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| July 30, 2006 | Sunday | Rajab 3, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
51 killed in Israeli blitz on Lebanon village QANA, Lebanon, July 30 (AFP) At least 51 people including about 22 children were killed Sunday when Israel pounded Lebanese village of Qana in the blistering strikes, civil defence official Salam Daher said. Witnesses said dozens of buildings were destroyed. Dozens of other villages in the region around the southern port city of Tyre were also bombarded for two hours overnight by the Israeli navy, air force and artillery. Israeli planes also tore up the Masnaa border crossing into Syria, leading to the closure of the main Damascus-Beirut route. Qana was the site of an Israeli bombing of a UN base on April 18, 1996 that killed 105 people who had taken refuge there during Israel's offensive, which was also aimed at wiping out Hezbollah.Israeli ground troops also launched a new cross-border incursion and were engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah guerrillas on the outskirts of the southeastern border village of Taibe. In a televised speech apparently timed to coincide with Rice's arrival in Israel Saturday, Nasrallah accused the top US diplomat of returning to the region just to impose "conditions" on Lebanon as part of plans to create a new Middle East order. Israel has mobilised thousands of army reservists and says it plans to create a narrow buffer zone in Lebanon until the mooted international force is deployed. (Posted @ 12:00 PST)
Lebanon rules out talks after Israel's Qana 'war crime' BEIRUT, July 30 (AFP) Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denounced Israel's "war crime" in raids that killed 51 people in the village of Qana on Sunday, vowing there was no place for talks until Israel ceased its attacks. "There is no place on this sad morning for any discussion other than an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as well as an international investigation into the Israeli massacres in Lebanon now," Siniora said at a press conference. Lebanese officials said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was no longer expected to visit Beirut during her trip to the region following the Qana attack. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
21 casualties in Israeli raid on Lebanon house TYRE, Lebanon, July 30 (AFP) At least 21 people were killed Sunday when an Israeli raid destroyed a three-storey building in Qana, south Lebanon, police said. The building was sheltering several families who had fled Israeli bombardments on villages in the region of the southern port city of Tyre as well as its usual occupants. A villager told AFP there were "more than 100 people" in the building which collapsed under the force of the Israeli bombardment. The bombardment of Qana, east of Tyre, came after a dozen villages in the region were bombarded for two hours overnight with fire from the Israeli navy, air force and artillery. The village of Kafra southeast of Tyre was hit by 13 Israeli raids overnight, with the Israeli navy firing 80 shelles in the area and artillery blasting 50 shells over the border. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Pakistan slams Israeli raid on Lebanon ISLAMABAD, July 30, 2006 (AFP) Pakistan strongly denounced the Israeli attack Sunday on the southern Lebanese town of Qana, as thousands of Muslims protesting the killing of more than 50 civilians torched Israeli and US flags. "Pakistani government and people strongly condemn this sad incident, which is clearly unwarranted aggression," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told reporters after a telephone call to his Lebanese counterpart, Fuad Siniora. He also appealed to the world community to come forward and help find "an immediate and peaceful settlement" of the conflict. Aziz said he assured Siniora of "Pakistan's full support to the people of Lebanon in this critical hour." The raid triggered protest rallies in Pakistan. Despite heavy rain, around 3,000 people at a rally in the port city of Karachi condemned the attack and vowed to support the Lebanese people. Protesters carrying banners against the Israeli attack called for an immediate end to "Israeli aggression" in Lebanon. The rally was convened by Muttahida Majli-e-Amal, an alliance of six Islamic parties, whose leaders called on the Muslim world to extend military help to Lebanon, witnesses said. An other rally was held in Karachi attended by more than 1,000 people, including women and children. "We are ready to offer every sacrifice for our Lebanese brothers," Allama Haider Abbas told the gathering as slogan-chanting protesters burnt US and Israeli flags. "We will continue to support the alestinian people until they get their rights," he added. (Posted @ 20:00 PST)
UN Security Council meets on Lebanon as French push ceasefire UNITED NATIONS, July 30, 2006 (AFP) The United Nations Security Council opened an emergency meeting Sunday on the Lebanon crisis, as France circulated a draft resolution for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict. security council met at the request of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora in the wake of Israel's air attack early Sunday on the village of Qana in southern Lebanon, which killed dozens of civilians, many of them children. According to the French draft, a permanent ceasefire and resolution to the crisis would involve "the release of the abducted Israeli soldiers and the settlement of the issue of the Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel." (Posted @ 21:00 PST)
Four marines killed in Iraq's Anbar province BAGHDAD, July 30 (Reuters) Four U.S. marines were killed in action in restive Anbar province, the U.S. military said on Sunday. The marines, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 7, died on Saturday. but no further details were released. (Posted @ 20:50 PST)
New PHF Secretary Ex-Olympian akhtarul islam has been oppointed secretary of Pakistan Hocky Federation, a privet tv station reported. He replaces brig (retd) Musarrat ullah who resigned on July 19. (Posted @ 18:35 PST)
