Vatican In a powerful ceremony of stately solemnity, Pope John Paul II made his final journey across Saint Peter's Square to lie in state for three days and nights until his funeral. Iraq A meeting of Sunni Arabs in Baghdad to propose a candidate for vice president in Iraq's next coalition government ended in shouts and curses, underlining the divisions among the community after its loss of power. Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was preparing for showdown talks with settlers over his plans to uproot them from the Gaza Strip as his top lieutenants laid the groundwork for next week's summit with US President George W. Bush. Saudi Fighting between Saudi security forces and gunmen holed up in villas raged on into the night, 36 hours after the start of a siege that has left seven suspected Al-Qaeda militants dead, officials said. Russia Kyrgyzstan's ousted president Askar Akayev formally resigned from his post, ending the political uncertainty that followed the sudden toppling of his longtime regime in the key Central Asian nation. Austria Iran still hopes to strike a deal with the European Union on its peaceful use of nuclear energy and assuage fears that it is trying to develop atomic weapons, President Mohammad Khatami said here. Austria Austrian far-right firebrand Joerg Haider returned to national politics to head a new party formed here to replace the Freedom Party (FPOe), riven by infighting, in the country's ruling coalition. US US President George W. Bush pledged to help Ukraine battle corruption and join NATO and the World Trade Organization as he rolled out the red carpet for Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Thailand Authorities investigating three bombings that killed two people and injured almost 80 people in Thailand's restive south said they had an image of a bombing suspect taken from a security camera. US Jurors braced to hear explosive testimony about Michael Jackson's alleged abuse of five young boys in the 1990s, as his child sex trial entered a critical new phase.