The two parallel Israeli war fronts in Lebanon and Gaza continue to shape most of these week's events, just like last week, international community's officials struggling to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon but to no avail. One of this week's highlights was represented by the emergency conference in Rome, attended by officials from 15 countries, as well, as United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank, in order to settle terms and conditions regarding a potential ceasefire, yet its results ruined many officials' hopes, since no common ground could be found. In the meantime, nuclear problems with North Korea acquire a more serious dimension, the Asian country threatening to renounce its ASEAN membership if pressured to suspend its nuclear program.

On Monday, it has been reported that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Sunday official statement, asserted that recent comments regarding the alleged poor relationship with Syria has been massively overstated, since there are still cooperation and communication channels with Syrian leaders that could lead to the resolution of the serious political and humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.

The statement was also meant to point out that the United States still has a diplomatic mission in Damascus and the officials of the State Department are trying to work with their Syrian counterparts, which means that a "channel for dealing with Syria" is still in place.

Rice issued the statement while making a stop in Ireland on her way to the Middle East, where she is expected to meet several important officials in order to bring the war between Israel and Lebanon to a standstill. Her visit comes amid efforts made by Arab diplomats in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to persuade Syria end its support for Hezbollah, as well as, renounce its alliance with Iran, two political moves many analysts have highlighted to be fundamental for the resolution of the Middle East conflict.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met his British counterpart Tony Blair, as well as Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett and Defense Secretary Des Browne, in London to talk about the current violence crisis in Baghdad, which has obviously not been stopped by the much hailed national security plan, but on the contrary, it continued to let bloodshed spread in the Iraqi capital, bringing it to the point of civil war. A Shiite moderate conservative, Maliki's security plan, initiated in June this year, brought thousands of Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad, in an effort to contain the struggling sectarian wars, which nevertheless resulted in the loss of around 3,000 lives in June alone.

On Tuesday, Maliki is scheduled to arrive in Washington to conduct a series of discussions with US President George Bush, in order to seek more efforts on the American side, represented by additional US troops in the capital. This comes counter to the US military leaders' wishes as far as Iraq was concerned, since they had hoped to move their forces out and hand over security responsibilities to Iraqi troops as soon as possible. As the latest waves of bombings in Baghdad and Kirkuk have already proven, the country is still engulfed in violence, which appears to be getting worse by the day.

According to Lebanese security officials, Israeli aircraft targeted a minivan carrying 16 people who were leaving the southern Lebanese village of Tairi towards the port city of Tyre, still engaged in heavy fighting, killing three civilians. On the other hand, two people died and five were wounded as a result of around 90 rockets fired by Hezbollah on cities within the northern border, including Haifa.

In addition to that attack, military airplanes hit the southern port city of Sidon for the first time, bombing a religious complex that was related to Hezbollah, which led to the injury if 4 civilians. In an interview with the Associated Press, Mayor Ali Rahal stated that a textile factory in the border town of al-Manara was also targeted, one person being killed and two being wounded. On a diplomatic level, Syria stated that it would support a cease-fire, but only within a larger Middle East peace initiative that would include the return of the Golan Heights. This specific provision was completely rejected by Israel, which said that it would accept, however, international peacekeeping forces led by NATO along the Israeli-Lebanese border in order to drive Hezbollah guerillas away from Israel.

In the meantime, UN humanitarian Chief Jan Egeland, made an official visit to southern Beirut and evaluated the 12-day bombardment damages, highlighting the need to suspend all hostilities because billions of dollars are already needed to repair was has been destroyed.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is coming against a massive wave of pressure from the inside of his own party regarding the Israel-Lebanon conflict in the Middle East, allegedly because he did not adopt a stern enough position over this issue, the BBC informs.

In an interview with the above mentioned news agency, Labor MP Andrew Love stated that the British Prime Minister should have had a "more robust attitude" over the current political and humanitarian crisis in the area.
Love, who heads the party parliamentary group that deals with the Lebanon issue, stated: "I agree with those in the Cabinet who are saying we must have a much more robust attitude towards what is happening in the Middle East. You cannot have attacks on civilian infrastructure, over 370 people die, without that being a disproportionate response to what has happened in the Middle East and I think the prime minister needs to say that". "I think he also needs to say that to allow this to go on for another week or 10 days is simply storing up further problems in the Middle East", he added.

