Iraq Suicide car bombers killed 10 people in attacks on an Iraqi army base and a checkpoint in Baghdad, while gunmen assassinated a judge and his son serving on the tribunal set up to try Saddam Hussein. Iraq French authorities called on a maverick lawmaker singled out by name in a video plea by a reporter taken hostage in Iraq, to help them in their bid to free the gaunt and desperate looking journalist. Mideast Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas hailed a new era of Middle East hope and vowed to work to build a Palestinian state "as soon as possible," a day after winning ringing support for his reform plans. Mideast Israel warned Mahmud Abbas of a bleak future unless he crushes militants, as the Palestinian leader hailed a new era of hope and pledged to build a viable state as soon as possible. HongKong Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa looked set to resign, cutting short a turbulent eight-year tenure overshadowed by economic recession, policy gaffes and unease over China's interference. North Korea North Korea demanded that the United States apologise for calling it part of an "axis of evil" and an "outpost of tyranny", urging Washington to provide the right conditions for a return to six-party talks on its nuclear drive. Pakistan Pakistani police arrested a militant who was sentenced to death in his absence for a 2002 suicide bomb which killed 11 French engineers and who may be linked to the murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl. Congo UN peacekeeping troops pressed an offensive against local militias in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo after killing dozens in response to a murderous ambush. Spain The people who bombed suburban trains in Madrid last year had also planned to attack New York's Grand Central railway station, having in their possession a detailed plan of the building on a computer disk, the El Mundo daily said. Britain A British Muslim girl won a long legal battle to force her school to let her wear traditional full-length Islamic dress in class, a case reflecting similar debates elsewhere in Europe.