Philippines At least 14 people were killed and 59 others injured in a bomb attack in a public market in the southern Philippines, the military said. Iraq Insurgents shot dead an Iraqi police officer in the latest of a spate of deadly weekend attacks on security forces across Iraq, as the number of US troops killed while trying to impose order ahead of next month's landmark elections continued to rise. Mideast Israel looked poised for a new coalition government within a week as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began talks with ultra-Orthodox parties alongside negotiations with the main opposition Labour faction. Ukraine Ukraine's ruling elite was silent after news that Western-oriented opposition leader and presidential frontrunner Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned earlier in the race in this former Soviet republic. Romania Romanians went to the polls to elect a president with fighting corruption and joining the EU the main themes in a run-off round pitting Prime Minister Adrian Nastase against Bucharest Mayor Traian Basescu. Kuwait Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Mahmud Abbas apologized to Kuwait for the organization's stand during the 1990 Iraq invasion after arriving on a landmark visit to the emirate. Iran Iran warned that it is not prepared to permanently freeze its controversial nuclear fuel work and that it expected quick results from crucial talks with Britain, France and Germany. Taiwan Taiwan's opposition basked in the support it garnered at parliamentary elections for its pledges to improve relations with China and remove fears of a cross-strait war. Myanmar At least two Myanmar dissidents were among thousands of prisoners freed after the military government announced it had begun releasing more than 5,000 detainees in a third mass release in less than a month, relatives and officials said. Portugal Portugal plunged deeper into political crisis following the swift resignation of its centre-right government in reaction to the president's decision to dissolve parliament and call an early vote.