This week's main coordinates centered not only on Israel's two main war fronts in Lebanon, whose main highlight was the Qana village bombing, which sparked avid criticisms and debates, and Gaza, but also the potential civil wars that are on the verge of unfolding in Iraq, due to intense ethnic divisions, Sri Lanka, with the heavy armed clashes between Tamil Tiger rebels and government army units, and Somalia, whose weak government stands on the brink of collapse, now that more and more ministers and junior ministers are resigning. To that one may add the murky political situation in Cuba, with Fidel Castro's temporary handing power to his brother due to health issues, Iran receiving ultimatums on the nuclear issue, and typhoon Prapiroon, recently downgraded to the status of a tropical storm, ravaging southern China.

On Monday, US government officials announced that the Israeli army had been forced to suspend its air strikes in the southern part of Lebanon for at least 48 hours in order to be able to conduct a thorough investigation of yesterday's bombing of the Lebanese city of Qana in which 56 people were killed, most of them children. The suspension of the air raids came as the United Nations Security Council issued a formal statement in which it expressed its "shock and distress" regarding the attack and urged for an immediate ceasefire of both Israel and Hezbollah. In the words of the UN Secretary General, the Qana bombing created a "moment of extreme gravity" for the Middle East region and the current conflict there. Many have speculated upon the idea that the aerial activity suspension of Israel following the Qana bombing in Lebanon would create a so called "tangible result" for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's mission in the region. Yet the tragic event forced her to abruptly end her trip in the Middle East and somehow derailed her objective of bringing together Lebanon and Israel to a round table in order to find a common lasting solution to the conflict.

Officials from around the world issued common condemnations of Israel following its gruesome air strike on Qana village in southern Lebanon, which marked the heaviest and bloodiest attack in the 19-day conflict. 56 people died, yet around 37 of them were children. Most civilians who lost their lives were part of an extended family. Among the most virulent critics of Israel were Jordan, the Arab League, the European Union and France, who stated that the attack highlighted the need for an immediate ceasefire in the region.

French president Jacques Chirac's office released an official address yesterday, stating: "France condemns this unjustified action which demonstrates more than ever the need for an immediate cease-fire, without which there will only be other such incidents." Amr Moussa, the Arab league secretary general labeled it a "massacre" and called for an international investigation into the matter, while King Abdullah from Jordan, described it as an "ugly crime" and a "gross violation of all international statutes".

Hezbollah announced that it would viciously retaliate in order to avenge the attack, while Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President, declared that Israel had proved that it performs "state terrorism" operations through the Qana bombardment.

In reply, the Israeli Prime Minister stated that his country's army bombing of the Qana village was justified to a certain extent, given the fact that the area was a permanent source of rocket attacks against Israel and that army officials had already announced the residents to leave the perimeter.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora adopted a stern political standpoint, warning US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not to come to Beirut to meet him, unless she has specific and plausible conditions for a ceasefire to be accepted. He also hinted at the fact that Hezbollah's response towards the Israeli air attacks on Qana was justified. "As long as the aggression continues there is response to be exercised", he stated referring to the Qana tragic event and to the subsequent reply given by Hezbollah through their al-Manar television station that the "massacre at Qana will not go unanswered". He also had very nice words about Hezbollah's recent declarations and deeds, especially as far as its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was concerned: "We highly appreciate his [Nasrallah's] stance and those who are sacrificing their lives for the sake of Lebanon".

He added that he had had a telephone conversation with United Nations Secretary of State Kofi Annan, asking him to organize an emergency meeting of the Security Council in order to arrange for a permanent ceasefire, given that it is the only solution to an "untenable situation". In his opinion, the seven-point peace plan he advanced at the Rome conference last week, was still the best solution yet for a settlement of this kind. However, this plan could not be enforced, unless a ceasefire is agreed upon first.

The deadly attack the Israeli air force performed in the southern Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday has caused aggressive reactions from the part of Palestinian groups in Gaza, as well, where Israel conducts a second warfront in order to release the Israeli soldier kidnapped more than a month ago. Their leaders, especially Hamas ones, issued a joint statement, warning that "all options are open" from now, highlighting the fact that Israel should expect the unexpected in terms of military retaliations.

