Iraq Two female Italian aid workers kidnapped in Baghdad three weeks ago have been released along with two Iraqi colleagues, making at least 10 the number of people freed in 24 hours, including employees of Egyptian telecoms giant Orascom. Iraq A purported French envoy seeking the release of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq told Al-Arabiya television he had seen the pair and a deal had been reached for their release. US Oil prices hovered near record levels amid a multitude of supply fears, but failed to hold above 50 dollars a barrel, getting some relief as Saudi Arabia pledged to boost production. US US President George W. Bush enjoyed a sturdy lead over Democrat John Kerry in new polls, raising the stakes for their first debate two days before that face-to-face confrontation. Mideast Two Palestinians have been killed here by Israeli fire as the Palestinian uprising entered its fifth year, while a CNN producer was released 24 hours after being kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen in Gaza City. Japan Powerful Typhoon Meari pounded southern and western Japan with heavy rain and strong winds, cutting power to tens of thousands of households and forcing thousands to leave their homes. Britain A combative Prime Minister Tony Blair has refused to apologise for taking Britain into the Iraq war, as he rallied his governing Labour Party to unite and win a third straight term in a general election likely to take place in 2005. Mauritania The Mauritanian authorities thwarted an attempted coup d'etat and seized weapons that were to have been used, Interior Minister Mohamed Ghali Ould Cherif Ahmed announced. Sudan Representatives of the Sudanese government and the southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) have urged the world community to provide 300 million dollars (244 million euros) in aid to cover emergency needs. Thailand Thailand has confirmed its tenth death from bird flu and the first probable case of human-to-human infection in an outbreak that has swept Asia this year.