February 21, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 22, 1427

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‘Sectarian’ ministries not to get money: US warning to Iraqi govt BAGHDAD, Feb 20: The US ambassador to Iraq on Monday warned politicians that Washington would not fund security forces run by ministries with a sectarian bias, urging the formation of a national unity government....		Islamic Jihad declines to join government GAZA, Feb 20: The Hamas began talks with militant groups on Monday on forming a new Palestinian government, but was swiftly rebuffed by Islamic Jihad, which vowed to press on with its fight against Israel....
Sikhs urge Chirac to lift ban on turbans NEW DELHI, Feb 20: Scores of Indian Sikh schoolchildren staged a ‘turban’ march in New Delhi on Monday to demand that visiting French President Jacques Chirac lift a ban on wearing turbans in French state schools....		New Delhi, Paris sign nuclear, defence deals NEW DELHI, Feb 20: India on Monday signed a series of trade and defence deals with French President Jacques Chirac and a deal for peaceful nuclear energy cooperation despite continuing fallout...
Danish editor defends publication of cartoons WASHINGTON, Feb 20: The editor who initiated the cartoon controversy by publishing blasphemous sketches in a Danish newspaper, has acknowledged that he indulges in self-censorship when needed, but did not feel the need to do so while publishing the caricatures....		Denmark condemns reward as ‘murder’ COPENHAGEN, Feb 20: Denmark and Norway on Monday condemned as incitement to ‘murder’ a Pakistani imam’s offer of a reward for anyone who kills any of the 12 Danish cartoonists who made the anti-Islam sketches....
23 killed in Iraq attacks BAGHDAD, Feb 20: At least 23 Iraqis were killed and 60 wounded Monday in a series of attacks, including a suicide bombing in which 12 commuters were burnt to death on...		Iran strike plan a contingency: US WASHINGTON, Feb 20: Officials in Washington are describing as “just a contingency plan” media reports that the US Defence Department is preparing final plans to attack Iran if its government insisted on going ahead with its nuclear programme....
Bosnia film surprise winner at Berlin BERLIN: A moving drama about the lasting impact of the systematic rape of Bosnian women by Serb soldiers during the Balkans conflict was the surprise winner of the Berlin film festival’s top prize....		Osama vows not to be taken alive CAIRO, Feb 20: Osama bin Laden has vowed never to be captured alive and said the US military has become as “barbaric” as Saddam Hussin in an audiotape posted on a website used by Muslim extremists....
Merkel asks party to support Israel BERLIN, Feb 20: German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on her conservative Christian Democratic Union on Monday to make a clear statement recognising Israel’s right to exist and include it in the party manifesto....		Forces in Afghanistan, Iraq share intel: Nato KABUL, Feb 20: Military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq are exchanging intelligence over a change of tactics by the Taliban-led fighters here, including a spate of deadly suicide blasts, Nato said on Monday....
US, India to discuss compromise formula WASHINGTON, Feb 20: US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will discuss a new Indian proposal for ending the dispute over India’s fast breeder reactors when he arrives in New Delhi on...		Scientists begin analysing comet dust ST LOUIS, Feb 20: Scientists said on Monday they had begun slicing and dicing the first of hundreds of microscopic specks of comet dust, virtually unchanged since the birth of the...
Indian court issues death sentence LUCKNOW, Feb 20: An Islamic court in India on Monday issued a fatwa condemning to death the 12 artists who drew the controversial cartoons. The decree was issued in Lucknow on behalf of the Idara-i-Sharia Darul Kaza by its religious head....		Iraq violence a nightmare for poor workers BAGHDAD: Of all the Iraqis struggling to make sense of violence ravaging their country, few are as desperate as the labourers who cannot understand why they were bombed yet again on Monday while trying to earn a few dollars....
Egypt makes desert bloom TOSHKA: The organic tomatoes are red and juicy, the potatoes massive and flawless. But they are sitting by the roadside in Egypt’s Western Desert, 250 km (150 miles) from the nearest...		UK likely to establish ties with Brotherhood LONDON: A leaked Foreign Office memo published on Sunday reveals that the British government is to establish ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group banned by the Egyptian government....
US to stay engaged in Asia SINGAPORE: The United States is stepping up its military engagement in the Asia-Pacific region to counter-balance the rise of China, and to confront the threat from terrorism, analysts said on Monday....		West may have to live with low-level Iranian nuclear work VIENNA: The crisis over Iran’s atomic agenda is deepening, but the world’s nuclear watchdog chief has warned there may be no choice but to accept limited uranium enrichment by Tehran, diplomats say....