WORLD
* Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko said he is confident of victory in the January 17 election
* Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is trying to use her Russian counterpart"s "strongman" tactics in the presidential race in Ukraine, her main rival Viktor Yanukovych said
* The Israeli prime minister denied reports he agreed for Jerusalem to be declared the capital of a Palestinian state
* A total of 3,021 people were killed and 7,334 injured in terrorists attacks in Pakistan last year, national media reported citing a new report by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS)
* At least 16 Afghan insurgents were killed in two missile strikes using unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghan volatile Helmand Province, the U.S. military command in Kabul announced
* Several people were shot dead and more than a dozen injured during an anti-NATO demonstration in Afghanistan"s volatile Helmand province, local media said
RUSSIA