US Police in New Orleans went house by house to persuade the last residents to leave, as teams fanned out across the shattered city to retrieve the bodies of the thousands feared dead. Egypt Hosni Mubarak was expected to sweep to a landslide victory when the official results of Egypt's first contested presidential elections are announced, after a poll hailed as an historic step even if marred by violations. France Looking relaxed and in good health, President Jacques Chirac walked from the Paris hospital where he was treated for an eyesight problem linked to a "vascular incident" and said he was glad to be returning to work. Germany Just over a week before the German election, the majority for challenger Angela Merkel's favored coalition appeared to be melting away as Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the mood for change had been overestimated. Iraq Iraqi and US forces have stepped up their offensive against rebels in the northern town of Tal Afar, while tightening security on the nearby Syrian border, Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said. Britain Britain's finance minister Gordon Brown launched a drive to help wealthy nations raise four billion dollars to vaccinate millions of children against deadly diseases in poor countries. Mideast The Israeli army was demolishing the last of its buildings and packing up remaining equipment Friday while awaiting final orders for a lightning withdrawal from Gaza after a 38-year occupation. Japan Japanese authorities said they had seen Chinese warships for the first time near a disputed gas field in the East China Sea which Tokyo recently opened to exploration. Ukraine Ukraine's new prime minister held talks on forming a new government as Kiev gave assurances that President Viktor Yushchenko's dismissal of the old cabinet would not spell an end to the ex-Soviet nation's new, pro-Western course. IEA Hurricane Katrina delivered a "severe" shock to Gulf of Mexico oil supplies, wrecking pipelines and damaging scores of platforms, but 90 percent of production can be back on stream within a few months, the International Energy Agency said. Japan Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi looked headed for victory ahead of weekend snap elections, which he wants to be a referendum on reforming the world's second largest economy. US NATO agreed to dispatch ships and planes to help transport European aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina, in response to the "immense suffering" on the US Gulf Coast.