The warning also came a short while after an Israeli air strike in the Palestinian territories wounded five Palestinian civilians and crumbled two houses to the ground and only a day after two Palestinian militants were killed in the poverty-stricken Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Jihad announced that it had given specific instructions to its fighters to conduct suicide attacks within cities in Israel. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's military faction, Fatah, announced that besides Israel, it would also target attacks in the United States and other Western allied countries, given the gravity of the Qana air raid.

As far as Hamas was concerned, its military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, asserted that they had already begun their attacks on Israel, following recent developments in Qana, by firing two rockets in the northern Israeli town of Sderot.

Even though NATO officials had started having second thoughts regarding the authority take-over operations in southern Afghanistan, the deadliest and most volatile regions within the country, given the massive resurgence in violent fighting, NATO troops assumed command on Monday from the US-led anti-terror coalition forces.

According to political analysts, this is the most dangerous and challenging mission NATO had ever experienced in its entire history since it is the first time the alliance has had to perform land operations. The main missions for NATO in the six provinces of Day Kundi, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Zabul regard the establishment of bases under the form of secure zones where development can take place.

The NATO contingent, consisting of mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops took over control from US-led forces that had been fighting the Taliban regime for five years, ever since the former had crumbled. NATO officials announced that they would deploy 8,000 troops which would be under the command of British LT. Gen. David Richards, who is allegedly the first army officer, yet not general, to command American units in combat operations.

According to Sri Lankan government and military officials, heavy armed clashes were recorded between security troops and Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday morning following the seizure of a water reservoir in the Batticaloa district by the rebel group a few days ago, CNN reports.

The clashes were initiated after Sri Lankan government troops launched a military offensive in the eastern district, in order to free the reservoir that irrigates around 30,000 acres of paddy land situated on the border that divides Tricomalee from Batticaloa, from the control of the Tamil Tigers, the sources added. Although there was information regarding the fact that the troops had met heavy resistance, there was no immediate news on the exact number of casualties in the rebels' camp.

Military sources asserted that 40 of their men had died and the district's military commander had been wounded, yet the rebels' spokespeople minimized the incident and made no reference regarding it on their official Internet web sites.

The initial blockade was launched on July 20th along the Mavil Aru irrigation system, with the Sri Lanka Air Force beginning its four-day air strikes on the rebel positions six days later, using Israeli Kfir jets. One of the air raids targeted the rebels' headquarters in Karadiyanaru, near Batticaloa.

United States officials issued another warning towards Iran, reminding it that the there is a short while ahead of the deadline when it is supposed to present conclusions over the nuclear incentives it has been offered and cautioning it that the United Nations Security Council would implement a broad sanction regime against Tehran, in case it fails to answer. We'll be voting this week a UN Security Council resolution that will mandate the suspension of Iran's nuclear programs, and it will say that if Iran doesn't do that by August 31 then the Security Council, including China and Russia, will agree on a sanctions regime. I don't think Iran counted on this. I think they've been surprised by it. And it's good that we're mounting pressure", an important State Department official, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns declared today in an interview with Fox News.

As far as political and economic restraints that would be applied to Tehran, Burns mentioned that these sanctions would clearly lie within the nuclear industry perimeter, yet they would also make some references towards the banning on official travel and the obtaining of any profits from US nuclear technology.

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi successfully overcame a confidence vote procedure organized by the Somali Assembly on Sunday, which was translated into the victory of his government on the whole. If he had failed, his government would have collapsed, Reuters informs.

However, his victory, with 88 votes in favor of the censure motion, as opposed to 121 against it, short of a two-thirds majority that would have censured him, occurred on a highly aggressive mood the Parliament, reunited in a grain store-converted-into-Parliament Hall, displayed. Security forces had to enter the building and separate four members of the parliament who had plunged into a fierce physical fight, while escorting Gedi out.

Political analysts believe that if the censure motion would have passed through, it would have led to the dissolution of the government, which has already proven its inefficiency and lack of authority, given the fact that the Somali Islamist militia has already took control over capital Mogadishu and most part of southern Somalia.

On Tuesday, Israeli officials cautioned that, in spite of the brief suspension of the aerial activity following the Qana bombing two days ago, the fighting in Lebanon was far from being over.

