Iraq Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said he had authorised US-led military forces and Iraqi forces to enter the rebel-held city of Fallujah and announced a raft of special security measures, including a curfew in the city, ahead of the expected all-out assault. Iraq The Al-Qaeda-linked group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the cold-blooded weekend execution of 21 Iraqi police officers, in an Internet statement. Iraq Fighting raged in the west of Fallujah, killing at least 12 people after US and Iraqi troops seized a hospital and two bridges and US warplanes pounded the rebel city amid mounting expectations of an all-out assault. Iraq Two US marines were killed in action in Iraq's restive al-Anbar province, home to the rebel cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the military said. Mideast Three of Yasser Arafat's top lieutenants have decided that they will travel to France after all to visit the ailing Palestinian leader in hospital after scrapping earlier plans when Arafat's wife accused them of wanting to bury her husband alive, a Palestinian cabinet minister said. Mideast The head of the Palestinian legislative council demanded an apology from Yasser Arafat's wife over her accusations that the ailing Palestinian leader's top lieutenants wanted to "bury him alive." Ivory Coast The French foreign ministry said two French citizens were missing in Ivory Coast, as French troops fired shots in the air to disperse protesters near the home of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, and the bodies of nine of their comrades killed in an air raid by the Ivorian air force were flown home. Australia The world must take immediate action against the real threat of nuclear terrorism to prevent a September 11-style outrage, the head of the UN's atomic energy watchdog agency warned. Germany Demonstrators in Germany chained themselves to a railway to stop a shipment of highly radioactive nuclear waste from France, a day after a protester was crushed to death under the train's wheels. EU The European Union launched WTO action against the United States and Canada over their refusal to lift trade sanctions against an EU ban on imports of hormone-injected beef. Nigeria A crowd of around 500 Nigerian trade unionists gathered in the capital Abuja to protest against rising fuel prices and mobilise support for an imminent general strike. Netherlands A Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands cannot extradite Nuriye Kesbir, a senior member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party wanted for attacks on military targets, to Turkey, ANP news agency reported. Saudi Saudi authorities have arrested the spokesman for the team defending three reformists currently on trial in the kingdom, according to a statement issued by a local human rights group.