Ukraine Ukraine's pro-West opposition was locked in a fresh standoff with the ruling regime after a stunning court victory handed it a rerun later this month of a contested presidential vote. Iraq A wave of attacks that included car bombings here and in Baghdad left nearly 40 people dead in Iraq, exacerbating fears that violence could derail Iraq's January elections. Philippines Panicked residents scrambled to flee three storm-ravaged coastal Philippine towns while rescuers made last-ditch attempts to find survivors of the powerful storm that left more than 1,100 dead and missing. India-Kashmir At least nine soldiers, one policeman and a civilian died in a landmine explosion triggered by suspected Islamic militants in Indian Kashmir, police said. US-Iraq The US military was investigating photographs of apparent Iraqi prisoner abuse snapped earlier than those showing abuse by US troops of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison which sparked a major scandal, the Navy confirmed. Germany Two Iraqis arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting an attack against visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi were remanded in custody, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor said. ICoast Visiting South African President Thabo Mbeki appeared to have made some headway in his peace mediation in the Ivory Coast, securing a government pledge to amend a contentious constitutional provision to open the way for a wider range of presidential candidates. Niger Voters in Niger went to the polls in the last round of a presidential election, in which incumbent leader Mamadou Tandja was forecast to defeat Socialist Mahamadou Issoufou to win a second term. MissWorld Peru's 20-year-old Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia began her reign as Miss World 2004 after beating 106 other women to the title in China's second staging of the international beauty pageant. Thailand Fifty aircraft were due to scatter 120 million paper birds across Thailand's trouble-hit Muslim-majority south in a peace gesture that has captured the imagination of most of the nation, officials said.