Iraq Twenty-six people were killed, including at least 12 policemen, in double attacks in Baghdad, ending a relative lull in Iraq's capital since last month's US-led assault on Fallujah, medics and officials said. Iraq US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged intelligence had failed to predict the strength of the insurgency in Iraq, as the United States said it would boost its forces back to the highest levels since Iraq invasion before crucial January elections. Ukraine After five days of public hearings, Ukrainian supreme court judges began to consider their ruling over a bitterly contested presidential vote that has plunged this ex-Soviet country into its worst crisis since independence. Ukraine The Russian parliament massively approved a resolution condemning western Europe's "destructive" role in Ukraine's political crisis, saying it was whipping up radical sentiment that could result in negative consequences for all of Europe. Philippines Philippine officials fearful of epidemics rushed to bury hundreds of people killed in storms this week as Typhoon Nanmadol barrelled out to sea after cutting a swathe of destruction across the north of the country. China Up to 47 people were feared dead after a landslide blamed on mining engulfed much of a remote Chinese village as people slept. The disaster struck in mountainous Zuojiaying village in Nayong county, Guizhou province. Mideast Israeli soldiers killed a leading member of the armed wing of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank, Palestinian security sources said. India Russian President Vladimir Putin held a series of meetings with leaders of India's new government amid hopes his visit will strengthen trade and military ties. Pakistan Pakistan and India agreed to restore a second rail link between the South Asian rivals which was severed nearly 40 years ago, the latest step of a slow-moving peace process. UN The United Nations made an unexpected about-face, saying it would reconsider the case against its top watchdog official, controversially pardoned by Kofi Annan after favouritism and corruption allegations. India Myanmar has launched a major military operation to evict Indian separatists from its soil, sparking heavy fighting in the thick jungles in the north of that country, a rebel leader said. India Survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy staged a series of angry protests and a march on the 20th anniversary of the world's worst industrial accident in which thousands of people were killed.