Hezbollah religious leader Hassan Nasrallah issued an official statement with regard to the current disastrous developments occurring in Lebanon, reiterating the fact that Israel's on going military campaign in his country would not prevent his organization of counterattacking by firing rockets in Israel.

In an interview with As-Safir daily newspaper, Nasrallah stated "Any Israeli incursion will have no political results if it does not achieve its declared goals, primarily an end to the rocketing of Zionist settlements in northern occupied Palestine. I assure you that this goal will not be achieved, God willing, by an Israeli incursion".

As far as diplomatic efforts to end the war were concerned, Nasrallah declared that the main development that should take place at the moment is Israel's halt of attacking Lebanon. He added that he was open to peace initiatives with the Lebanese government, under the form of a prisoner swap, according to which Hezbollah would free the two Israeli soldiers it had captured on July 12th and would receive Arab and Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails in exchange.

An important Fatah official, Nabil Shaath, from Fatah's central committee, issued a formal announcement, stating that his party is ready to come to terms with a truce or ceasefire with Israel, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

The announcement was made during a televised interview with pan-Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera TV station, with Shaath adding that, as far as Fatah and Hamas are concerned, they are now fully prepared to begin peace talks with Israel and to renounce rocket attacks at Israel. However, these peace talks must be mutual, Shaath warned, in the sense that Israel must desire peace as well; otherwise no good may come out of their intentions.

Unfortunately, the announcement which probably surprised the Israelis to the point of awe, was not shared by other Palestinian Islamic factions, for example the ones which were involved in the kidnapping of 19 year old Israeli tank gunner Gilad Shalit over a month ago, like the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees. On the contrary, they renewed their denial to stop the Qassam rocket attacks into Israeli border towns.

The ASEAN conference, which will start this week in Malaysia, is aimed at finding viable compromise security solutions at the current crises in Lebanon, North Korea and Iran, several diplomats attending the high-level security conference stated.

However, it has just recorded one setback, as far as North Korea was concerned, with the communist country declaring that it would not take part in the six-nation negotiations over the on going issue related to its nuclear development program.

On the other hand, according to Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who was interviewed by reporters today, North Korea would hold bilateral talks with its southern neighbor, South Korea. Syed asserted that the North Koreans believe the financial sanctions the US, along with Japan, are trying to impose on them, are actually "hurting them a lot.

The North Korean Embassy in Malaysia confirmed that the country's Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun, would attend the ASEAN annual conference, or the ASEAN Regional Forum, the biggest in terms of security meetings. In an interview with the Associated Press, Paek Hyon Chol, a North Korean diplomat from the Embassy, stated that the foreign minister would arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. The visit would be a rare one, in terms of North Korea's attendance of high-level security meetings in international settings.

Global trade negotiations among the so called G6 group of the most powerful nations reunited under the official denomination of the World Trade Organization, had to be called off today in Doha by WTO chief Pascal Lamy because of these countries' inability to overcome differences of opinion regarding the reform of world trade farm, CNN informs.

In a short interview with journalists, the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath stated: "The WTO negotiations are suspended", and when asked how long these suspensions would last, Nath added:"Anywhere from months to years".

The suspension of the WTO trade talks in Doha has not come as such a big surprise, since Lamy had previously warned members United States, the European Union, Brazil, Australia, Japan and India, that he would be forced to halt the Doha Development Agenda, initiated in 2001 in order to address poverty-related as well economy boosting-related issues, should the six nations not come to terms with a final common solution to end the deadlock. However, 14 hours of negotiations proved not to be enough for the six member states in order to reach an agreement on liberalizing trade in farm and manufactured goods.

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that there is still hope for the Israeli-Lebanon conflict since the United Kingdom does believe a peace plan regarding the current conflict in the Middle East could come up within days that could lead to a ceasefire. However, according to Tony Blair, this peace plan does have its own details that need to be clarified in matters of an international force's presence in Lebanon before the ceasefire could be declared and be made in such a way so as to be respected by both retaliating sides. While he did not comment on these details, he did specify that the general outline of the plan consists of an end to shooting on both sides, the release of the Israeli kidnapped soldiers and the enforcement of an international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, the same conditions he spoke about during the G8 meeting in Saint Petersburg over a week ago.

