Ukraine Ukraine's civil workers were set to walk into their offices for the first time in weeks after opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and outgoing President Leonid Kuchma struck a deal to end their tense standoff. Iraq US troops put the Pentagon on the defensive, challenging Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over their safety in Iraq, as Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Europe to look beyond differences over last year's invasion. Mideast Prime Minister Ariel Sharon bolstered mounting peace hopes by saying Israel would hold off offensive operations against the Palestinians in the absence of attacks by militant organisations. China The EU said it is working towards lifting a 15-year-old arms embargo on China, but rebuffed pressure for a quick end to the ban from China's prime minister, who slammed it as a Cold War relic. Philippines Three people, including a three-year-old girl, have been pulled out alive after 11 days buried under rubble in the Philippines' storm-hit town of Real, officials said as US Marines prepared to move relief supplies to affected areas. Japan Japan protested to North Korea and threatened to cut food aid after the Stalinist state handed over other people's ashes to prove the death of a Japanese woman whom it had abducted at age 13. Thailand Thailand will hold national elections on February 6, a week earlier than expected, organisers said after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for an early poll amid unrest in the south. Germany Countries seeking permanent seats on the UN Security Council must have the same veto power as the current Big Five, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on a visit to fellow expansion candidate Japan. Romania Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana said his country had completed its negotiations to join the European Union in 2007. US Cloudy weather forced the US military to delay the launch of an interceptor missile over the Pacific for the first integrated flight test of the US missile defense system in two years, a spokesman said. South Korea Samsung Corp said that an international consortium led by the South Korean company had won a deal worth 850 million dollars to build the world's tallest building in Dubai. When completed in November 2008, the "Burj Dubai" in the United Arab Emirates will stand almost 800 meters (2,640 feet) high and have 160 floors above ground.