Mideast US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put her stamp of approval on the new Palestinian leadership as she arrived in Ramallah for a meeting with Yasser Arafat's successor Mahmud Abbas, the highest level contact between the two sides in three years. Iraq Two suicide attacks against Iraqi police killed 19 people, the deadliest in a relentless assault on security forces since landmark January 30 elections, while insurgents threatened to execute a kidnapped Italian reporter if Rome failed to announce a troop withdrawal. Switzerland Police in the Swiss capital Bern cordoned off the Spanish consulate after an unconfirmed report that hostages were being held inside the building. Police said they could neither confirm nor deny the report. Vatican After a three-day hiatus, the Vatican was due to issue a new bulletin on Pope John Paul II's health after he appeared at a window to say a few words in his first public appearance since being hospitalized last week. Thailand Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed he would sever a coalition partnership with the Chart Thai party, paving the way for a one-party government after he won weekend polls by a landslide. Nepal Nepal's new government headed by the king has offered to hold unconditional talks with Maoist rebels to end an insurgency that has claimed more than 11,000 lives since 1996, state media said. Togo Ignoring a storm of criticism over the appointment of Faure Eyadema to succeed his father as president, the parliament in the small west African state of Togo speedily changed the constitution at the weekend to validate the move. Britain Unskilled foreigners will find it harder to migrate to Britain under new proposals due to be announced that will also call for stricter screening of asylum seekers and tighter border controls. Afghanistan NATO-led peacekeeping troops found the first bodies at the site where an Afghan passenger jet carrying 104 people hit a snow-covered mountain in a remote area near Kabul four days earlier. Iran Negotiations with the European Union on Iran's nuclear programme are entering a crucial phase, a top Iranian official said, urging EU negotiators Britain, France and Germany to clarify their objectives. Spain Spain launched a major drive to grant legal status to an estimated half million illegal immigrants already working in the country, but critics say the most vulnerable will not benefit from the scheme.