As far as recent pressures, placed on the British Prime Minister for being the only Western leader to join the US in not publicly calling for an immediate ceasefire, were concerned, Blair stated that he did want a ceasefire but only if details were first clarified so that they ensured the success of the respective ceasefire.

Hezbollah issued an official statement in which it completely rejects US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's peace proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon that she made during a surprise visit to Beirut on her way to Israel.
Rice talked about the peace proposal while meeting with Hezbollah's de facto peace negotiator, Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri. According to an official close to Berri, peace talks have lamentably failed due to the fact that Rice "insisted on one full package to end the fighting", that included a ceasefire, which would have been simultaneous with the deployment of the Lebanese, as well as international peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, plus Hezbollah weapons' removal from a 25 mile buffer zone off Litani River on the Israeli-Lebanon border.

On the other hand, Berri insisted on a peace plan that would consist of two phases: first a ceasefire and negotiations for a prisoner exchange, then the Lebanese government would convene and come up with a solution for the situation in southern Lebanon. However, the US would not agree on any ceasefire solution prior to ending Hezbollah's control of southern Lebanon along the border.

The talks have also been criticized by a Hezbollah government member, who stated that the purpose of her entire visit to Lebanon was to force the Lebanese leaders to "submit" to US's conditions or else be responsible for more fighting.

Kosovo officials, led by Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu, made their first formal announcement of their country's desire to be independent at their first high-level talks on the issue in Vienna, a meeting attended by Serb officials as well.

Sejdiu, a member of the Albanian ethnic majority of the province, stated that the independence "was the beginning and end of our position…The will for independence cannot be ignored or negotiated away".

However, the Serb side did not bring anything new to the negotiations, simply reiterating the initial standpoint and offering what they called as "substantial autonomy" to the province. The overall atmosphere of the meeting had been extremely tense, with no handshakes whatsoever among the officials, while Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica did not attend lunch with the Kosovo delegation, because two former guerillas were taking part at it as well.
Nevertheless, the meeting had its important role since it placed Kosovo's plea for independence on the United Nations-led mediation process agenda that was launched in February, seven years after the NATO-led forces intervened in order to prevent further ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, while the United Nations took control over the province. The current point of view of the United States and of governments in Europe is that Kosovo's political and economic situation have not yet been stabilized, yet they contend that some form of independence would be reached for the province this year, with or without Serbia's approval.

In a news conference prior to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that his country would not hold back from applying what he called "most severe measures" against those that fire rockets at Israel, referring mainly to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Chinese news agency Xinhua reports. "We are using the basic right of self-defense", Olmert reiterated before Condoleezza Rice's arrival in Israel in order to defuse the escalating tensions in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, he highlighted that he could not help notice the "humanitarian difficulties" that his country provoked during its two-week military offensive in Lebanon and he promised that he would work with the United States in order to solve it.

After the meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, Condoleezza Rice reiterated the message she delivered while in Beirut, that she highlights the need to create favorable conditions for what she labeled as "sustainable ceasefire". "We are concerned about the humanitarian situation. And nobody wants to see when innocent civilians are harmed. Any peace is going to have to be based on enduring principles and not on temporary solutions", she added.

After gaining control of Maroun al-Ras, a village in southern Lebanon on Sunday that the Israeli Defense Forces deemed as "its first foothold" in an effort to create a buffer zone along the Israeli-Lebanese border, the aerial and ground forces of the IDF set out for Bint Jbeil, a city north of Maroun al-Ras, where heavy fighting is still going on at the present moment, CNN informs.
Officials from the IDF released an official statement on Tuesday, stating that it had hit dozens of Hezbollah militants during the fights at Bint Jbeil, which according to the former, represents a Hezbollah site the terrorist organization uses for launching rockets. Moreover, the Israeli military forces believe that Bint Jbeil is a very important location given the proof they have that it is being used by Hezbollah militants as a massive weapons storage area, with tunnels and caves where missiles, rockets and other military equipment is hidden.
A spokeswoman for the IDF Miri Regev stated: "There are large numbers of explosive devices and mines in the area, and heavy fire is being exchanged. We intend to clean out the area in order to avoid firing at Israel. We intend to reach the central towns from which Katyushas [rockets] are being fired, dismantle terror infrastructure, to hit the terrorists and then to leave."

Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas member Ismail Haniyeh released an official statement, demanding that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, currently on an official difficult trip in the Middle East to calm things down both in Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip, must force Israel into ending its military offensive in Gaza, which it launched almost a month ago following the capture of 19 year old Israeli tank gunner Cpl Gilad Shalit by three Palestinian militant factions.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Haniyeh stated: "All that we ask the American administration is to take a moral stance toward the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian suffering and to bear its responsibility as a superpower in this world". He also added that the United States must "restrain the Israeli aggression and stop it".

The current situation in Gaza was labeled by Haniyeh as "a real human catastrophe" given the fact that the Israeli ground and air forces continued their military offensive, pounding the northern town of Beit Lahiya and killing six Palestinian citizens. According to the Israeli army, Hamas militants retaliated by firing seven rockets into the southern part of Israel, yet not causing any casualties.

On Wednesday, the United Nations issued an announcement stating that a bomb, launched during an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon, hit four United Nations military observers and killed them. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan urged Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter, which he labeled as an "apparently deliberate targeting" of the base in which the four had been stationed, Reuters informs.
In an official statement issued by Annan at the UN headquarters in New York, he highlighted: "This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked UN post at Khiam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire". The news was confirmed by a UN spokesperson, Marie Okabe: "I can confirm that the four military observers that came under attack in Khiam were killed in that attack. There are no further details for the moment".

A UNIFIL spokesperson, Milos Strugar stated that rescue teams had arrived to the scene of the incident in a fairly timely fashion yet they were too late since the peacekeepers' building had crumbled to the ground immediately after the bomb hit the perimeter, killing the four UN observers while they were in the shelter. As far as the Israeli side was concerned, a spokesperson for the Israeli army asserted that the Israeli military department has already launched an investigation in order to clarify the causes that led to such a tragic event, while a US State Department official in Rome confirmed that Israel had informed the United States about the air strike and about the fact that it had been an accident.

In reply, Israeli military officials in Jerusalem released a formal statement expressing their profound regret over the killing of 4 UN military observers at a UNIFIL base in southern Lebanon when an Israeli airstrike targeted the perimeter.
They also added that they were shocked by Annan's declaration, which suggested the hit had been deliberately launched. They vowed a military investigation would be conducted into the matter and labeled Anna's comments as "premature and erroneous".

"Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south Lebanon", a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Mark Regev stated. "We do not target UN personnel and, since the beginning of this conflict, we have made a consistent effort to ensure the safety of all members of (the UN peacekeeping force). This tragic event will be thoroughly investigated", he added.

The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Hamid Reza Asefi cautioned against the United States' intentions with regard to creating chaos in the Middle East region in order to reshape it to their own will.

According to the Fars News Agency, Asefi, who is currently taking part in an open Majlis session, commented on the Israeli attacks in Lebanon:" Iran had advance information that this attack would take place and hence its analysis of the Middle East situation is quite transparent".

Asefi added that the US's clear opposition to a ceasefire in the Lebanon conflict is a powerful argument for the fact that the latter intends to use Israel, and its war in the Middle East on the Lebanese and Palestinian fronts, as a tool for what it envisions to become of this region.

According to Israeli military officials, around 50 Israeli tanks were deployed back into the northern part of Gaza early Wednesday morning, while five Palestinians were killed during further Israeli airstrikes in the region, as the country continues to push ahead with its already month-long military offensive in the Palestinian territories.

Palestinian hospital officials stated that the Israeli warplanes conducted at least three airstrikes as ground troops were marching in the newly-established area, killing five Palestinian civilians and wounding at least 15. On the other hand, the Israeli officials motivated their return to the northern perimeter of the territories as part of a larger military campaign designed to temper terrorism down and stop rocket attacks on Israel. According to them, the three airstrikes were launched on three groups of Palestinian militants that were allegedly drawing closer to Israeli soldiers and armed clashes were recorded between the two sides overnight.

On another warfront in Gaza, Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved to southern Palestinian territories near Khan Younis yesterday, witnesses reported. The latter also stated that Israeli aircraft had dropped leaflets warning the population to stay indoors since the Israeli army is going to conduct a military operation against groups of militants that were launching rockets against Israel.