In that sense, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued an official statement, warning that his country does not agree to any ceasefire conditions and remained untouched about the tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians who continue to be trapped by the war in their hideouts without food or medical supplies, as well as the hundreds who have already died in the three-week conflict.

The pause in the airstrikes did allow humanitarian aid reach places it had not reached before, with humanitarian workers reporting that they had found 49 dead bodies in the rubble.

As far as ground battles were concerned, reporters informed that fighting continued in southern Lebanon, especially on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil, while Hezbollah fighters kept on launching Katyusha rockets into Israel. On the other hand, Israel bombed a car carrying Lebanese Army soldiers, killing one of them, while the Israeli ground troops continued their assault on three southern Lebanese towns.

The Israeli government issued a formal statement, announcing that it had approved the expansion of its military offensive in Lebanon. In an interview with the AFP, an Israeli government official confirmed the news: "The cabinet gave the green light for expanding the ground operation in Lebanon" after a four-hour cabinet meeting.

He also reiterated what the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had previously stated regarding the war against Hezbollah, and the condition for it to cease being a threat in order to end the tragic Middle East conflict. "We will end it when the threat over our heads is removed, when our kidnapped soldiers return to their homes and when we can live in security", Olmert had initially asserted. In addition to that, any suspension in the Israeli military offensive in southern Lebanon is perceived as being a method for allowing Hezbollah guerrillas the needed time to regroup and resupply themselves. "If there is an immediate ceasefire, the extremists will immediately rear their heads", concluded Defense Minister Amir Peretz in a heated Parliament session in Jerusalem.

The United Nations Security Council announced that it had finished elaborating the resolution that stipulates legally binding economic and diplomatic demands and sanctions against Tehran, should it not comply with August 31st deadline and that it had passed it by 14 to 1. The only Arab country, Qatar, had voted against it.

Specifically, the resolution states that Iran must "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development". Should the Tehran administration not abide by the deadline, the council is entitled to adopt the "appropriate measures" under Article 41 of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter that underlines these sanctions.

While in Miami, George W Bush labeled the resolution as a "strong" one. "The Iranians must hear loud and clear with this resolution the world's intent, upon working together, to make sure that they do not end up with a nuclear weapon".
In response, Iran denounced such a political and diplomatic decision, calling it illegal and pledged that it would disregard it and push on with its nuclear ambitions. Moreover, it highlighted it does not understand the reasons why it should suspend its nuclear schedule, since it poses no threat.

On Wednesday, In an interview with Israel army radio station, Israeli Trade Minister Eli Yishai, a member of the Israeli security commission, stated that his country is due to resume its full air assaults against Hezbollah targets today, after a 48-hour official pause following investigations in the Qana deadly incident on Sunday:"At the end of the 48 hours, the air force will continue to operate with all its power and all of its forces". Yishai, who is also a member of the right-wing Shas party, expressed his doubts with regard to the possibility that the United Nations reach a ceasefire agreement this week in the Israeli-Lebanon-Hezbollah conflict, which has already reached its 21st day. He also remarked that if the United Nations did finalize a ceasefire framework this week, his country would not feel obliged in any fashion to abide by it.


It has been a difficult day for talks between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres on the exact length the Israeli military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon would actually have. While Rice was of opinion that these should not last more than a few more days, the Vice Premier expressed his confidence that they would last at least a few more weeks given the fact that the situation there is still unclear. However, this particular ceasefire could and should be reached only if certain conditions were fulfilled in the first place, including a consolidation of the Lebanese army's control over the southern part of the country in order to cut down on Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.

On the other hand, Peres, who is currently on an official visit to Washington to meet Rice, stated that the Israeli attacks in Lebanon would last at least a few more weeks, in view of the uncertainty that is still looming in the region given the apparent difficulty in the evolution of ground operations." In my judgment, it is not far away. You can count it in a matter of weeks, not months. A cease-fire with Hezbollah can be easily reached, as soon as Hezbollah stops firing missiles at Israel", he stated before the surprised audience at the Institute for Near East Policy, which knew that that would virtually be very difficult to attain, if not impossible.

