* West meets Palestinian ministers In the first contact between the US and the recently formed Palestinian unity government, Jacob Walles, the US consul-general to Jerusalem, has met Salam Fayad, the Palestinian finance minister.

* ‘Islamic world in cold war’ The Islamic world is entering a cold war period as the divide between Shiites and Sunnis escalates.

* Russian pulling nuke experts from Iran Russia is pulling out its experts from the Iranian nuclear reactor site they were helping build.

* Details on EU birthday declaration emerge The highly symbolic Berlin Declaration to mark the EU’s 50th birthday is slowly taking shape.

* Report: Palestinian aid rises to $1.2 b. International aid to the Palestinians grew from about $1 billion in 2005 to more than $1.2 billion in 2006.

* EU nervous and introspective at fifty years of age The EU sees itself as a force for good in the world; it practises soft power, promotes human rights and sets the global bar in environmental standards.

* Rival militants clash in Pakistan Nearly 50 people have been killed after rising tension between local and foreign militants in north-west Pakistan erupted into fierce fighting.

* Iraqi VP calls for talks with insurgents Iraqi Vice-President Tarek Al Hashemi called Wednesday for talks with the country’s insurgent groups.

* Heavy fighting erupts in Somalia Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and armed insurgents.

* Melchior: Alert Abbas to PA textbooks “You can’t have agreements while this kind of hatred is inculcated in the children,” Knesset Education Committee Chairman Michael Melchior (Labor-Meimad) said on Tuesday.