World leaders from 15 countries, including US, Canada, Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, as well as important officials from the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank are convening today at the Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome in order to tackle important issues like reaching a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon and the statute, as well as deployment, of foreign troops in that perimeter, German news agency Deutsche Welle reports.

According to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in an interview with reporters on Tuesday, "The Primary objective is a ceasefire" although many dividing differences have already been emerging among these countries with regard to the conditions of the cessation of hostilities.

As he left Beirut for Rome, the Lebanese Prime Minister expressed his increasing doubts as far as these talks and the objectives they intend to achieve are concerned.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is going to take part in the Rome conference, stated that he would support a truce and the establishment of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, the release of the two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah, plus the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1559, which basically stipulates the disarming of the Hezbollah and the re-establishment of the Lebanese government's authority and control over the territory.

A group of around 20 US House of Representatives Democrat members issued a formal letter towards House Speaker Dennis Hastert, in which they are urging the Illinois Republican party member to ask Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, due to deliver a speech in Congress, to apologize for his anti-Israel remarks or cancel the address. They mentioned within the letter that Iraq has become "increasingly influenced" by Iran in the past few months and that "the goal of invasion in Iraq was not to remove one threat in favor of another".

Some have even gone as far as threatening to boycott the joint meeting of the Congress, as well as Maliki's speech if the latter does not take back his denunciation of Israel in the Middle East conflict that he formulated on Tuesday. Senate Democrats described Maliki's calling for "the world to take quick stands to stop the Israeli aggression" last week, within the context of the war in Lebanon, "very troubling". They asked for an official explanation, yet they did not press for his speech to be cancelled, as opposed to the members of the House of Representatives.

However, the group of Democrats may not see their demands met; since a spokesman for Hastert, Ron Bonjean, announced that the House Speaker has no intention whatsoever regarding the canceling of Maliki's speech. On the contrary, he accused the Democrats of using this detail as an argument against the Bush administration in quite a delicate time.

On Thursday, it has been reported that, in spite of the fact that the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in the Middle East seems to be worsening by the day, the emergency international conference in Rome on a ceasefire framework and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, held on Wednesday, failed to bring the much expected effects that all 15 countries that took part in it, wished for.
The Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who acknowledged that "some progress has been made", was also among the few who bluntly admitted that the Rome conference failed in attaining its objectives. "'The more we delay the ceasefire, the more we are going to have civilians being killed", Siniora stated accusing Israel for the current state of the affairs.

US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who co-hosted the Rome conference, along with Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema attempted to bring the positive effects of the forum out. "'We all committed to dedicated and urgent action to bring about an end to this violence", she said. However, she would not back from the idea of a ceasefire which included the specific stipulation of Hezbollah's disarmament: "We have to have a plan that will actually create conditions for a ceasefire that will be sustainable".

The meeting reached the conclusion that an international peacekeeping force would be sent in Lebanon but only when a safe environment would allow it to. Therefore, no deadlines or schedules have been advanced, which means that the situation in southern Lebanon would remain as it is for the time being.

According to Israeli military officials, the ferocious fighting for strategic Lebanese Bint Jbeil city, longtime Hezbollah stronghold, situated in the neighborhood of Maroun el Ras near the border, on Wednesday, led to the death of at least 9 Israeli soldiers and more than 24 wounded while battling Hezbollah militants.

This means that yesterday's casualties represented the highest death toll in the two-week Middle East conflict the Israeli army had to suffer. Moreover, the death of so many Israeli troops placed the shadow of doubt on the Israeli army's tactics in view of the fact that Hezbollah proved to be a very determined and entrenched force.

The fighting between the Israeli ground forces and Hezbollah militants had been carried out in apartment buildings and in bunkers, as well as Hezbollah hide-outs. According to army representatives, the Israelis were ambushed by the Hezbollah fighters, who launched a small-arms, rocket-propelled grenade and mortar fire siege from many directions, as the former attempted to enter Bint Jbeil on foot. Around 50 Hezbollah gunmen were killed during the battle with the Golani Brigade, which has been famous for its fighting units and skills. "It was a very tough day, but our soldiers withstood it", Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, chief of the army's northern command, asserted.

