December 14, 2005	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 11, 1426

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US, Iran reject IAEA proposal: Security guarantees WASHINGTON, Dec 13: The United States and Iran poured cold water on Monday on a call by the head of the UN nuclear watchdog to provide Tehran with US security assurances if the former forswears development of nuclear weapons....		4 US troops killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, Dec 13: Four US soldiers were killed in Iraq on Tuesday as bloodshed clouded expatriate voting in a landmark election aimed at restoring full sovereignty and ultimately taking foreign troops home....
CIA abducted suspects: Council of Europe’s findings PARIS, Dec 13: The CIA appears to have abducted suspects in Europe and illegally transferred them to other countries, according to the preliminary results of a Council of Europe investigation released on Tuesday....		Germany sees rise in converts to Islam BERLIN, Dec 13: More than 1,000 people converted to Islam in Germany this year, the highest figure on record, and a majority were women who were not married to a Muslim, according to a study released on Tuesday....
Russia signs accords with Asean KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13: President Vladimir Putin pushed his effort to increase Russia’s influence in Asia on Tuesday by signing agreements with Southeast Asia on the eve of a regional summit....		Ex-US official admits to secret paper theft WASHINGTON, Dec 13: A former US State Department official pleaded guilty on Monday to removing top secret government documents while conducting a ‘personal relationship’ with a Taiwanese spy, the Justice Department said....
Fear of Israel forces EU to shelve East Jerusalem report BRUSSELS: A controversial report that accuses Israel of rushing to annex Arab areas of East Jerusalem was shelved by European foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday out of sensitivity to Israel....		‘Brokeback’ tops Golden Globes nominations BEVERLY HILLS, Dec 13: ‘Brokeback Mountain’, a gay romance between two cowboys, topped the Golden Globes on Tuesday with nominations in seven categories, including best film drama, in a year dominated by independent movies....
Tehran urged not to execute Afghan UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13: A United Nations rights expert has called on the Iranian government not to carry out the death penalty against Rostam Tajik, a 20-year-old Afghan national who was only 16 when he is alleged to have committed murder....		Death row activist executed in US SAN QUENTIN (USA), Dec 13: US authorities on Tuesday executed convicted killer Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams after one of the biggest anti-death penalty campaigns in the country for decades....
Saddam asks for new shoes BAGHDAD, Dec 13: Two years after being pulled from a ‘rat hole’ in Iraq, former president Saddam Hussein is demanding clean clothes and new shoes, while his countrymen focus on this week’s crucial election....		Politician assassinated in Ramadi BAGHDAD, Dec 13: Gunmen assassinated a high- profile Sunni politician in western Iraq on Tuesday, two days before the nation votes for its first full-term parliament since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein....
Indian Mig crashes GUWAHATI, Dec 13: An Indian air force Mig-21 fighter aircraft crashed on Tuesday in the northeastern state of Assam, but the pilot managed to bail out safely, an official said....		Ramayana producer dies MUMBAI, Dec 13: Leading Indian filmmaker Ramanand Sagar, whose television adaptation of the Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’ was such a hit with audiences it brought the nation to a virtual halt, has died at the age of 88....
After election, no quick end to US role in Iraq BAGHDAD: Hours after storming into Iraq in March 2003, triumphant US Marines hoisted the Stars and Stripes over Umm Qasr; minutes later, they hauled it down again....		An Nahar: Lebanon’s torch for liberal views BEIRUT: The Lebanese newspaper An Nahar, founded by the grandfather of its slain director Gibran Tueni, has long been one of the most vocal campaigners against Syrian interference in the country....
Secularists flop in Egypt’s elections CAIRO: While Islamists running as independents soared in Egypt’s elections last month, the established secular parties crashed, looking adrift in a society where much political discourse and activity involves Islam....		Leaders of Asean bite Myanmar bullet AFTER years of procrastination, south-east Asian leaders finally bit the Myanmar bullet on Monday, telling the country’s military junta to release the detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political prisoners and “expedite” the restoration of democracy....