Iraq Iraqi Shiite leaders braced for greater violence but vowed to push ahead with elections in January after twin car bombs claimed the lives of 62 people in the pilgrimage cities of Najaf and Karbala. Russia A mystery bidder grabbed the crown jewel of Russian oil giant Yukos in an auction that destroyed the country's top private firm, handing it to a shell company that was widely seen as a front for the state-run gas monopoly Gazprom. Mideast Jewish settler leaders were to meet to decide whether to call for civil disobedience in protest at Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. China Chinese President Hu Jintao gave an unprecedented public dressing down to Hong Kong's leaders, a day after the territory's government was forced to postpone a major public property sale. Rwanda Rwanda will no longer threaten to send soldiers into the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to pursue Rwandan Hutu rebels, having received assurances from the international community, Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande told AFP. Ukraine Ukraine's presidential rivals were preparing for their sole debate in a lightning campaign ahead of a rerun election set after a disputed vote sparked a political crisis in the former Soviet republic. Chile Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was due to be in hospital recovering from a stroke, as an appeals court ruled on whether to drop the latest criminal charges against him. US President George W. Bush was named Time magazine's Person of the Year, after a reelection victory that he said was about the "use of American influence." China Fourteen workers died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in southwest China, workplace safety officials said. Indonesia A hand grenade was found in the grounds of the Hilton hotel in Jakarta after warnings that extremists were planning to attack the chain's Indonesian hotels. Afghanistan Two American soldiers were wounded during a gunbattle with militants in southern Afghanistan. Both soldiers are in a stable condition and awaiting evacuation to a US medical facility in Germany.