Mideast Israeli MPs were set to approve Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza pullout plan Tuesday, clearing the way for a withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Palestinian territory for the first time in history. Thailand At least 84 Thai Muslims died -- mainly from suffocation in the back of security force trucks -- after police and troops broke up a violent demonstration in the kingdom's troubled south, Thai officials said. Iraq The US military said it killed an aide to Iraq's most wanted man Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi in an air strike on rebel-held Fallujah, as Iraqi authorities vowed to punish those behind the weekend massacre of almost 50 unarmed new soldiers. Pakistanr A national debate raged in Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf outlined a range of bold new options for divided Kashmir that include independence, joint control with India and demilitarisation. US The US election campaign entered its final week with Republican incumbent George W. Bush and his Democratic rival, John Kerry, struggling to establish a decisive edge among American voters. EU The European Union braced for a knife-edge vote to decide the fate of its new executive arm with incoming EU chief Jose Manuel Barroso hardening his stance against rebel legislators. Sudan Delegates at peace talks to end a conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region traded bitter accusations of ceasefire violations as African Union mediators battled to keep the conference on track. Japan Six more people died in earthquake-hit central Japan as exhaustion took its toll on tens of thousands in shelters, with rain and the fear of fresh landslides adding to their misery. South Africa Mark Thatcher and his lawyers fought a call to answer questions on his alleged role in a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea, saying any trial in the oil-rich west African state would amount to a "military tribunal." Britain Radio DJ John Peel, one of the key figures in British rock music over the past 35 years, who championed virtually every important act of that period on his long-running show, has died after a heart attack, the BBC announced.