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Israel, Hezbollah show no signs of let-up
Fighting enters 23rd day, toll crosses 900
Beirut/Jerusalem, August 3
Israel launched fresh air strikes on Beirut today after Hezbollah guerrillas fired rockets deep into northern Israel, as Lebanese officials said the country's death toll in 23 days of fighting between the two sides had crossed 900.

Israeli soldiers cover their ears as a mobile artillery piece fires into Lebanon on Thursday at an Israeli military position located along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Nearly 10,000 Israeli ground troops were battling Hezbollah fighters around some dozen villages in south Lebanon, army radio reported. — AFP photo

Cuba tightens security
Havana, August 3
Speculation grew over Fidel Castro's health following surgery as both the Communist leader and his replacement and brother, Raul Castro, remain out of sight while security quietly tightens around the country.

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	Hezbollah breach resumes Israeli action August 1, 2006
	51 killed in Israeli airstrike on Lebanon July 31, 2006
	Resolution on Iran introduced in Security Council July 30, 2006
	Will try to retain spirit of July pact, says Bush July 29, 2006
	Diplomatic divide over Lebanon crisis widens July 28, 2006
	4 United Nations observers killed in Israeli airstrike July 27, 2006
	Bush knew of Pak N-reactor plan July 26, 2006
	Israeli forces push into Lebanon July 25, 2006
	Israeli planes continue to pound Lebanon July 24, 2006

Israel, Hezbollah show no signs of let-up
Fighting enters 23rd day, toll crosses 900

Beirut/Jerusalem, August 3
Israel launched fresh air strikes on Beirut today after Hezbollah guerrillas fired rockets deep into northern Israel, as Lebanese officials said the country's death toll in 23 days of fighting between the two sides had crossed 900.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his country would not stop its offensive against the Hezbollah till an international force of 15,000 troops was deployed in south Lebanon, and Israeli forces took up positions near 11 towns and villages to create a 7-km-wide "Hezbollah-free" zone in the region.

Hezbollah fired 26 rockets into northern Israel but the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said there were no casualties. The bombardment came a day after Hezbollah hit Israel with 215 rockets, the highest number in a single day, killing a civilian.

After almost a week, Israel resumed airstrikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs. The warplanes hit the Shia Muslim sector of Dahieh, which has been repeatedly shelled by Israel over the past three weeks. The jets also hit Akkar near the border with Syria.

One Israeli soldier was killed and four were wounded in heavy ground fighting in south Lebanon, where IDF has amassed some 10,000 troops for its offensive. The IDF said four Hezbollah men were killed in the region but the militia did not confirm the report.

In a video statement at a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said the fighting had killed over 900 persons and injured 3,000. One-third of the casualties were children under 12, he said.

UNSC resolution on Lebanon soon

United Nations: A United Nations Security Council resolution to end the deadly conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in Lebanon could be adopted within a week.

But diplomats said that differences on main elements, especially timing of the ceasefire, still persisted between United State and France, which was expected to lead the new stabilisation force.

UN officials said they had expected the Lebanon resolution to be adopted this week but now it appeared the negotiations might drag on into the next week.

Muslim nations want ceasefire

Putrajaya: Malaysia today said world's Muslim nations wanted a role in the West Asia peace process as the Organisation of Islamic Conference prepared to issue a declaration condemning Israeli strikes in Lebanon and called for an unconditional ceasefire in the region.

Chairing an emergency meeting of the OIC attended by 18 members, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said every member country in the 57-member grouping should play a proactive role in the Israel-Lebanon conflict and be prepared to contribute troops for UN peacekeeping operations.

"Malaysia is ready to do that," he said at the opening of the Meeting of Friends of the Chairman of the 10th Islamic Conference here. Malaysia is the chairman of the grouping.

The one-day conference, attended by several Heads of State and Government and Foreign Ministers of 18 nations, is also expected to issue a declaration condemning Israel's attack on Lebanon and call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The meeting is also expected to demand the inclusion of OIC member states should the UN decide to send a peacekeeping force to Lebanon.

Speaking at the meeting, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the conflict should be halted "before the spiralling violence engulfs the entire region and kills the hope for a durable and just peace in the Middle East."

Egypt said no Arab country in West Asia supported Israeli attack in Lebanon, and instead wanted an immediate ceasefire as the conflict was killing innocent civilians. — PTI

Cuba tightens security

Havana, August 3
Speculation grew over Fidel Castro's health following surgery as both the Communist leader and his replacement and brother, Raul Castro, remain out of sight while security quietly tightens around the country.

Besides a perceptible mobilisation of the police in Havana and at the country's exit points, Communist Party activists and rapid response brigades were also on alert, as Cubans pondered the fate of their leader of nearly five decades after he underwent gastrointestinal surgery.

A top official said Wednesday that Fidel Castro, 79, remained "very alert" following his operation, and continued to closely follow domestic and international affairs.

But neither he nor his brother, Raul, whom he named as his temporary replacement Monday, appeared in public, stoking concerns over the country's future.

National Assembly Speaker Ricardo Alarcon told US-based Pacifica Radio's "Democracy Now" show that he had spoken Monday and Tuesday with Fidel.

"Of course, he is forced to have a period of rest. He underwent complicated surgery," said Alarcon. "But he is very alive and very alert as always, very interested in what's going on around him and around the world," he said.

Castro's absence from public view has fueled speculation that he might be gravely ill, if not already dead.

Juanita Castro Ruz, Castro's sister living in exile in Miami, told NBC television that a Cuban source informed her that her ailing brother had been released from intensive care and was "now waiting to see what happens."

Meanwhile, a leading organisation of Cuban exiles in the United States has called for an uprising in Cuba after ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro relinquished power to his brother Raul.

“Today there exists an opportunity for courageous men and women who want Cuba to follow a different path,” Jorge Mas Santos, president of the Cuban American National Foundation, told AFP. “They should take advantage of this opportunity.” “It can be a military or civilian uprising,” he said. — AFP