One of the most important officials with the United Nations, Mark Malloch Brown, the deputy secretary-general, conducted an interview with the Financial Times, in which he warned the so called "team that led the war in Iraq", namely the UK and the US, take a swift back seat in the diplomatic efforts made for the end of war in Lebanon and let other countries lead, or at least share this lead. His statement came after earlier assertions by UK officials, who declared that they were attempting to reach a compromise between US and France over a UN resolution.

"It's not helpful for it again to appear to be the team that led on Iraq. This cannot be perceived as a US-UK deal with Israel. One of my first bosses taught me it's really important to know not just when to lead, but when to follow", Brown wisely put it, launching a warning to the pair that their military and political initiatives chipped off a bit of their credibility with everything that developed ever since the war in Iraq started. He also added that the UK-US general image having a joint leading role in the resolution of the Middle East conflict could create the impression of the so called "Iraq redux, which has got to be countered". In this regard, he suggested that Britain could engage in a more constructive role in Lebanon if it only moved behind the international political scenes.

The president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, released the first official statement regarding the health of Cuban President Fidel Castro, nearly a day after the latter handed over all presidential attributes to his brother, Raoul.

Addressing national concerns over the alleged poor state of Castro's condition, Alarcon attempted to infuse the population with a dose of optimism and hope on Tuesday stating: "The last moment of President Fidel Castro is still a long way off". "Imperialism does not recognize the greatness of Fidel Castro. He will fight until the last possible moment, although this last moment is still quite far off", he added.

His statement followed Monday's announcement that 80 year old Castro had acute intestinal bleeding that required immediate "complicated surgical operation". Given the lack of any other information, a wild wave of speculations had filled the public opinion, with one US senator alleging Castro might die, while Cuban refugees in Florida had already started celebrating the potential fall of one of the few remaining communist regimes in the world.

However, this does not seem to be the case, since, according to Alarcon, Castro is efficiently recovering from the surgery, yet he needs more rest. However, he had taken care of delegating his 75 year old brother with specific responsibilities that were related to measures in the health, education and energy departments, in order to counteract any potential aggression of the United States.

A series of bomb explosions that occurred in Iraq killed at least 61 people, including 26 Iraqi soldiers, who lost their lives during a roadside bomb attack in the northern part of the Iraqi capital, Reuters reports.
According to Iraqi police sources, the soldiers died as their truck, rolling on a road from Tikrit to Banji, hit a roadside bomb, which in turn exploded causing massive casualties.

Baghdad's central Karadda district was again the scene of a massive bomb attack when a car bomb blasted at least 14 people, including Iraqi security forces that had come outside a bank in order to collect their salaries. According to Lt Col Abbas Muhammad Salman, from the Iraqi police, who was interviewed by the Associated Press, eight of the victims were civilians, while three were soldiers and three were part of a commando team. 22 other people were wounded. Two more separate attacks had caused more strain and struggle to Iraqi security forces, with one car bomb blasting a police patrol unit in Muqdadiya, 90 km northeast of Baghdad, in front of a hospital, killing seven people and injuring at least eight. Iraqi police also reported another car bombing in the northwestern town of Tal Afar, killing three soldiers and injuring four others.
Industry sources confirmed that an important oil pipeline that reaches Turkey, situated in the northern part of Iraq, was the object of a sabotage bomb attack that postponed the resumption of exports.

Sri Lankan army troops had to sustain fierce minefield and mortar attacks launched by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, while advancing to the rebel-seized water reservoir near the Tricomalee port in what represented the longest and most violent military clash outburst in four years.

The Tamil Tiger rebels had decided to ultimately cut all water supplies to almost 65,000 Sinhalese people, prompting the army to blame them for starting ethnic cleansing operations, while still being committed to giving up the 2002 ceasefire provisions.

As far as getting to the sluice gate was concerned, the Sri Lankan army forecast that it could take them two more days to cross the open ground through mortar and mines: "Now we are very close to the blockade. We are taking every step possible to reach there and as soon as troops capture the Mavilaru reservoir, gates will be reopened immediately with the support from the engineers", a spokesman for the army, Prasad Samarasinghe stated, cautioning, that the army could stop the attack at any time, should the Tamil Tigers renounce its seizure of the sluice gates and the restoration of water supplies.

