December 5, 2005	Monday	Ziqa’ad 2, 1426

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Militants fire rockets into Israel after air raids GAZA CITY, Dec 4: Palestinian militants fired rockets from the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Israel launched a series of air raids and pounded the territory with artillery fire....		Six Sri Lankan soldiers killed in landmine blast COLOMBO, Dec 4: Six soldiers were killed in a landmine blast in northern Sri Lanka on Sunday which the government blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels, warning that an upsurge of attacks undermined moves to revive an already troubled peace process....
Angry Shias greet Allawi with rocks, tomatoes NAJAF, Dec 4: A crowd hurling shoes, rocks and tomatoes forced former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to cut short a visit on Sunday to Iraq’s holiest Shia shrine during a campaign trip to the city of Najaf, police officers said....		BD premier vows to crack down on militants DHAKA, Dec 4: Prime minister Khaleda Zia on Sunday told business leaders worried over bomb blasts and suicide attacks by Muslim militants, that her government would crack down on the militants....
BD proposal to change Asian highway route turned down DHAKA, Dec 4: All the six countries that Bangladesh had approached to change the route of certain portion of the Asian Highway to be crossing its territory, have turned the proposal on the grounds of ‘time constraint’....		UN plans military operation for Darfur UNITED NATIONS, Dec 4: A joint military team will visit Darfur next week to study whether the United Nations should take over efforts to bring order to Sudan’s lawless west, UN officials and diplomats said on Sunday....
Massive rally in HK for democracy HONG KONG, Dec 4: Tens of thousands marched in Hong Kong on Sunday for the right to directly elect their leaders and to protest against a package of electoral reforms pushed by the city’s chief executive and Beijing....		Venezuelans vote for Congress CARACAS (Venezuela), Dec 4: Venezuelans voted on Sunday in a congressional election with lawmakers allied to left-wing President Hugo Chavez looked set to sweep most seats after the main opposition parties boycotted the poll....
Conservatives ready their answer to Tony Blair LONDON: After months of soul-searching over their long losing streak, Britain’s once-mighty Conservatives will this week come up with an answer to Tony Blair — a man to lead them out of the political wilderness....		Singapore activists face uphill battle: Abolition of death penalty SINGAPORE: A fledgling campaign to abolish the death penalty in Singapore faces formidable hurdles, activists and opposition politicians admit after a failed bid to save an Australian drug runner from the gallows....
The desire for the narrative LONDON: About a kilometre into the mountain in the Ariege region of the Pyrenees, I trained my miner’s lamp on to the wall in front of me to see the bison that had been painted 12,000 years before....		Car show reflects economic mobility in S. Africa SOWETO (South Africa): Some people whistled in admiration. Some made revving sounds. Some just gazed at the metallic blue Chrysler Crossfire displayed one recent afternoon — its hood open, hot-rod style...
‘Slaves’ at rubber plantation MONROVIA (Liberia): With his ragged child’s overalls and four foot frame, 11-year-old Zachariah does not look like a typical plantation labourer. But every morning he is not in school, the Liberian...		Kung fu monks go modern SONGSHAN (China): Shi Yongxin wears a bright yellow robe and heavy prayer beads and lives in an ancient shrine high up in the mountains of central China....
Merkel appeals for release of hostage BERLIN, Dec 4: German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the kidnappers of a German woman taken hostage in Iraq to release her immediately and said the government was working “around the clock” to free the 43-year-old archaeologist....		Grand opening for Afghan parliament KABUL, Dec 4: Afghanistan is preparing a “glorious” ceremony for the opening this month of its first post-conflict parliament, an official said on Sunday....