December 18, 2005	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 15, 1426

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Afghan MPs guilty of abuses: HRW NEW YORK, Dec 17: Noting that Afghanistan’s first democratically elected parliament in more than three decades will convene in Kabul next week, the Human Rights Watch alleged on Saturday that many...		Syria behind Hariri murder: UN investigator BEIRUT, Dec 17: The head of the UN probe into the slaying of Lebanon’s ex-premier Rafiq Hariri for the first time unequivocally accused Syria of being behind the assassination, in an interview published on Saturday....
Turkey snubs EU in writer’s trial ANKARA, Dec 17: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended on Saturday author Orhan Pamuk’s right to free speech, but rejected European Union pressure on Ankara in the controversial trial of the internationally renowned novelist....		Blair under fire over Sinn Fein spy scandal BELFAST, Dec 17: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing mounting pressure to launch an investigation in Northern Ireland after a former Sinn Fein leader claimed he was a spy for the British government for 20 years....
Bush says he authorized spying NEW YORK, Dec 17: President Bush on Saturday confirmed that he had personally authorized an eavesdropping program in the US more than 30 times since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, lashing out at those involved in revealing the program....		Protesters take on police at WTO meeting HONG KONG, Dec 17: Hong Kong police on Saturday used tear gas, fire hoses and pepper spray to hold back hundreds of anti-globalization demonstrators, in the worst violence seen in the city for decades....
Secrecy shrouds Bouteflika’s stay in Paris hospital ALGIERS, Dec 17: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was released from a Paris military hospital on Saturday, at the end of a three-week stay shrouded in secrecy, his doctor and French officials said....		EU leaders approve long-term budget deal BRUSSELS, Dec 17: European Union leaders agreed a long-term budget that put the troubled 25-nation bloc back on track on Saturday after Britain gave up part of its cherished EU rebate to help boost aid to poor new, east European members....
Subsidies’ removal no panacea for poor: WTO meetings LONDON: As political discussions on everything from terrorism to tax cuts become increasingly polarised along a left-right divide, we should all be grateful to the US and EU for the massive agricultural subsidies paid to farmers in the West....		Battleship epic angers Japan’s former enemies TOKYO: A major Japanese film about the dramatic sinking of a battleship in the Second World War has provoked anger among Japan’s former enemies because of its sympathetic portrayal of the ship’s crew....
Myanmar back on UN agenda UNITED NATIONS: The Security Council held a discussion of human rights and drug trafficking problems in Myanmar on Friday after months of pushing by the United States and Britain....		Renditions highlight differences between US & Europe LONDON: It’s not every day that the Council of Europe (CoE) tops the news bulletins, and unusual for a little-known Swiss senator to make headlines across the world....
Merkel shines at EU summit BRUSSELS: With characteristic low-key resolve, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed and prodded fellow leaders towards a budget deal at her first EU summit, establishing herself overnight as a formidable new force on the European stage....		Ukraine, Russia ties under new strain MOSCOW: Relations between Russia and Ukraine, tense since the election of pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko last year, are facing a potentially major rupture over the price of natural gas....
At the cost of the poor ABUJA: A chair, a radio, a foam mattress, a can of powdered milk — these were the things Ugo Nzeaibe managed to salvage from her house before bulldozers razed it....		LTTE opposes Asian venue for talks KILLINOCHCHI, Dec 17: The Tamil Tigers on Saturday rejected a government suggestion that talks be held in an Asian country. The LTTE’s spokesman, S. P. Thamilchelvam, said at a press conference...