January 5, 2006	Thursday	Zilhaj 4, 1426

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Earthquake opens Azad Kashmir to foreigners MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan’s Oct. 8 earthquake shattered more than homes, schools and countless lives — it also smashed security restrictions that effectively banned foreigners from visiting the mountains of Azad Kashmir....		Iran rules out talks on resumption of N-research TEHRAN, Jan 4: Iran has vowed that its decision to resume nuclear fuel research is not negotiable, causing EU negotiators to cast doubt on the prospect of fresh talks aimed at convincing Tehran to halt enrichment activities....
Wall on Gaza-Egypt border demolished GAZA, Jan 4: Palestinian fighters bulldozed a barricade on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt, disrupted traffic across the frontier and stormed government offices on Wednesday in growing unrest ahead of elections later this month....		Sh Maktoum: a low-profile ruler DUBAI, Jan 4: Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashed al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who died on Wednesday, was a low-profile ruler with a passion for horse racing....
US mine accident: error turns joy into sorrow TALLMANSVILLE (USA), Jan 4: Relatives of 13 coal miners trapped for nearly two days underground reacted in anger and sorrow on Wednesday after hearing that only one had survived, and not 12, as had erroneously been announced earlier....		Sharon scam: police to scan laptop data JERUSALEM, Jan 4: Israeli police are to examine computer data which they believe will show Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s family received an alleged three million dollar bribe, public radio reported on Wednesday....
Iran eying N-bomb knowhow: paper LONDON, Jan 4: Iran has been scouring Europe for nuclear bomb technology, a British newspaper said on Wednesday, citing a report by Western intelligence agencies....		War fears hit Sri Lanka’s economic boom JAFFNA: For most of 2005, Sri Lanka’s stock market was Asia’s best performer, but fears that a two-decade old civil war may restart are making investors worried and some hoteliers and shop owners are already feeling the pinch....
Nepal civil war’s ‘half-widows’ KATHMANDU: Nepal’s civil war has spawned a new term, ‘half-widows’, to describe the hundreds of women whose husbands are abducted by Maoist rebels or soldiers and remain missing, some for years....		A tale of a wife torn between two husbands NEW DELHI: The death this week of a 26-year-old woman from a poor village has ended a Bollywood-style melodrama that had soap-opera obsessed Indians sitting on the edge of their seats....
A mixed blessing for the most marginalized NAGAPATTINAM: Although Chellapappa lost two of her children to the tsunami that smashed every home in the fishing village of Samanthanpettai on Dec. 26, 2004, she now has reason to smile:...		The dim side of moonlit Taj Mahal LUCKNOW: December 17 last was a lucky day for the Taj Mahal. As many as 53 tourists turned up to view the monument of love by the moonlight....
Bollywood to make movie on suicide bombing MUMBAI: A Bollywood director plans to make a film inspired in part by July’s London bombings that will explore the story of a would-be suicide bomber struggling to reconcile the message of Islam with an appetite for life....		Delhi Metro line boosts ridership, revenues NEW DELHI: Cash registers are ringing for Delhi Metro. Thanks to the new Barakhamba-Dwarka line, Metro’s already operational two lines have seen a sharp increase in ridership and revenue since Dec 31....
Syria allows UN team to quiz FM BEIRUT, Jan 4: Syria has agreed to allow UN investigators to interview its foreign minister over the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri, diplomats said on Wednesday....		Man who captured Mussolini dies ROME, Jan 4: The World War Two fighter who captured Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini as he tried to escape Allied forces died late on Tuesday....
Parents of slain US activist held briefly GAZA, Jan 4: Gunmen briefly seized the parents of slain US activist Rachel Corrie as they visited the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, but relented after being confronted by a member of the security forces....		US freezes assets of two Iranian firms WASHINGTON, Jan 4: The US government on Wednesday froze the assets of two Iranian companies linked to the country’s nuclear drive....