Asia US Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged to increase his nation's military relief efforts to Indonesia after witnessing first hand the devastation from the tsunami in Aceh, where more than 94,000 people have died. Asia The UN's health agency warned that 150,000 people in areas devastated by the deadly tsunamis were at "extreme risk" of a major disease outbreak unless they receive clean water supplies by the end of the week. Asia Europe fell silent for three minutes as leaders and ordinary people in the streets paid a poignant tribute to the 146,000 victims of southern Asia's tsunami disaster. Asia Sri Lanka said it had managed to bring the tsunami disaster under control as its foreign military-backed relief operations picked up and the central bank offered cheap credit to survivors to help foot a 1.3 billion dollar damage bill. Iraq Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi insisted that holding elections on time on January 30 was crucial to defeating the insurgency and quelling the unrelenting violence. Iraq At least nine people were killed and 38 wounded, including police and civilians, in a suicide car bombing near a police academy in Hilla, south of Baghdad, the city's police chief said. Mideast Palestinian militants defied appeals by presidential election favourite Mahmud Abbas to stop firing rockets into Israel as they hit an army base in a new strike launched from the Gaza Strip. Nepal Some 150 Maoist guerrillas were killed in a fierce battle with security forces in Nepal's remote southwest, a top army official said. Ukraine Ukraine's outgoing President Leonid Kuchma accepted the resignation of defeated presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich from the post of prime minister, according to the presidency.