Ukraine Ukraine faced yet more polemics after President Leonid Kuchma proposed holding quick new presidential elections and handing interim power to a parliament where the opposition has a strong voice as a way out of the political crisis. Iraq The United States announced it would boost its forces in Iraq to their highest war-time level ahead of January's crunch polls, as President George W. Bush insisted the elections would be held on time. Philippines Nearly 1,000 people are dead or missing after a storm triggered landslides and floods in the Philippines this week, rescuers said as a new and even more powerful deadly typhoon approached the main island of Luzon. Congo-Rwanda The Democratic Republic of Congo began deploying troops to the east of the country amid reports that Rwandan forces were operating in the area and thousands of civilians were fleeing clashes. Myanmar The White House demanded that Myanmar military authorities "immediately and unconditionally" release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and condemned her extended house arrest. Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged to see through his controversial plan to withdraw troops and settlers from Gaza despite kicking his last remaining coalition partner out of government. US The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, resigned less than six months after becoming the diplomatic face of Washington at the world body, the United States announced. US Bernard Kerik, the New York police chief during the September 11 attacks, has been chosen as the new homeland security secretary, a senior administration official said. Thailand A Buddhist school teacher was shot dead and another wounded in the latest attack by suspected Muslim militants in troubled southern Thailand where violence has raged throughout the year, police said. India Exactly 20 years after lethal gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal and killed thousands, survivors and relatives revisited the site to light candles and hold vigil for those who died. China Up to 65 people are missing after a landslide engulfed 25 homes in a village in southwestern Guizhou province, state media and local officials reported.