December 16, 2005	Friday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1426

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Britain drops action against mosques LONDON, Dec 15: Controversial plans to give police new powers to shut down mosques used by extremists are to be dropped from new terrorism legislation, Britain’s Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced on Thursday....		Saudi prince donates $40m to US varsities NEW YORK, Dec 15: A prominent Saudi businessman announced this week a donation of $20 million each to Georgetown and Harvard universities for the study of Islam....
Shia bloc to dominate elections in Iraq: poll BAGHDAD, Dec 15: A straw poll conducted after voting closed in Iraq’s election on Thursday showed the dominant Shia Islamist bloc retained a strong following, but was being challenged by former prime minister Iyad Allawi’s secular list....		Store asks S. Asians to show passports LONDON, Dec 15: Asda, Britain’s second-biggest supermarket, apologized on Thursday for asking ethnic South Asian staff to show their passports to prove they could work in Britain....
EU to investigate CIA prison saga STRASBOURG (France), Dec 15: The European Parliament decided on Thursday to investigate allegations that the CIA used European states to transport and detain terrorism suspects illegally....		Norway accepts Lanka’s request COLOMBO, Dec 15: Norway has accepted Sri Lanka’s request to continue its truce monitor role and will shortly send its peace envoy to Colombo to try to get resumed talks between...
CIA leak: columnist says Bush knows identity WASHINGTON, Dec 15: The White House took issue on Thursday with a claim by syndicated columnist Robert Novak that President George Bush knows who the source is who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame....		People smuggling ring smashed ROME/PARIS, Dec 15: Italian, French and British police have smashed an international people smuggling ring that flooded Europe with thousands of illegal immigrants in recent years, police officials said on Thursday....
US envoy predicts change in Cuba HAVANA, Dec 15: Washington’s new top diplomat in Havana sees mounting frustration and anger in Cuba and is preparing for rapid change on the communist-run island, but he cannot predict when — or how — that will happen....		Hamas beats Fatah in polls RAMALLAH, Dec 15: Hamas won control on Thursday of the council of the West Bank city of Nablus, beating the ruling Fatah party in a municipal vote seen as a test of strength beofre parliamentary elections, a poll showed....
Themes of victory, security diverge: Bush tries to recast Iraq debate WASHINGTON: As President Bush wrapped up a series of speeches on the war on Wednesday, he once again gave a clear answer to when US troops would come home from Iraq: “We will not leave until victory has been achieved.”...		Brown must carry a European stick LONDON: Delivering the Hugo Young lecture in London this week, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of exchequer, praised the late doyen of Guardian columnists for speaking truth to power....
Chile’s Merkel moment LONDON: In a campaign dominated by personalities rather than sharp policy differences, Michelle Bachelet remains favourite to win Chile’s presidency next month and become the first professional female politician to lead a major Latin American country....		A map to political fortune for Tories WASHINGTON: At the low point of his presidency, after a disastrous first year of his second term, George Bush has at last attracted an imitator. David Cameron, 39, the new leader of the Conservative party, unabashedly claims to personify the future....