Asia Foreign aid workers began arriving on Indonesia's Nias island after an earthquake killed hundreds of people, while desperate survivors dug through the rubble with bare hands and scuffles broke out over food. Vatican Pope John Paul II is being fed through a tube in his nose, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters, adding that his convalescence was "slow" but continued to progress. US A federal appeals court has agreed to weigh a fresh effort by the parents of Terri Schiavo to have her feeding tube reinserted to try to pull her back from the brink of death. EU The controversial US candidate to head the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, won crucial backing from European leaders here, overriding qualms over his central role in the Iraq war. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe ruled out the creation of a unity government in Zimbabwe that would bring in the opposition and confidently asserted that his rivals would be forced to accept defeat in landmark elections. Iraq The chaotic breakdown of a key Iraqi parliament meeting raised fears of a delay in drawing up a permanent constitution because of the failure of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis to agree on a government. Egypt Hundreds of Egyptians demanded the departure of President Hosni Mubarak in an unprecedented string of nationwide demonstrations against the regime, despite efforts by security forces to prevent the protests. Lebanon Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister-designate Omar Karameh stalled on his plan to resign in the latest setback for efforts to form a new government to organise elections due in May. Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan's interim president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, warned ousted leader Askar Akayev not to return to the Central Asian state, saying it could break the fragile calm that finally has taken hold since he fled to Russia. Angola At least three African nations are on alert after an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus claimed a record toll in Angola, as a senior official in the worst-affected area accused Luanda of apathy. Iran Iran gave reporters a rare glimpse of the heavily-defended centerpiece of its controversial nuclear programme, sending another clear message that it was eager to resume enriching uranium. Sudan Sudan reacted angrily to a new UN Security Council resolution aimed at punishing actrocities in the war-torn western region of Darfur and vowed it was working to end the conflict.