Vatican Pope John Paul II, suffering from the influenza which has forced him to cancel his public appointments in the next few days, has been hospitalized "as a precaution," according to an Italian media report. Nepal Nepal's King Gyanendra unveiled a new cabinet, a day after sacking the government and imposing an indefinite state of emergency in a move that has sparked international condemnation. Iraq Iraqi leaders strove to persuade Sunni Muslims to return to the political process amid a final ballot count, as Iraqi and US officials rejected an immediate withdrawal of foreign troops after an election deemed successful. Sudan Sudan dismissed as one-sided a UN report that accused the Khartoum government of gross and systematic human rights violations in Darfur but stopped short of labelling the violence in the region as genocide. US-Iraq A photograph of what Islamist militants claimed was a captured US soldier may be instead a toy figure sold at US military bases in the Middle East, the toy's manufacturer said. Mideast Israel put the transfer of security control in parts of the West Bank on hold as a new volley of mortar attacks by Palestinian militants in Gaza further undermined a fragile truce. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe set March 31 as the date for key parliamentary elections that will be closely watched to gauge whether Zimbabwe can live up to its pledge to hold free and fair polls. Kuwait The Kuwaiti parliament approved tough new powers for the security forces in the face of a wave of unrest by Islamic militants that has rocked the oil-rich Gulf emirate. Asia The United Nations confirms it offered former US president Bill Clinton the job of UN special envoy for tsunami relief, and that Clinton has accepted. Asia The UN's World Tourism Organisation, meeting at its first ever emergency session, endorsed a plan to revive the industry in nations hit hard by the devastating December 26 Indian Ocean tsunamis. Asia The number of people presumed dead in December's earthquake and tsunamis rose to more than 290,000, with Indonesian authorities announcing a further increase in the number of dead.