Caricature of Louis IV, by Thackeray. 1875. At least 140 people were killed in Iraq during fighting that broke out after the Al Askari mosque, a Shiiteshrine in Samarra, was bombed. Sunni leaders said that 184 mosques had been attacked in the fighting, and a daytime curfew was in effect in Baghdad. “If there is a civil war in this country,” said Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi, “it will never end.”Democracy Now!ReutersIn Saudi Arabia, Al Qaeda attempted to bomb the Abqaiq oil facility but was thwarted. Two guards died in the attack.BBC NewsNineMSNPresident George W. Bush threatened to veto any …

Eighteen people died when a U.S. helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed they shot down the helicopter; the United States blamed bad weather.BBC NewsChicago TribuneIraq’s parliament elected Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, as president; his Presidency Council then named Ibrahim Jaffari, a Shiite, as prime minister.BBC NewsSenior American defense officials noted several positive developments in Iraq: only thirty-six American soldiers, they said, died there this March; attacks on allied forces were down to thirty or forty a day; and by early 2006, only 105,000 American soldiers may be needed in the country.New York TimesTens of thousands of Iraqis held a …

The World Health Organization warned that outbreaks of cholera and dysentery resulting from a lack of clean drinking water could easily double the number of people killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami.ReutersNearly 150,000 people were confirmed dead in the disaster and far more were badly injured. Estimates of the homeless ran to five million.Associated PressUnited Nations secretary general Kofi Annan cut his Christmas holiday short to meet with world leaders about providing relief and announced that he would fly to affected countries to help organize the effort from the ground.Agence France-PressePresident George W. Bush stayed on vacation down at the …