In what came as an enormous surprise to many, the Finnish EU presidency announced on Tuesday that it would not place Hezbollah on the official terrorist organizations' list for the time being, yet the issues is not closed, further discussions on the matter being due to take place in the future.
Adopting a cautious posture, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja stated: "Given the sensitive situation where we are, I don't think this is something we will be acting on now", following a meeting with EU counterparts to discuss the crisis in Lebanon.

Tuomioja's announcement came in reply to a joint letter signed by 213 members of the US Congress and sent to EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, in which it was demanded that Hezbollah be branded a terrorist organization by the European Union in a follow-up example of the United States in this regard. In spite of the negative response, the European Union did however leave a swift indication that the discussion of this issue could be resumed, but only after world powers are able to strike a peace deal between Israel and Hezbollah, since the current situation in the Middle east is much too sensitive:" This could happen later on when we will see the outcome of a future political agreement", the Finnish minister concluded.

On Thursday, an Israeli military spokeswoman issued an official statement, asserting that Israeli ground units engaged in severe fighting with Hezbollah guerillas in Ayta al-Shab in southern Lebanon close to the Lebanese-Israeli border, following yesterday's 231 rockets launched by the terrorist group into Israel.

The number of rockets fired marked a new threshold for attacks, representing the highest single-day volley of counter strikes of Hezbollah, ever since the conflict began, almost a month ago.

According to the same Israeli military spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, most of the rockets hit eight towns and cities in Israel, among which was Haifa, Carmiel, Kiryat Shmona, Tiberia and Afula, killing one person and severely wounding 49 others, most of them being treated for shock.
On the other hand, Hezbollah-led Al-Manar TV reported that Israeli fighter jets targeted no less than 100 sites in the southern part of Lebanon; prompting TV anchors say that there was "fierce combat in an attempt to prevent Israeli soldiers from taking Ayta al-Shab".

Israeli army officials have begun presenting the information they had gathered following the investigation of the alleged Israeli aircraft bombing of the three-storey building in Qana on Sunday, that reportedly killed 56 civilians, many of them children, drew virulent international condemnation and prompted Israel to declare a 48-hour halt of the airstrikes in order to investigate the matter.

One of the first conclusions of the investigation was related to the fact that the Israeli attack on that particular site was based on information that Hezbollah had stored weapons and had assumed control of nearby buildings, which has prompted many to speculate upon the idea that Hezbollah itself could have staged the entire incident, actually worsened it, after Israel bombed the place, in order to draw blame on the Israelis.

However, the Israeli investigation report did not present any specific proof in relation to weapons being hidden in the building the Israeli fighter jets targeted. Still, there has been a reported seven to eight hour pause between the exact moment the Israeli aircraft finished striking the area, according to Israeli military officials, and the moment when the building actually collapsed. This specific time frame had not been accounted for. Secondly, only one person, a child, out of the total number who died, presented signs of wounds and associated traces of having been a victim of a building collapse.

Moreover, reports on the exact number of casualties in that building continue to be murky. On the one hand, the Lebanese Qana official death toll is still 56 civilians, yet on the other, the New York-based human right organization Human Rights Watch conducted an independent investigation and reported on Wednesday that only 28 had died in the bombing, while 13 people were still missing.

Driven by the numerous virulent protests taking place in their own countries in support for Lebanon and Hezbollah, and the latest developments in the Middle East conflict, leaders of almost all Muslim countries, members of the Organization of Islamic Conference, led by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gathered in a special session in order to elaborate upon a common standpoint with regard to what is currently going on the Middle East region, Reuters informs.

Abdullahi Ahmad Badawi, the Malaysian Prime Minister and the host of the conference, asserted that the Muslim countries are now ready to commit troops to the establishment of an international peacekeeping contingent to be deployed in southern Lebanon.
Diplomats of the OIC announced that there is a draft communiqué circulating at the present moment, according to which the Muslim "Blue Helmets" could be placed under the control of the United Nations. The communiqué also includes a call for an international investigation into the Israeli war crimes performed in southern Lebanon and Gaza, plus an immediate ceasefire, preceded by Israel and United States' agreement to end the war. The conference was also attended by the President of Indonesia, the Prime Minister of Turkey and officials from Pakistan and Egypt, yet the most charismatic figure that draw the attention of many at the forum was the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His hard-line standpoint against Israeli operations in Lebanon, publicly supported by Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran's supreme clerical leader, were expected to cause animation within the conference hall, yet make the voice of the Organization heard on an international level.

