Iraq Iraqis counted ballots from the country's first free election in half a century, after millions braved insurgents' bombs, mortars and threats to cast their vote. Iraq US President George W. Bush hailed Iraq's elections as a "resounding success" but warned they would not stop the campaign of violence by insurgents. Kuwait Five suspected Islamist militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces south of Kuwait City, state television said. Thailand Tourism ministers, officials and experts gathered on the tsunami-hit Thai island of Phuket to thrash out a response to the worst natural disaster to hit the global tourism industry. Vietnam Countries battling bird flu will meet with UN agencies and donors in Vietnam in late February to discuss the fight against the deadly virus, officials said as the latest outbreak claimed its 12th victim. Mideast Tens of thousands of protestors, many of them Jewish settlers, rallied outside the Israeli parliament to protest against their government's plans to quit the Gaza Strip this year, police said. Tajikistan At least one person was killed and four were injured when a car exploded in the heart of the Tajik capital, an official in the country's emergencies ministry said. US US President George W. Bush promised to combine idealism with realism in promoting his stated aim of spreading freedom and democracy abroad, arguing that "societies don't change on a dime." US The trial of Michael Jackson was due to open, with the singer insisting he would be found innocent of the "disgusting" accusations of child molestation.