France A divided France voted in a historic referendum on the European Union's first-ever constitution, with final opinion polls pointing towards a "no" that would have major consequences throughout the continent for the future of Europe. Iraq Nine Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a suicide car bombing targeting a checkpoint near Baghdad, while a British soldier was killed in southern Iraq as violence showed no sign of letting up. Lebanon Lebanon began voting in its first election free of Syria's grip, with victory assured in Beirut for the son of Rafiq Hariri whose murder triggered a massive popular uprising against the pro-Damascus regime. Mideast The Israeli government approved the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners and declared itself ready to allow the United States to mediate a coordinated pullout from Gaza with the Palestinians. Indonesia Security forces were deployed at churches on Indonesia's Sulawesi island after a bomb attack on a Christian town killed 20 people and threatened to reignite a violent conflict with Muslims. Finland A spokesman for the pro-independence movement in the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh expressed optimism on peace moves, with an EU delegation due to add weight to negotiations under way in Finland. Vatican Pope Benedict XVI made a back-to-basics appeal to Roman Catholics, urging pilgrims at a giant open-air mass here to reject "runaway consumerism" and secularism, and calling for Sundays to be kept holy. Austria An Austrian lawmaker who caused a stir with pro-Nazi remarks retracted a promise to resign and vowed to take up the post of president of the upper house of parliament in July. Japan A Japanese embassy official denied that guerrillas had demanded a ransom for two former World War II soldiers reported to be hiding near this southern Philippines city. SriLanka Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga vowed to share foreign aid with Tamil rebels a day after former US president Bill Clinton urged local politicians to support the controversial move.