Lebanon Thousands of people defied a ban to mass in the streets of Beirut ahead of a showdown in parliament where the Lebanese opposition plans a vote to try to bring down the pro-Syrian government, two weeks after the assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri. Iraq Thirty-two people were killed and 45 wounded when a car bomb blew up in a crowd of civil servants gathered outside a medical centre in Hilla, south of Baghdad. Vatican The Vatican was set to give an update on Pope John Paul II's condition amid indications that doctors are advising against a hasty release for the frail pontiff suffering from acute respiratory problems. Mideast Israel looked set to execute a u-turn over plans to demolish the homes of Gaza Strip settlers to be evacuated this year, as the official in charge of the pullout advocated they be handed over intact. Bosnia General Rasim Delic who headed the Bosnian Muslim army during most of the war in the 1990's flew out of Sarajevo to surrender to the UN tribunal at The Hague, which has indicted him for war crimes. American Samoa Cyclone Percy smashed into the northern Cook Islands on Sunday, causing major damage but no casualties, disaster authorities said. Iraq A half-brother of ousted president Saddam Hussein, accused of masterminding Iraq's deadly insurgency from neighboring Syria, was arrested after crossing into Iraq from Syria three days ago, the intelligence chief in Iraq's interior ministry said. Britain Britain's government faced a tough battle to force controversial anti-terror laws through parliament allowing suspects to be put under limited house arrest, amid predictions ministers could be forced into a humiliating climbdown. Iran The UN atomic agency begins a meeting that will focus on Iran and comes as Tehran has signed an agreement with Russia that paves the way for the firing up of the country's first atomic power station. Burundi Citizens of Burundi began voting in a referendum aimed at ensuring power-sharing between the central African country's rival ethnic groups and ending a war that has claimed some 300,000 lives. US After 15 months of accusations and denial over Michael Jackson's alleged molestation of a 13-year-old boy, lawyers will finally get their chance to lay out their cases before a jury. Oscars Clint Eastwood's boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby" took the main Oscar prizes, dealing a knockout blow to fellow Hollywood heavyweight Martin Scorsese's lavish biopic "The Aviator".