In his address to the United States Congress, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki expressed his confidence and desire that his country would come to play an important role as far as regional stability in the Middle East is concerned, encouraging communication for the resolution of international conflicts, CNN informs.
However, the congressional joint meeting did not hear Maliki directly speaking about the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Prime Minister exercising caution with regard to the US Democrats group's plea, which had called upon him to offer an explanation as to why he did not formally condemn Hezbollah. He also did not express any apologies for denouncing the "Israeli aggression" either.

Maliki's speech was centered mainly on general terms and on regional issues: "We are working diligently so that Iraq returns to take the position it deserves and it plays a positive role in its regional and international environment as a key active player in spreading security and stability, to give an example of positive relationship between countries through denouncement of violence and resorting to constructive dialogue, solving problems between nations and peoples". "This is the new Iraq, which is emerging from the ashes of dictatorship and despite the carnage of extremists, a country which respects international conventions and practices noninterference in the internal affairs of others, relies on dialogue to resolve differences, and strives to develop strong relations with every country that espouses freedom and peace", he added. He asked for United States' help to support his country and provide more financial assistance and troops for its reconstruction.

According to national security adviser Stephen Hadley, the only issues Maliki addressed during a joint news conference at the White House were related to the destruction in Lebanon, the air and ground attacks that caused massive civilian deaths and complications. Hadley added that Maliki's comments could not be compared to the harshness of those made by Iranian president Ahmadinejad, who called for the destruction of Israel.

The United Nations released a report that may become quite a diplomatic controversy, with reference to the killing of the four UN military observers by the Israeli aircraft near Khiyam, near the Lebanon-Israeli border, on Tuesday.

This report comes to contradict what the Israeli military officials have stated, that the "alleged and deliberate attack" was actually a mistake, asserting that no less than 10 telephone calls were made by the Austrian, Finnish, Canadian and Chinese peacekeepers to the Israeli army. The four warned the Israeli aircraft that they are dangerously approaching their post, hours before the Israeli airstrike hit their bunker. Moreover, the report also mentioned the fact that every time they called to announce that Israeli warplanes have no business entering their perimeter, they were told that the bombing would cease, yet they were still hit by no less than a precision-guided missile.

In response to the new developments in this case, Israeli Prime Minister quickly telephoned UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in order to reiterate the fact that the Israeli warplanes did not deliberately bombed the UN position.

Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released a new videotaped message in which he calls all Muslims to rise and start a holy war against Israel, both in Israel, as well as in Gaza, until Islam would come to reign "from Spain to Iraq" as he said.
The message that was broadcast by pan-Arab Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, stated that al-Qaeda currently views the entire world "as a battlefield open in front of us", therefore it is time for them to conquer it, or at least an as big a part of it as possible.

Al-Zawahiri added that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on the Lebanese front, as well as between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza would not be ended with "cease-fires or agreements", and even if they do, these would not last: "It is a Jihad for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq. We will attack everywhere".

Zawahiri added that many of the Muslim governments are now friends with the American and the Israeli officials, which makes them complicit to their deeds in Lebanon and Gaza. However, he urged his fellow Muslims to fight their enemies in order to reach martyrdom.

On Friday, a senior Israeli military officials issued a formal announcement stating that the Israeli government has approved the request for as many as 15,000 reservists, given the fact that the absence of an international consensus regarding a ceasefire in Lebanon can be interpreted as a "permission from the world" to extend the military campaign against terrorist network Hezbollah.

The reservists' request came only a day after a high-level meeting in Rome, where diplomats failed to agree on terms and conditions for a ceasefire in Lebanon that Israel, which did not attend the conference, interpreted as a green light to continue its offensive. In an interview with Israel's Army Radio, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon stated: "We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world ... to continue this operation, this war, until Hezbollah isn't present in Lebanon, and until it is disarmed. Everyone understands that a victory for Hezbollah is a victory for world terror".

However, according to the statement, the Israeli government decided to refrain from widening the military offensive for now, in spite of the fact that many can speculate upon the idea that the call-up for the reservists may indicate the large-scale dimension the assault may gain in the following days.

