slightly during 2004, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said in an annual report. France Economic growth in major industrialized countries is set to flag this year, dragged down by continued sluggishness in the eurozone and characterized by lopsided global momentum that could trigger "serious turbulences," the OECD warned. Japan An outraged Japan said that China needed to learn better manners after it stood up Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, as relations between the Asian powers worsened over memories of World War II. Iran Iranian hardliners agreed to allow two reformists to stand in next month's presidential election amid fears their disqualification could provoke a mass public boycott of the polls. Iran Negotiations this week between Iran and Europe on Tehran's nuclear programmes have a "50-50" chance of success, a top Iranian official said after initial discussions among senior officials. Germany German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said his party would campaign separately from its coalition partner the Greens in an early election, as polls showed his Social Democrats far behind the opposition. Russia Indian President Abdul Kalam, on the first visit to Moscow by an Indian head of state since the Soviet Union's collapse, met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on boosting trade and high-tech cooperation. Mideast Mahmud Abbas embarked on his first trip to Washington as Palestinian leader, expressing hope of achieving a diplomatic breakthrough at a summit with US President George W. Bush. Lebanon Lebanon's former exiled Christian opposition figure Michel Aoun said he has split with top Muslim leaders, setting the scene for a showdown within the anti-Syrian camp in the run-up to elections. Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Economy Minister Ali Babacan would be Turkey's chief negotiator in accession talks with the European Union and vowed that no obstacle could discourage his country from pursuing its goal of full membership. Azerbaijan Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev said the oil-rich former Soviet republic would pump its oil through a four-billion-dollar US-backed pipeline scheduled for opening Wednesday. CentrAfrica Francois Bozize, the incumbent leader of the Central African Republic, has won the May 8 presidential election, according to official results released by the country's electoral commission.