Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas ushered in a new era of hope for Middle East peace at a landmrk summit by calling a ceasefire to end four years of bloodshed. Iraq A suicide bombing against army recruits and a string of other attacks left at least 29 people dead across Iraq, with Al-Qaeda and its allies claiming responsibility for much of the new bloodshed. France The United States and France declared they had opened a "new chapter" in their relations, drawing a line on two years of feuding over Iraq with pledges to cooperate in bringing stability to the Middle East. Togo Shuttered stores and empty streets marked the first day of Togo's 'stay home' strike to protest the hasty swearing-in of President Faure Gnassingbe, stirring sentiment among a population cowed by 38 years of repression under his late father Gnassingbe Eyadema. Denmark Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's center-right coalition government is headed for victory and a second four-year term, according to television exit polls broadcast one hour before voting stations closed on. Nepal Nepal's army said activists rounded up after the king's power grab a week ago could be locked up for three months, as the new government warned traders and citizens against hoarding food and fuel before a protest strike called by Maoist rebels. Sudan Sudan again rejected calls to hold any trials over the bloodshed in Darfur outside the country, as the world community looks to shore up a peace deal after Sudan's long civil war. Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili, Preident of the Caucasian republic of Georgia, nominated his liberal finance minister, Zurab Nogaideli, as successor to deceased prime minister Zurab Zhvania. Zimbabwe A senior Zimbabwean diplomat was sentenced to six years in jail and two officials given five-year sentences for selling secrets about President Robert Mugabe's party to South Africa, a court source said. Vatican As a frail Pope John Paul II marked a seventh day in hospital, with no news yet on his eventual release, comments by the Vatican's top official brought an old Vatican taboo -- the question of a possible resignation -- into the open. Somalia Somalia's warlords handed over the presidential palace and other key facilities to a national administration, which is seeking from exile in Kenya to rebuild the country after more than a decade of lawlessness and famine.