Iraq Iraqi leaders racing against time to draft the first post-Saddam Hussein constitution are pressuring the Shiite majority to drop demands for Kurdish-style autonomy, a leading negotiator said. France A fire ripped through an old Paris apartment block housing African immigrant families, killing 17 people -- six of them children -- as horrified witnesses watched residents plunge to their deaths from windows and heard pleas for help. Uzbekistan Uzbekistan's senate gave final approval to an order evicting US military forces from the country and many lawmakers demanded financial compensation from Washington for alleged environmental damage caused by the US military presence in the country. Mideast Israel wants to keep control over the borders of the Gaza Strip even after its historic pullout, citing fears that the Palestinian territory will turn into a bastion of militancy awash with weapons. China The European Union and China held a second day of talks on a dispute over textile exports that has left millions of Chinese-made clothes stuck in customs and off the shelves of stores in Europe. Burundi Burundi's new president, former Hutu rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza, was due to be sworn in to office in a ceremony designed to mark the end of 12 years of civil war. Japan Powerful typhoon Mawar hit central Japan, bringing heavy rain and fierce winds that left at least one person dead and four injured and disrupted transportation. SriLanka Sri Lanka's Supreme Court ruled that President Chandrika Kumaratunga's final term expires in December, ending the controversial leader's 11-year rule and clearing the way for elections before November 21. Iran Iran's new hardline nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani was meeting UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei amid a crisis over Iranian nuclear fuel work that could be weapons-related. US Hurricane Katrina relentlessly pounded storm-weary Florida, killing at least three people, leaving about 1.5 million homes without power and collapsing a Miami highway overpass. Britain Al-Qaeda is preparing an attack on a big financial centre in Asia, such as Tokyo, Singapore or Sydney, to undermine investor confidence in the region, France's top terrorist investigator says. Cycling Seven-time winner of the Tour de France cycle race Lance Armstong vehemently denied fresh doping allegations and attacked lapses in anti-doping protocol that allowed a French newspaper to gain access to his stored urine samples from 1999.