Eight countries, including the United States and the Asian governments of China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, as well as Russia, Canada and Australia, are making final preparations with regard to talks referring to security concerns posed by North Korean nuclear program, as the latter reiterated its denial of participating in negotiations. The talks were scheduled to take place on the occasion of the Asian Regional Forum, following Pyongyang administration's rejection of re-joining the much-debated six nation dialogue on account of its protest against US's financial sanctions.
"In order for six-way talks to resume, the US should lift its sanctions. This is our basic stance. If the US sincerely wants a dialogue, they can do it and must do it", Chung Sung-il, the spokesman for the North Korean delegation, stated in an interview with reporters.

Moreover, North Korea would repeat the same standpoint in a speech scheduled to be delivered later on Friday at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "At today's forum, we are going to declare our position on settling the nuclear issue and reiterate our foreign ministry's statements on July 6 and 16 on the missile issue", Chung added. He also explained that the missiles North Korea test-fired on July 5th, sparking avid condemnation from the United Nations Security Council and from the international community on the whole, were actually a justified means of self-defense.

In an interview with reporters, the chief of Russian export agency Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov, stated that Venezuela has several purchasing contracts regarding 24 Sukhoi warplanes, plus other aircraft, estimated at 3 billion dollars: "Some contracts for 3 billion dollars have been signed over the last year and a half including for 24 Sukhois and 53 helicopters". The announcement was made following Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's official trip to Russia, to meet Vladimir Putin.

At the start of the presidential meeting yesterday, Chavez insisted on highlighting the importance of the purchase for his country: "We would like to thank you for freeing us from a blockade", he told Putin, referring at the military aircraft deal.

In reply, Putin appeared to make a stern reference to a previous decision made by the United States to ban their manufacturers to sell arms to the Caracas administration, in anger regarding the deals Venezuela made with Russia over this issue: "Co-operation between Russia and Venezuela is not directed against anyone. It aims to raise the living standards of the population", he stated, in an apparent effort to appease the United States and ensure it that none of these deals are meant to cause concern on their American counterparts.

The United Nations continued to express its "shock" and astonishment regarding the death of 4 UN military observers in Lebanon, whose base was bombed by Israeli warplanes two days ago, in an attack which was labeled by the Israeli army as being a "mistake", the BBC informs. However, a UN report released yesterday proved the fact that the UN observers made no less than 10 telephone calls to the Israeli army, announcing it that its fighter jets have flown too near a UN compound, which is a restricted perimeter.

The news also follows two days of negotiations between China and the US, where the former attempted to persuade the latter to condemn Israel, an effort which had no positive effect whatsoever. Around 600 Lebanese civilians have already died in the two-week conflict, according to the Lebanese Health Minister. According to data released by Israeli authorities, 51 Israelis, 18 of them civilians have been killed by Hezbollah so far.

The UN Security Council issued a policy statement, which is lesser in its strength than a resolution, in which it expresses its disappointment with regard to the inconclusive results of avid debates regarding the death of the four UN observers. The reason why the effects were completely different from what they were intended by China, who lost one of its observers, and other countries, was because the US continued to oppose all initiatives. Thus a call for a joint Israeli-UN investigation into the death of the 4 was abandoned, while an official condemnation of a "deliberate attack against UN personnel" was dropped.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued an official statement announcing happily that he is extremely confident the problem of the 19 year old Israeli tank gunner Gilad Shalit's release, who was kidnapped by three Palestinian factions over a month ago, would soon be resolved.

After meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Abbas insisted on highlighting that enormous diplomatic efforts are being made for Shalit's freedom, and thus "a resolution appears to be imminent".

His statement comes to confirm one of Abbas's former advisors, Jibril Rajoub's announcement made previously, according to which a solution to the entire crisis, which led to the opening of a military campaign in Gaza, would be found as early as next week.

Nevertheless, the confidence of the Palestinian officials has been downplayed by statements made by their Hamas counterparts, who denied talks of a potential deal over the abducted Israeli soldier, are close to coming to an end. A member of the Hamas military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam virulently infirmed such reports, while a spokesman of the group, Abu Obeida, reaffirmed the fact that "the case of the Israeli soldier is closed", meaning that Hamas is no longer willing to conduct any negotiations over the soldier's fate.

