Ukraine Ukraine's opposition leader declared himself president as tens of thousands of his supporters massed in front of parliament, deepening the political crisis in this bitterly divided nation after elections widely condemned by the West as fraudulent. Ukraine Western governments and observers condemned Ukraine's presidential election as rigged in favour of the country's pro-Moscow prime minister, leading to what one called "North Korean"-style results. Iraq A force of 5,000 US, British and Iraqi troops swept through insurgent bastions south of Baghdad in the latest push to reclaim lawless enclaves ahead of the elections, the US military said. Iraq The world's main powers and Middle East countries put on a rare show of unity to support January elections in Iraq that UN chief Kofi Annan termed "critical" to quell rampant violence. Afghanistan Three United Nations hostages were freed in Afghanistan unharmed and healthy after almost four weeks in captivity amid conflicting claims over whether the government promised to free Taliban prisoners in exchange for their release. Britain The British government denied that its new plans to fight global terrorism and organized crime amounted to scare-mongering tactics aimed at winning re-election next year. India-Pakistan India and Pakistan committed themselves to continuing dialogue on Kashmir during a meeting between Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh that was described as "very friendly". Mideast New PLO chief Mahmud Abbas pledged to follow in the footsteps of Yasser Arafat after he was picked by the dominant Fatah faction as its candidate to succeed the late Palestinian leader. Health More than three million people will have died from AIDS in 2004 and nearly 40 million now have HIV, the highest tolls in the 23-year history of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, the United Nations reported.