EU The European Union appeared to be closing on an accord to clear the way to start landmark membership talks with Turkey, after marathon talks to overcome Austrian objections. US US President George W. Bush nominated White House counsel and longtime loyalist Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, a move that may shape legal battles on divisive issues like abortion for decades. 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. Nobel Two Australians won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for pioneering research on stomach ulcers, overturning conventional wisdom to prove they are caused by bacteria and best treated with antibiotics. Pakistan Pakistan and India signed pacts to give advance notice of ballistic missile tests and to set up a hotline between their coastguards, as their foreign ministers reviewed a cautious peace process. Iraq US forces battled insurgents in western Iraq to root out Al-Qaeda fighters along the Syrian border, while in Baghdad Iraq's Special Tribunal announced that Saddam Hussein will go on trial on October 19. Germany German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said for the first time that he would be prepared to forfeit his claim to lead the next government in the interest of forming a coalition with the conservatives. Mideast The Palestinian parliament ordered leader Mahmud Abbas to appoint a new government because of the current regime's failure to impose order on spiralling chaos in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Afghanistan At least 31 militants linked to Afghanistan's toppled Taliban regime were killed in clashes with government forces near the border with Pakistan, the defence ministry said. Astronomy Millions of people living in Europe, Africa and Asia watched as the moon passed across the face of the sun, causing an annular eclipse in which only a fiery solar rim can be seen.