Fighting between Tamil Tiger rebel and government troops for the release of a water reservoir near Tricomalee port, a strategic northeastern target, and the small town of Muttur, one-hour east by sea, where many Tamil Tigers had infiltrated, continued on Thursday as well, CNN reports.

According to the chief government spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, who issued a statement from the Defense Ministry, in spite of the fact that government forces killed 40 rebels and severely wounded 70 on Wednesday, the latter managed to seize the town of Muttur, dominated by the Muslim population, and entered private homes, ruining soldiers' efforts to chase them out.

He highlighted the fact that the Sri Lankan army is not using its heaviest military machines in order to spare town residents.

However, the government military units that were guarding the main telecommunication center became the main target of a violent assault early Thursday morning.

The slow but gradual Somali governmental collapse developed further, with four important representatives handing in their resignations citing as main reason the Prime Minister's continuous unwillingness to reach out and cooperate somehow with the Islamic militia, which has taken over control of capital Mogadishu and most part of southern Somalia a few months ago.

"We have resigned because the prime minister has refused reconciliation to go on between the government and the Islamic courts and all the Somalis", one of the assistant ministers who quit, Hirsi Adan Roble, asserted. The decision of the four ministers to leave the Somali government brought the total number of officials to resign from the Western and UN-supported yet powerless government, to 34.

Even though the Somali government is conducting an appeasement policy with regard to the Islamic militia, it did not ask it whether it would be interested in sharing the power to rule Somalia. This is why some fear that the Islamic militia's main intent is to assume control over the entire country in order to impose the strict Muslim sharia law.

According to China's National Meteorological Center, southern China provinces are making the last preparations in order to be able to face the arrival of the latest in a string of typhoons and tropical storms, Prapiroon, which has already killed six people in the Philippines, while thousands were evacuated and planes, trains and ferries' schedules were disrupted.

Hainan, Guangdong and neighboring Guangxi already relocated 65,000 people and called 53,000 ships back into harbors, Chinese news agency Xinhua announced. It added that flights to and from Hong Kong have been diverted, delayed or canceled in the morning or early afternoon, while ferries to and from Macau have been suspended, with rail links to Shenhezen, in the southern part of Guangdong being blocked by trees that have fallen. Guangdong authorities also stopped all passenger rail services across to Hainan Island.

The Hong Kong city observatory announced that the center of the one which bears the Thai name for "rain god" was located about 280 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong at 3 p.m. The storm was forecasted to hit land within the southern Guangdong province, in the Yangjiang port city by this afternoon or early evening. The maximum sustained winds are 130 kilometers an hour. Citing Guangdong's provincial observatory, Xinhua stated that among the most negative of the potential consequences Prapiroon might produce are landfalls, high waves, flooding and the collapse of buildings.

Iraqi President organized a press conference in which he announced that "God willing, by the end of this year, we will bring an end to terrorism", meaning that Iraqi forces would prove capable of taking over security responsibilities in Iraq from US-led coalition troops.

The news conference, where senior military and Interior Ministry officials also took part, were mainly centered upon the soccer-field killings, where at least 12 people were killed and 14 were severely injured, most of them children, when two bombs that had been placed in gym bags, exploded on Wednesday near the bench stands of a soccer field.
The president also defended the Iraqi troops against reports of alleged atrocities committed by them: "Iraqi security forces are doing their duty, but we still expect more of them". However, he did not provide any proof or further details in order to support his statement regarding the take over operations taking place at the end of this year. Without giving names, Talabani blamed several Iraqi politicians for the alleged deliberately misguided accusations regarding the fact that the Interior Ministry employed militias that killed and kidnapped Iraqi citizens. He labeled the Iraqi troops "sacred" and demanded that the Iraqi population support them, in order to make their tasks easier.

