Japan Rescuers pulled three survivors and more bodies from the wreckage of Japan's worst train crash in four decades, as the death toll rose to 73 and criticism grew of recent rail privatisation. Lebanon-Syria Syrian forces, led by their feared intelligence chief General Rustom Ghazaleh, headed out of Lebanon, ushering in a new era for the tiny country which has been in the military and political grip of Damascus for 29 years. Iraq The formation of a new Iraqi government was on hold, 12 weeks after landmark polls, despite fears that with violence and sectarian tension on the rise the delay could play into insurgents' hands. NKorea A senior US envoy on the North Korean nuclear issue arrived for consultations with China amid growing concerns that Pyongyang is preparing a nuclear weapons test. Togo Rival sides in Togo's violence-scarred presidential election pledged to form a national unity government whatever the result, as gangs of opposition supporters clashed with troops in the capital. EU-China China warned the European Union bilateral trade relations could be affected if the bloc goes ahead with plans to impose limits on Chinese textile exports, as it reaffirmed its opposition to the move. Vatican Pope Benedict XVI reached out to Muslims, saying the Church wants to continue "building bridges of friendship" with other religions and announcing his intention to become, like John Paul II, a "missionary pope". US US President George W. Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz discussed the soaring cost of oil but emerged with no short-term fix for sky-high gas prices. US-Italy A US military investigation has concluded that soldiers who killed an Italian intelligence agent and wounded a freed hostage at a checkpoint in Iraq last month were "not culpable," but Italy has not accepted the findings, an army official said. Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party stretched its lead over the main opposition Conservatives into double figures despite fresh anger about the Iraq war, a poll showed ahead of election day on May 5. Taiwan-China Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan left on a landmark trip to China as rival groups of protesters hurled stones at each other inside the airport lobby.