Ukraine Ukraine's parliament overwhelmingly passed a controversial amendment to weaken the presidency, breaking a standoff between outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and the opposition ahead of a new presidential runoff vote. Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin went "too far" in a warning to the West not to adopt a colonial attitude toward Ukraine's election wrangle, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. EU The 15-year-old European Union arms embargo on China "does not reflect the partnership between China and the EU", Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said after Brussels voiced hopes of lifting the ban next year. Iraq Iraq's interim president accused Iran of meddling in the Iraqi election process, adding to mounting concerns about the viability of the landmark vote scheduled for January 30, as US and British defence ministers addressed troops serving in Iraq. Iraq The US and Iraqi governments have committed more than 120 million dollars for reconstruction in Iraq's Al-Anbar province, which includes the battered city of Fallujah, US navy officials said. Japan Japan threatened to cut off food aid to North Korea after concluding the Stalinist state handed over other people's ashes to prove the death of a Japanese woman abducted by Pyongyang agents at age 13. Yemen Yemen's public prosecutor asked for the death sentence for two Islamist militants convicted over the October 2000 bombing of the US Navy destroyer Cole which claimed the lives of 17 US sailors. Mideast Palestinian leaders arrived in Beirut on the first such first visit to Lebanon in more than two decades, following a similar fence-mending trip to powerful neighbor Syria. Philippines US Marines began helping relief operations in the Philippines following storms that have left more than 1,500 people dead as fears grew of a health crisis among survivors. Pakistan Pakistan test-fired a medium range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead but insisted it was not sending a signal to India amid continuing peace moves with its regional rival.