January 18, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 17, 1426

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Iraq accuses Iran of kidnapping nine guards BAGHDAD, Jan 17: Iraqi officials on Tuesday accused Iranian forces of ‘kidnapping’ a coastguard patrol after a clash on their tidal frontier and demanded the men’s release, but Tehran’s envoy in Baghdad denied the incident took place....		Israel says it will not allow Iran to ‘obtain WMDs’ JERUSALEM, Jan 17: Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Iran on Tuesday that his country would not let anyone who threatened its existence obtain weapons of mass destruction as officials headed to Moscow for talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme....
Brokeback, Walk the Line win top Globe awards BEVERLY HILLS, Jan 17: A heady mix of political drama and romance — both gay and straight — won major Golden Globe Awards on Monday with ‘Brokeback Mountain’ earning the best...		Norwegians suspend work in Tamil area COLOMBO, Jan 17: Suspected Tamil Tigers launched several attacks on Sri Lankan troops on Tuesday while Nordic truce monitors said they were suspending operations in the east because of security fears....
Wiretapping by US govt challenged NEW YORK, Jan 17: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Tuesday announced that it has joined a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a secret National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program that targeted American citizens without court authorization....		PM urges Turks to eat chicken ANKARA, Jan 17: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told his countrymen on Tuesday it was safe to eat chicken despite an outbreak of bird flu in the country which has killed...
Tokyo wooing Washington to gain UNSC seat TOKYO: Brushing aside its failure to win a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) last year, Tokyo is betting on backing the United States and its policies as...		African debt relief has too many conditions GORDON BROWN is right to say “We will be judged on how we deliver the resources to prove that making poverty history was not a passing fashion,” but the government appears...
Canada’s ruling party trailing in opinion polls OTTAWA: Stephen Harper and his Conservative party have a solid lead in the Canadian federal election campaign, and, unless there is a dramatic shift in public opinion between now and voting day, January 23, he will become Canada’s next prime minister....		Row keeps Lebanese away from Syria DAMASCUS: For generations, Lebanese shoppers have journeyed to neighbouring Syria to stock their larders and buy clothes and even furniture at bargain prices....
Bachelet’s win marks cultural shift SANTIAGO: The day after becoming the first woman ever to win a presidential election in South America, Michelle Bachelet shared breakfast with current Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, marking a political transition and cultural shift that has inspired high hopes and expectations....		Italy polls and mud-slinging ROME: Electoral races in Italy are not known for sophisticated debate and polite exchanges between candidates, but the virulence of this year’s campaign from the start has dismayed even the most seasoned observers....
Laughter goes to the heart PARIS: Watching a comedy film boosts the flow of blood to the heart, but watching a sad film makes the flow decline, according to a study published on Tuesday....		Map not showing Israel irks Bolton UNITED NATIONS, Jan 17: US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton has sent a sharply worded letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, threatening to cut US funding to the UN if the world body continues to promote anti-Israel events....
Constitution in danger: Gore NEW YORK, Jan 17: Al Gore, former US vice president, delivered a devastating indictment of President George Bush on Monday in a major speech before 3,000 people at Washington DC’s Constitution Hall....		FBI, NSA were at odds after 9/11: NYT NEW YORK, Jan 17: Months after the September 11 attacks, the National Security Agency began sending a plethora of telephone numbers, email addresses and names to the FBI in search of...
Biological attack a matter of time: official LONDON, Jan 17: It is only a matter of time before groups like Al Qaeda use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against Western targets, Washington’s counter-terrorism chief Henry Crumpton warned on Tuesday....		Blair’s ID plan hits snag LONDON, Jan 17: Prime Minister Tony Blair’s plans to introduce hi-tech national identity cards suffered a setback on Monday when the House of Lords voted to force the government to provide more details on the cost of the controversial scheme....