Indonesia Indonesian police were hunting the suspects who helped suicide bombers attack the resort of Bali, leaving at least 19 dead and raising fears of more violence from Islamic militants. EU-Turkey Austria pushed the European Union to the brink of a new crisis as it held out against an accord to clear the way for the start of landmark membership talks with Turkey. Iraq-US US forces backed by fighter aircraft and helicopter gunships killed at least 12 rebels during the second day of an offensive near the Syrian border, as Al-Qaeda threatened to kill two marines it claimed to have kidnapped during the sweep. Iraq-Saudi Arab ministers decided to send Arab League chief Amr Mussa to Iraq shortly to prepare for a reconciliation conference grouping all factions, amid increasiing internecine violence there. US-Iraq A US soldier convicted of humiliating and abusing Iraqi prisoners said she knew of "worse things" happening at Abu Ghraib and insisted military commanders were fully aware of what was going on in Iraq's infamous jail. Vatican Pope Benedict XVI opened a three-week meeting of over 250 Roman Catholic bishops at the Vatican, telling the synod it was "hypocritical" to exclude religion from public life. Mideast Israel suspended an offensive against militants in the Gaza Strip, including targeted killings, as clashes between Hamas gunmen and Palestinian police trying to enforce an arms ban killed at least three in Gaza City. US Twenty-one people were killed when a tour boat capsized on a lake in northern New York state, Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland said. Russia The Russian Soyuz rocket carrying US "space tourist" Greg Olsen together with a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut docked with the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's Space Flight Control Centre said. Nobel The 2005 Nobel prize season opens on Monday with the prize for medicine kicking off the annual series of prestigious awards, with the greatest excitement reserved for the coveted honours for peace and for literature. Germany Germany's conservative Christian Democrats embark on another week of political horsetrading boosted by an election win in Dresden which they hope will tip the balance in their favour following last month's inconclusive general election. Malaysia The first World Islamic Economic Forum called for the establishment of an Islamic common market and floated a series of initiatives to boost business cooperation amongst Muslim nations.