12 January 2005 Wednesday 01 Zilhaj 1425 Kabul has contacts with Taliban: minister KABUL, Jan 11: Afghanistan's defence minister said on Tuesday his government had contacts with the Taliban to try to persuade them to lay down their arms and return to normal life ... Iraqi election officials resign after threats FALLUJA, Jan 11: The 13-strong team organizing elections in Iraq's restive Anbar province said on Tuesday it had quit after receiving death threats from guerillas bent on undermining the polls. ... Embedded artist's perspective on Iraq war NEW YORK: The world has seen more images from the war in Iraq than of any conflict in history, from film of tanks advancing on Baghdad to digital pictures of prisoner abuse, but artist Steve Mumford is offering something else. ... Sharon congratulates Abbas on phone AL QUDS, Jan 11: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon phoned Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to congratulate him on his election as Palestinian president and offer cooperation, the highest-level contact between the sides in nearly four years. ... Palestinian security adviser quits RAMALLAH, Jan 11: Senior Palestinian security official and West Bank strongman Jibril al Rajoub resigned on Tuesday, saying he wanted to encourage President-elect Mahmoud Abbas to enact reforms. ... ME goodwill can evaporate fast LONDON: Britain, the US and moderate Arab countries will begin a concerted drive this week to push Palestine's president-elect, Mahmoud Abbas, towards a historic post-Arafat compromise with Israel. ... Chertoff to head US Homeland Security WASHINGTON, Jan 11: US President George Bush on Tuesday named a former federal prosecutor who helped craft the early "war on terror" strategy, as new homeland security chief. ... Blair, Brown criticized over rivalry LONDON, Jan 11: Prime Minister Tony Blair and his finance minister Gordon Brown have come under pressure from their own Labour Party to put a lid on their leadership squabbling ahead of Britain's next general election. ... 'Sideways' leads SAG Awards nominees LOS ANGELES, Jan 11: Road comedy "Sideways," about a pair of men looking for love in the rolling hills of California's wine country, led the nominees for the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Tuesday ... US to free last 4 Britons from Guantanamo WASHINGTON, Jan 11: One Australian and the last four British detainees at the Guantanamo Bay will be transferred to their respective governments, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. ... Jakarta places curbs on aid workers in Aceh BANDA ACEH, Jan 11: Indonesia told aid workers helping tsunami victims in its worst-hit region, Aceh, on Tuesday not to venture beyond two large cities on Sumatra island because of what it said were militant threats. ... BD's 'look East' policy in limbo: Parliamentary body's observation DHAKA, Jan 11: The Bangladesh government's much-trumpeted "look-East policy" has made no progress at all as the initiative is "limited in words, not in Reality", observed a parliamentary committee on Monday. ... Misdemeanours but no felonies in oil-for-food deal: audit UNITED NATIONS: A series of 58 internal audits of the multi-billion-dollar oil-for-food programme in Iraq has revealed over billing and management lapses by its UN supervisors, but no large-scale fraud. ... Asians have ditched race for religion LONDON: It is something of a cliche to cite the popularity of curry as evidence of the success of multiculturalism. Those hungry for a metaphor for the benefits of immigration delight in explaining that curry is a British dish. ...

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