US US President George W. Bush vowed that Iraqi elections set for January 30 will go forward, and stood by his beleaguered Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, at a wide-ranging White House news conference. Iraq Iraqi leaders braced for greater violence but vowed to push ahead with elections in January after twin car bombs claimed the lives of 66 people in the pilgrimage cities of Najaf and Karbala. Chile An appeals court in Chile refused to drop charges against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, clearing the way for his prosecution on criminal charges dating from his 17-year rule. Ukraine Ukraine's presidential rivals prepared to face off in their sole televised debate ahead of a rerun election, set after a furor over a disputed vote split the country and drove a wedge between Russia and the West. Mideast Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the threat of civil disobedience by Jewish settlers would not derail his plan to withdraw all Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip by the end of 2005. Macau President Hu Jintao hailed Macau as an economic and political success story on the fifth anniversary of its return to China, while levelling criticism of the leadership in neighbouring Hong Kong. Russia Yukos' jailed founder accused the government of "destroying" the nation's top oil group as mystery surrounded the new owner of its crown jewel, widely seen as a cover for state-run gas giant Gazprom. Rwanda Rwanda withdrew a threat to send soldiers into the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where Kinshasa accuses them of siding with rebels in this eastern town gripped by fighting. Turkey A Turkish Islamist militant rejected charges of terrorism but spoke out in favor of religious rule for Turkey as his trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow the country's secular system opened here under tight security. Sudan African Union mediators met with delegates from the Sudanese government and Darfur's two main rebel groups in a bid to get a stalled peace conference back on track after renewed violence in the region.