World datelines

Afghanistan

KABUL — Afghanistan's National Assembly is scheduled to convene on Dec. 19, three months after the nation held parliamentary elections for the first time in more than 30 years, an official said Tuesday.

Azerbaijan

BAKU — Azerbaijan's main opposition bloc said Tuesday it will boycott the new parliament elected in disputed polls last month.

Britain

LONDON — David Cameron, whose boyish good looks and media savvy remind many of the youthful Tony Blair, was chosen leader of the Conservative Party on Tuesday, bringing new optimism to a party plagued by three straight election losses.

Chile

SANTIAGO — Former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet was questioned Tuesday by a federal judge investigating the killing of an army colonel linked to an illegal arms sale.

China

BEIJING — A 10-year-old girl in southern China has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus, the government said Tuesday, making her the country's fourth human bird flu case.

BEIJING — Rescuers recovered the body of the last miner missing after a coal mine explosion in northern China, bringing the final death toll in the blast to 171, the government said Tuesday.

Colombia

BOGOTA — Colombia said Tuesday it will begin preliminary peace talks with the country's second-largest rebel group — the current administration's first formal negotiations with insurgents.

Congo

KALEMIE — Rescuers in fishing boats searched for survivors Tuesday in a central African lake at the epicenter of a strong earthquake that killed at least four people.

Japan

TOKYO — Japan plans to extend its humanitarian military mission to Iraq into 2006 but could pull its ground forces in the middle of the year if the British and Australian troops guarding them leave, the Kyodo News Agency reported Tuesday.

Lebanon