On Friday, Hezbollah guerillas launched an ample rocket attack against Israel, pounding again the northern part of the Jewish state in a matter of minutes, killing eight people, a few hours before the leader of the organization, Hassan Nasrallah, offered Israel a deal, to stop the attacks in exchange of Israel ending its air raids. If these attacks do not stop, he threatened he would strike Tel Aviv as powerfully as possible.

Among the eight people who died were four Israeli soldiers, thus marking the heaviest one-day death toll Israel had to face in its long-standing two war fronts. Israel hit back at Lebanon, striking the Lebanese-Israeli border again and especially southern Beirut, particularly the Shiite neighborhood of Danieh where some Hezbollah facilities and an office were present. According to local Lebanese media, Israel launched a 24 bombing volley in just one hour. As far as southern Lebanon was concerned, some have stated that the Israeli air strike rocket attack reached as much as 15 per minute.

Israeli army officials did not take Nasrallah's offer into consideration, and despite continuous efforts by the international community to produce some kind of a ceasefire agreement, the former continued to push forward towards the Litani River, the main point of its military offensive to drive Hezbollah groups away from the southern border and establish a security corridor in the area for international peace keeping troops.

Given the international media's intense focus on the Lebanon war in the past weeks, apparently forgetting about Israel's second war front in Gaza, and especially because of that, UN humanitarian agencies in the Palestinian territories issued a joint statement on Thursday, in which they drew attention on the ongoing violence there that had sparked a severe humanitarian crisis and attempted to remind all parties involved of the obligations they have in respecting humanitarian law provisions to spare civilian lives.

"The United Nations humanitarian agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territory are deeply alarmed by the impact continuing violence is having on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, which has resulted in a sharp decline in the humanitarian situation facing 1.4 million people, more than half of them children. We are concerned that with international attention focusing on Lebanon, the tragedy in Gaza is being forgotten", part of the statement said. Under international humanitarian regulations "all parties to the conflict are obliged to protect civilians during hostilities". They must also "exercise precaution and respect the principle of proportionality in all military operations to prevent unnecessary suffering among the civilian population."

Many labeled British Prime Minister Tony Blair's attitude at his last monthly news conference, before he departs on a Caribbean holiday, leaving John Prescott in his place, as defiant in the face of avid criticism over his policies in the Middle East, especially with regard to the war in Lebanon and the pending civil war in Iraq, as well as his support of US President Bush.

Blair brushed aside all of the accusations many members of the Cabinet placed upon his apparent unwavering support of the United States, but did admit that both his government and his party are divided over the Iraq and Lebanon issues.

Moreover, he called reports of alleged rows with Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett as "rubbish".

Just as other UN diplomats before him, Blair stated that a UN resolution concerning the war in Lebanon would be reached "in the next few days", which would in turn pave the way for a second one, which would provide for the establishment of an international stabilization force.

Blair continued to adopt an attitude devoid of any desire to call an immediate ceasefire or to condemn Israel for its use of disproportionate force in Lebanon, stating that he is attempting to contain the crisis there "by the only practical means I can think of . . . the solution will not come by condemning one side simply by statements we make. It will only come with a ceasefire on both sides".

What many called a political "firestorm", Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statement, in which he highlighted that the conflict in Lebanon is strongly linked to his withdrawal plan from the West Bank, caused avid concern among Israeli politicians in the Knesset, as well as Israeli West Bank settlers.

During the first interview ever since the war in Lebanon began almost a month ago, Olmert stated on Wednesday that he was hoping the successful military outcome in Lebanon would aid his plan to separate from West Bank, in a unilateral manner, should the situation require it. The plan, which was made public during the March elections, envisages a permanent withdrawal of the Israelis from the West Bank, in order to be able to draw a border there, yet strengthening the Israeli settlements.

Faced with such an assessment, other Israeli politicians manifested their anger over the fact that Olmert is trying to manipulate the ravaging war in Lebanon in order to boost the other separate points of his Gaza political agenda. The most articulate counterstatements against Olmert's intentions, came from opposition Likud Party, whose officials blamed Olmert for "driving a wedge deep into the heart of the consensus" over the recent and future developments of the war in Lebanon. Effi Eitam, from the National Union party, also commented upon Olmert's plan, saying he had made "a tremendous mistake and was irresponsible", yet talks over this issue should be held later on.

