December 21, 2005	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 18, 1426

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Sunni bloc challenges Iraq poll results BAGHDAD, Dec 20: Iraq’s opposition, including the largest Sunni political coalition, on Tuesday contested partial election results and threatened to demand a new ballot despite US calls for a government to be formed swiftly....		Bethlehem mayor’s office attacked BETHLEHEM, Dec 20: Militants briefly occupied the offices of the mayor of Bethlehem on Tuesday in the countdown to Christmas, highlighting the rampant security chaos in the Palestinian territories....
China, Russia race to finish dam as slick nears town KHABAROVSK, Dec 20: Thousands of Chinese labourers supported by Russian military helicopters and hundreds of trucks raced against time to finish a dam to protect the Russian city of Khabarovsk from a toxic spill expected to hit on Wednesday, officials said....		US to cut troop level in Afghanistan WASHINGTON, Dec 20: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ordered a cut in the number of American troops in Afghanistan to about 16,500 from the current 19,000 by next spring, the Pentagon said on Tuesday....
Mojadidi to head upper house KABUL, Dec 20: A day after the inauguration of Afghanistan’s first parliament in decades, lawmakers on Tuesday picked an ex-president to head the upper house, but squabbled over how to choose the influential leader of the lower house....		Jordanian ambassador’s driver kidnapped in Iraq BAGHDAD, Dec 20: Gunmen seized the driver of the Jordanian ambassador to Iraq in Baghdad on Tuesday, the latest foreign abduction to jolt the war-torn country, Jordanian and Iraqi sources said....
Cheney cuts short ME trip ABOARD AIR FORCE TWO, Dec 20: US Vice President Dick Cheney cut short his trip to the Middle East and Asia on Tuesday and will return to Washington in case his...		Bush’s ratings rising, says poll NEW YORK, Dec 20: President Bush’s approval ratings have risen in recent weeks with Americans now expressing renewed optimism about the future of democracy in Iraq, the campaign against terrorism and...
2 Indian films to compete for Oscar MUMBAI, Dec 20: Two Bollywood films will be competing against each other for the Oscar for best foreign language film next year — though the producer of one of the entries has already given up hopes of bagging a statuette....		FBI keeps tabs on activists, says NYT NEW YORK, Dec 20: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal...
Sharon leaves hospital JERUSALEM, Dec 20: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left hospital on Tuesday after his recent stroke, declaring himself fit for a looming election contest which will pit him against his arch rival Benjamin Netanyahu....		Netanyahu elected Likud chief JERUSALEM, Dec 20: Former premier and arch hawk Binyamin Netanyahu swept to victory on Tuesday in the contest to succeed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as leader of Israel’s beleaguered right-wing Likud party....
120 whales stranded on NZ beach WELLINGTON, Dec 20: Volunteers and conservation staff battled on Tuesday to save more than 120 pilot whales stranded on a beach on New Zealand’s South Island....		2 US soldiers discharged from army BAGHDAD, Dec 20: Five US soldiers from an elite unit were sentenced to between one and six months detention — and in two cases discharged from the army — over the abuse of Iraqi detainees, the military announced....
UK court spurns move for Iraq inquiry LONDON, Dec 20: The families of British military personnel killed in Iraq lost a bid on Tuesday to challenge the government’s refusal to hold a full public inquiry into why Britain helped invade the country....		Joblessness hamstrings progress in Africa UNITED NATIONS: The growing poverty in the African continent, plagued also by hunger, disease and conflict, is due primarily to the high rates of unemployment, according to a new UN report released on Monday....
Training Iraqis isn’t just guns and butter FIGHTING insurgents is messy and slow. Turning Iraqi soldiers into effective combatants is nearly as difficult. But last week’s promising parliamentary elections in Iraq cannot be consolidated and built on unless the Iraqis can secure their country themselves....		Zimbabwe’s poor struggle mightily KILLARNEY (Zimbabwe): Six months after the government tore down her house, Sifelani Lunga lies sweating in a dirt-floored shack on the same desolate stretch of mud....
A losing bet in Ethiopia ETHIOPIA is edging toward renewed conflict with Eritrea that could result in tens of thousands of deaths and spark a civil war that would claim many more lives....		Low-sugar diet best NEW YORK: (For overweight individuals known to secrete high levels of insulin, a diet low in sugar leads to greater weight loss than a diet high in sugar, investigators in Boston report....