Gaza/Jerusalem, August 1
Massive shelling by Israel killed about 70 people in the Hamas-ruled Gaza following the collapse of a 72-hour truce shortly after it began today, while two of its soldiers died and another was believed to have been abducted by the Palestinian militant group.

The humanitarian ceasefire — brokered by the US and the UN to end more than three weeks of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip — collapsed just two hours after it began this morning.

At least 62 people were killed and more than 350 injured in massive Israeli artillery shelling in the southern Rafah since this morning.

Another four people were killed in tank shelling in Khan Yunis, also in southern Gaza, taking the Palestinian death toll to 1,525, mostly civilians.

Israeli forces also shot dead two Palestinians during separate clashes in the northern and central West Bank. The attacks have injured more than 7,000 Palestinians.

The Palestinian toll in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza has surpassed that of Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 as the conflict entered its 25th day today.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 1,417 Palestinians were killed during Operation Cast Lead, which was the longest conflict between the two sides lasting 22 days, before the current fighting began.

Meanwhile, Israeli army said two of its soldiers were killed and a third one may have been abducted by militants in the southern Gaza Strip today, raising the death count to 63 soldiers, including two Indian-origin, as compared to 10 in 2008-09. Nearly 400 soldiers have been injured. Three Israeli civilians and a Thai national also died in rocket and mortar attacks. — PTI

Islamabad, August 1
The Pakistan Government today handed over the security of capital Islamabad to the army for three months under a controversial decision taken recently, days ahead of a major anti-government rally by Imran Khan's party.

Interior minister Nisar Ali Khan had announced last week that military will remain here from August 1 till October end, under article 245 of the Pakistani constitution.

Article 245 which deals with the functions of the armed forces states says that "armed forces shall, under the directions of the federal government, defend Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war, and, subject to law, act in aid of civil power when called upon to do so".

According to security sources, five companies of army will be deployed primarily to guard key government installations and other sensitive spots, including the woody Margalla Hills National Park.

The government's decision pitted it against the Opposition parties, which termed it as the failure of Nawaz Sharif led civilian government, which took charge last year after the first-ever peaceful democratic transition.

It is feared that the government will expand the deployment and handover the security of other cities to the armed forces. Key opposition Pakistan People's Party has announced to raise the issue in the parliament on Monday.

The move will give the army control over Islamabad's law and order situation ahead of a key protest march announced by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on August 14. — PTI

Kirovske, August 1
Dutch and Australian experts finally got to work at the crash site of downed flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine today, after fighting between government troops and pro-Russian rebels killed 14 persons.

Seventy police investigators-by far the largest number to reach the location so far-were conducting "search operations in several places at the crash site," a Dutch government statement said.

The mission is tasked with launching an international probe into the downing two weeks ago of the Malaysia Airlines plane with the loss of all 298 people on board.

Over 200 coffins have been sent back to the Netherlands, which lost 193 citizens in the July 17 crash, but many remains have yet to be recovered because of the fighting.

"If they find human remains while searching, they will immediately be recovered," said Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, the Dutch police official sent to Ukraine to head up the mission.

Fighting and rebel restrictions to the site next to the town of Grabove had prevented the investigation getting under way before now, and the conflict was still raging today.

The Ukrainian military said an overnight ambush by insurgents in Shakhtarsk, a town 25 kilometres from the main impact site, left 14 people dead, including at least 10 soldiers. — AFP

Kaohsiung, August 1
A series of explosions caused by a gas leak killed 25 persons and injured 267 in Taiwan's second city on Friday, sending flames shooting 15-storey building into the air, setting ablaze entire blocks and reducing small shops to rubble.

Rescue authorities said police and soldiers had been drafted in to help firefighters after the midnight explosion and blaze gutted a district in the port city of Kaohsiung packed with shops and apartment buildings.

Four firefighters were among the dead. Media reports suggested the death toll was likely to rise sharply. President Ma Ying-jeou pledged tough measures to prevent any recurrence of the incident.

"We will make further arrangements and inspections to avoid this kind of disaster from occurring again," Ma said in comments shown on television after speaking via a video link with Kaohsiung's mayor.

The blast sent flames racing through the district and smoke billowing high into the air. Flames shot up from sewers and gutters and water from burst mains gushed through the streets.

Residents said the blast shook buildings as if there had been an earthquake, toppling small shops and overturning cars. Rescuers formed a chain to pull dozens of injured from a vast crater in the street and picked their way through piles of rubble as they ferried the injured away on stretchers. Those overcome by smoke were resuscitated in the street.

Kaohsiung authorities set up an emergency centre to be staffed by servicemen coordinating the rescue operation. The National Fire Agency said firefighters were investigating reports of gas leaks, as the cause of the explosions remains unclear. — Reuters

Berlin, August 1
A 45-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to a nine-month jail by a German court for spying on the Indian community in the country.

Ranjit S, an electrician, violated the German law by engaging in espionage operations, the high court in Koblenz said in its verdict delivered last week.

The court said during the trial that the convict had collected information on the Indian community in Germany, especially on Sikh extremist groups, and passed it to an official at the Consulate General of India in Frankfurt. It ruled that the convict committed the offence not only by “gravely disregarding” Germany’s sovereignty but also by cooperating “conspiratorially and actively” with the Indian intelligence agency.

Ranjit, who came to Germany in 2002 with a forged passport, told the court that he was a Sikh and in India he worked as a member of the All India Sikh Students’ Federation which campaigns for an independent state in Punjab, the court statement said.

He has been convicted on several occasions in the past for acquiring fraudulent identity cards and for smuggling of foreigners. —PTI