Mideast Arab leaders resisted US calls for speedy democratic reforms in their country, saying the steps that the United States deems essential to stem terrorism must be preceded by a just and durable peace in the Middle East. Taiwan An opposition alliance which favours friendly ties with China defeated a pro-independence grouping in Taiwan's parliamentary election on Saturday, according to official vote count figures quoted by Eastern TV. US Former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik abruptly withdrew his name from consideration to head the US Homeland Security Department, saying a nanny he hired may have been an illegal immigrant. Iraq A US soldier found guilty of shooting dead an unarmed and wounded Iraqi civilian in Baghdad's Sadr City has been sentenced to three years in prison, the US army said. Philippines Rescuers ended their search for survivors in the ruins of a collapsed building in the storm-ravaged northeastern Philippines after concluding there was no one left alive. Pakistan Pakistani security forces have arrested an Afghan militant leader who allegedly masterminded the month-long kidnap ordeal of three UN workers, officials said. Mideast Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti was expected to officially announce Saturday that he is pulling out of the January 9 Palestinian presidential elections, Israeli public radio said. Mideast Yasser Arafat's nephew turned over his medical records to the Palestinian Authority, providing it with a first glimpse of the file since the Palestinian leader's unexplained death last month. Italy A Sicilian court sentenced a key political aide and confidant of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to nine years in jail for associating with the Mafia, one day after Berlusconi was acquitted in a separate trial on bribing judges. OPEC OPEC ministers played down the significance of an indifferent market reaction to their output cut to shore-up sliding oil prices, insisting that prices would climb again next week. Ukraine Doctors examining Viktor Yushchenko in Vienna said they would reveal Saturday whether poisoning had caused the mystery illness that has disfigured the face of the Ukrainian opposition leader. ICoast Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo banned public demonstrations in Abidjan, on the eve of an anti-French rally planned by his supporters following serious clashes last month.