Mideast Israel declared a war to the bitter end against Palestinian militants, launching air strikes against the Gaza Strip and putting Islamic Jihad leaders in the crosshairs after a suicide bomber killed five. Iraq Nineteen people, including 17 radical Shiite militiamen, were killed in clashes with Sunni insurgents east of Baghdad, an interior ministry official said. EU European leaders battled to agree a united response to the "challenges of globalisation", but strains over economic strategy and wrangling over spending plans risked clouding the talks. Netherlands Fire swept through a detention center housing drug smugglers and illegal immigrants at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, killing 11 detainees and allowing eight to escape, officials said. Iran European Union leaders condemned "in the strongest terms" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map". Iran Iran responded to an international outcry over anti-Israeli remarks by its hardline president by ordering its diplomats to lodge official protests over Europe's attitude toward "Zionist crimes". US US President George W. Bush's pick to fill a US Supreme Court vacancy, Harriet Miers, has withdrawn her nomination, the White House announced. Lebanon The Lebanese army tightened the noose around seven Palestinian militant bases close to the Syrian border after a militant leader said his men were holding six soldiers captive and the UN envoy called for action to disarm the fighters. Philippines Eighteen people were confirmed dead and as many as 50 others were missing almost a day after a cave-in at a mining site in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, a local official said. India Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as heavy rains lashed southern India for the third straight day, triggering floods, an official said. Thailand The death toll has topped 1,000 in an insurgency raging in Thailand's mainly Muslim southern provinces after seven people died in overnight raids, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security forces. Health The UN food agency strongly criticised pre-emptive bans on poultry imports to prevent the spread of bird flu, saying they flout established rules and do not distinguish between infected and non-infected countries.