US Americans vote in one of the closest presidential elections in decades after a long and often bitter campaign between Republican incumbent George W. Bush and his Democratic rival John Kerry. US Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has vowed to wage a war of "attrition" against the United States until it is "bankrupt," in a message to the American people posted on the website of Al-Jazeera TV. Iraq A US citizen and five other staff of a Saudi trading firm were kidnapped in Baghdad while a deputy governor was shot dead, plunging Iraq deeper into crisis as Americans prepared to cast their ballots in a presidential election. Iraq US war plane bombed the rebel-help city of Fallujah overnight, while a cameraman freelancing for a "major news agency" was killed in neighbouring Ramadi, the US military said. Mideast A teenage Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up and killed three other people and wounded dozens in an open-air food market in the heart of Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv. Afghanistan Militants claiming to hold three UN hostages in Afghanistan said they were being kept in different mountainous locations, and repeated threats to kill them if a rescue attempt was made. Thailand A Buddhist deputy village chief was beheaded in Thailand's restive south in what was claimed as a revenge killing for the deaths of 78 Muslims who died in detention last week, police said. UAE The United Arab Emirates named a new energy minister and its first ever woman minister, also creating a ministry for the presidency, its first cabinet reshuffle in seven years. Nigeria Nigerian unions clashed in court with the oil giant Shell as the labour movement flexed its muscles ahead of a nationwide general strike, which its leaders have warned will disrupt key oil exports. Mideast Palestinian officials voiced optimism about Yasser Arafat's condition, saying the ailing Palestinian Authority president had shown improvement at the start of a crucial week for his political future.