Mideast A new chapter opened in the troubled history of the Middle East as the dovish Mahmud Abbas replaced the late Yasser Arafat and a new Israeli government that will give up the Gaza Strip was due to be ushered in. Asia A US helicopter crashed and a strong aftershock struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island as aid groups struggled to reach survivors of the tsunamis that killed more than 156,000 people around Asia. Iraq Prime Minister Iyad Allawi insisted his security forces were winning the battle against extremists, as Baghdad's deputy police chief was among more than a dozen people killed in pre-election rebel violence. Chile Chilean former dictator Augusto Pinochet, currently under house arrest on murder and kidnapping charges stemming from abuses during his 1973-1990 rule, was released on bail by a judge. Kuwait Two Kuwaiti security men were killed and two others wounded in a shootout with gunmen in a suburb south of the capital, Kuwait television reported. China China and Taiwan took a step towards allowing the first direct flights between the rivals since 1949 as representatives held talks on permitting charter flights over the Chinese New Year holidays. Cuba Cuba announced that it is renewing ties with the European Union as well as all EU countries that have embassies on the island. Ukraine Ukraine's central election commission was due to declare pro-West opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko the official winner of a presidential rerun vote, paving the way for his inauguration.