On Saturday, it has been reported that Hezbollah began a new phase in its military offensive against Lebanon, firing a new type of rockets the day before, rattling Israelis, as their fighter jets and artillery hit guerillas in their assaults on residences and roads in southern Lebanon.

According to guerilla officials, the new type of rockets, called Khaibar-1, actually Iranian-made Fajr-55, were renamed after the location of an important battle between Prophet Muhammad and Jewish tribes in the Arab Peninsula and possess new capabilities as compared to the old Katyusha rockets they had fired up to this point into northern Israeli border towns. The Khaibar-1 has four times the power and range of their predecessors, which means that Hezbollah can reach the northern outskirts of Tel Aviv. "With this, the Islamic Resistance begins a new stage of fighting, challenge and confrontation with a strong determination and full belief in God's victory", was mentioned in the official statement Hezbollah issued yesterday.

The terrorist organization fired several rockets of the new type in order to strike the Israeli town of Afula. Five of them hit the empty fields outside the town and caused no casualties. However, the Israeli military officials felt compelled to deploy a Patriot interceptor missile battery in the northern part of Tel Aviv, in the belief that the rockets could target, as expected, certain parts of one of the most important cities in Israel.

As promised, Hezbollah began a new phase in its military offensive against Lebanon, firing a new type of rockets on Friday, rattling Israelis, as their fighter jets and artillery hit guerillas in their assaults on residences and roads in southern Lebanon.
An important UN official, political affairs officer Ryszard Morczynski, stationed at the UN peacekeeping headquarters in Naqoura, expressed his belief that the war could continue till the end of August, with Israel destroying most of the southern villages plus the city port of Tyre, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Haifa from, should the guerilla continue its rocket assault of Israel.

United Nations urged both Israeli and Hezbollah parties to end hostilities for at least three days in order for humanitarian aid reach the Lebanese population in need and for casualties be transported to proper medical facilities, the BBC informs.
The plea was made by UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland on Friday, upon completing a visit in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip, highlighting the fact that many senior citizens, children and disabled people have been left stranded without any means of surviving during the half month conflict.

He also stated that the existing humanitarian aid corridors are not adequate enough to comply with the needs of the people left in the middle of the war zone.

His assessment of the situation was confirmed by that of a senior official at the UN refugee agency in Lebanon, Arafat Jamal, who declared that medical and food supplies are "running out very, very fast" in the southern part of Lebanon:" The south is definitely where the critical needs are at the moment. You've got active combat going on, several tens if not hundreds of thousands of persons displaced within the south".

According to US State Department officials, Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to make another important trip to the Middle East in order to lead a fresh diplomatic push for getting both the Lebanese and the Israeli parties to agree on terms and conditions of a ceasefire settlement. Officials added that her trip to assess groundwork performed by two of her top Middle East mediators has been delayed by a day, given in part to the Jewish Sabbath.

Rice's second trip to the region in less than a week, also confirmed by US president George Bush in Washington, represents a bid for the development of several conditions for a ceasefire that would also be mentioned within a UN resolution put forward next week. As it seems, she would go wherever she would have to in order to succeed: "This is evolving hour by hour", one of the officials within her delegation stated. On the other hand, many call this second trip in the Middle East as Rice's last chance to save hers, as well as United States' reputation, given the fact that the country's lack of condemnation of Israel's military campaign in Lebanon has been interpreted as a green light on continuing attacks there.

Even though the ASEAN Regional Forum annual gathering session unfolded behind close doors, a Japanese official stated afterwards that North Korea had adopted quite a menacing standpoint, declaring that it would reconsider its membership in the organization, should it be more pressured into giving up the nuclear program.
The official highlighted the fact that North Korea's Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun announced his country's decision to reconsider whether to remain in the ARF or not in what many officials, present at the talks, described as an emotional rant. Paek also asserted that his country does not have any intention regarding the suspension of its missile tests, that he called part of the country's military exercises. He also added that North Korea would continue to dismiss the UN resolution adopted by the Security Council, in which the latter condemns the tests:" North Korea refuses to accept the U.N. resolution. It is a grave threat to North Korea".

Thus, the numerous efforts made by the six-party group into persuading North Korea to at least take part in multilateral discussions focused on its nuclear weapons, achieved none of the desired effects.