Ukraine Ukraine's pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich has refused to step down after parliament voted to dismiss his government. Ukraine A divided Ukraine faced the increasing prospect of a new presidential poll as parliament voted to oust the ruling government and European mediators huddled to ease a political crisis that showed few signs of abating. Philippines Terrified survivors were fleeing the northeastern Philippines as a new storm bore down on the area where floods and landslides have killed more than 400 people and left nearly 200 missing. Health The murderous advance of AIDS was commemorated around the world in pledges, appeals, processions and concerts, but the day was stamped by China's warnings about its exposure to the epidemic. Iraq Iraq's interim government was engaged in a flurry of contacts at home and abroad ahead of the January 30 elections after one of the deadliest post-war months prompted calls to delay the landmark vote. Iraq The mutilated body of a Western woman found in Iraq in mid-November was not that of Margaret Hassan, the Foreign Office said, adding that it believed the abducted aid worker had been murdered. China All 166 miners trapped after a gas blast in China were confirmed dead, sparking riots by hundreds of angry relatives who stormed a government office, smashed windows and beat officials. Mideast Jailed West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti was set to make a dramatic last-minute entrance into the race for Palestinian Authority president from inside his Israeli prison cell. Mozambique Mozambique staged watershed elections to pick a successor to President Joaquim Chissano, who is stepping down after 18 years during which he ended a vicious and long civil war, with the outgoing leader expressing pride at his role as a peacemaker. Britain British Home Secretary David Blunkett denied any wrongdoing amid press reports that a visa application for his ex-lover's Filipina nanny had been processed in a mere matter of days.