Britain's ambassador in war-torn Baghdad, William Patey, sent a confidential memo to all ministers of the British government, in which he warned against the fact that a civil war is imminent in Iraq, given the fact that the country may suffer a massive break-up on all levels because of ethnic divisions.
"The prospect of a low intensity civil war and a de facto division of Iraq is probably more likely at this stage than a successful and substantial transition to a stable democracy. Even the lowered expectation of President Bush for Iraq - a government that can sustain itself, defend itself and govern itself and is an ally in the war on terror - must remain in doubt", part of the memo states, despite turning to a more optimistic tone in other parts, saying "the position is not hopeless, although it adds Iraq will remain "messy and difficult" for the next five to 10 years".

As far Shiite militant groups in Iraq were concerned, Patey cautioned that, in order to avoid a repetition of the Hezbollah and Lebanon case, the former establishing an independent governing system within the country, the allied forces must seek to eliminate them.

On Saturday, it was reported that Israeli fighter jets bombed four bridges situated along the north-south main highway in Lebanon, connecting Damascus, the Syrian capital, to the northern part of Beirut, on Friday, killing more than 30 people, far from the territories that are allegedly controlled by Hezbollah groups.

Many speculated upon the fact that, with the highway already having been bombed at several points, the attacks were actually aimed at destroying large portions of the arms routes that are used by Hezbollah to receive weapons from Syria. However, given that these same roads are used to ship humanitarian aid and supplies into the country, the siege seemed all the more disastrous. A UN aid convoy, made up of eight trucks, transporting supplies into Lebanon, could not go further to the south, just like other aid convoys, being stuck near one of the northern blown-out bridges. An air strike within the Bekaa Valley, near the border with Syria, killed more than 28 farmers and injured dozens others, most of them Syrian Kurds that were busy loading fruits and vegetables into a refrigerated truck.

Other Israeli war planes destroyed a Hezbollah school, a sports and a youth center in southern Beirut in the Uzai suburb near the airport. In addition to that, a Lebanese army post was also damaged, with one soldier killed and three others wounded. According to security sources, Israeli army helicopters landed two commando units near the city of Tyre.

Northern Iraq became the scene of bloody near-simultaneous insurgent attacks, causing the death of 14 people, including 7 law enforcement officers, the BBC informs, citing Iraqi police sources.

One of the attacks took place in Hadhar, Nineveh province, with ten people, including three police officers losing their lives and seven others being severely wounded, when a suicide bomber managed to drive his truck, loaded with explosive materials, into a sports field. The incident occurred as several people were on the field playing football and basketball.

Another attack, which had happened earlier, targeted the city of Mosul, 90 kilometers north of Hadhar, disrupting the relative calm that had engulfed the city in recent months. Media reported that at least one car bombing and subsequent violent rounds of violence, sparked by it, occurred. The fighting caused the death of three policemen, while a colonel, the Mosul police chief lost his life in the car bombing incident. Four other civilians were injured. It is believed that several insurgents have also lost their lives in ensuing fighting, with one yet unconfirmed police source stating that at least 8 militants died in one cross-fire.

Palestinian hospital officials announced on Saturday that five civilians, including two teenagers, were killed by Israeli attacks in southern Gaza, as the Israeli military incursion in and around the border town of Rafah continued.

According to Palestinian officials, some of the victims included Houda al-Nouri, aged 45, her son Omar, aged 17 and her daughter Kiffah, aged 15, as well as their driver. The two children died, while their mother and their taxi driver were critically injured as an Israeli tank shell exploded near their residence, situated near Rafah. They were all apparently fleeing their home in the neighborhood of al-Shawka, fearing more airstrikes and tank artillery shelling.
Apart from them, officials added that two other Palestinian armed militants lost their lives during two separate Israeli air strikes in the area. One of them was Mohammed al-Khawajih, aged 23, who belonged to the violent terrorist group of the Islamic Jihad, while the other one, Sharif Ayyash, also aged 23, was a Hamas fighter.