UN condemns Israel's deadly raid on Qana BEIRUT, July 30, 2006 (AFP) The United Nations condemned an Israeli strike on a village in southern Lebanon on Sunday which killed 51 people, including children, and called for an immediate inquiry. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's representative Geir Pedersen, said he was "deeply shocked and saddened by the killing of tens of Lebanese civilians, including many children in Qana, south Lebanon, and calls for immediate ceasefire and investigation," a statement said (Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Kuwait makes donation to Lebanon after Qana strike KUWAIT CITY (AP) Kuwait will donate US$300 million (euro237 million) to Lebanon, state-owned Kuwait News Agency said Sunday (Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Lebanon calls for emergency Security Council meet BEIRUT, July 30 (Reuters) Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Sunday and demanded an emergency Security Council meeting after an Israeli air strike killed 40 civilians in south Lebanon. A Siniora aide said the prime minister also asked Annan to seek an immediate ceasefire to end 19 days of Israeli attacks in Lebanon which the government says have killed up to 750 people, mostly civilians. Lebanon-based Hizbollah guerrillas have killed 51 Israelis in the war. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Thousands swarm central Beirut after Qana deaths BEIRUT, July 30, 2006 (AFP) Thousands of demonstrators flocked on Sunday to downtown Beirut to join angry protestors, who broke into the UN headquarters following Israeli raids on the Lebanese village of Qana that killed at least 51, AFP correspondents said. Large groups of people converged from all sides of the capital toward Riad Solh Square where the UN House is based, they said. Earlier, protestors attacked and briefly occupied the UN headquarters where they burned curtains and destroyed furniture. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Hamas vows attacks on Israel after Qana bombing GAZA, July 30 (Reuters) The governing Palestinian movement Hamas on Sunday vowed to carry out attacks on Israel that could include suicide bombings in response to an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana that killed 40 civilians. "In the face of this open war against the Arab and Muslim nations all options are open, including striking the depth of the Zionist entity," Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas lawmaker, told Reuters (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
Car bomb kills two in Iraq oil city's protected zone KIRKUK, Iraq, July 30 (AFP) A car bomb exploded early Sunday in a protected enclave in the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk containing the US and British consulates as well as the headquarters of the Northern Oil company, killing two people, police said. The blast occurred shortly after midnight next to a row of shops in the Arafa Naftiya area of the northern city, a predominantly Christian neighborhood whose access is controlled by checkpoints. On Saturday, car bomb exploded in front of a gas station, killing six and wounding 17, while on July 23, another massive car bomb involving about one tonne of dynamite exploded in front of the court house killing 22 people and wounding 100. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
India to return to talks only after Pakistan clamps down on terror NEW DELHI, July 30 (AFP) India has said it will restart peace talks with arch-rival Pakistan, delayed in the wake of the Mumbai blasts, only after it takes action against Islamic militants operating from its territory. "Talks can only take place when Pakistan realises the need to take firm action," junior foreign minister Anand Sharma told the Times of India in remarks published Sunday. "You cannot have a situation where one side overlooks violence, does not act against those who are talking of guns and RDX (Research Developed Explosives) and the killing of innocent people." Asked when the next round of peace talks -- which were scheduled for July 20-21 in New Delhi but were called off by India -- would take place, Sharma said: "There has to be some action (by Pakistan)." "You need a proper environment," he said adding that India wanted Pakistan to dismantle what it describes as "terrorist training camps" and militant groups. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Israel carries out further raids on Qana BEIRUT, July 30 (AFP) The Israelis carried out more bombing raids in and around the Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday as rescue efforts continued to extract victims from the rubble of buildings pounded earlier in air strikes that killed 51, an AFP correspondent reported. (Posted @ 13:40 PST)
16 foreign workers killed in Bahrain blaze MANAMA, July 30 (AFP) Sixteen foreign workers died Sunday when a fire broke out in the building where they lived in the Bahraini capital Manama,rescuers said. An undetermined number of people were also injured in the blaze, whose cause was not immediately known. The fire broke out at dawn in the six-storey building in the Al-Qudhaibiya neighborhood, a witness said. The building housed foreign workers and the dead were believed to be of various Asian nationalities. (First Posted @ 11:40 PST Updated @ 12:30 PST)
Afghan Taliban threaten to kill kidnapped Lebanese man SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan, July 30 (Reuters) Taliban insurgents threatened on Sunday to kill a Lebanese engineer captured in southern Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman, Qari Muhammad Yousuf, told Reuters late on Saturday that militants had kidnapped an engineer working for a U.S. company in the southern province of Zabul. The fate of the engineer would be decided by the Taliban Council within the next 24 hours and he is likely to be killed for helping and working with the "infidel occupying forces in Afghanistan", Yousuf said. He identified the man as Khalid, and said he was captured on Friday on the main road of southern Zabul province. Zabul's police chief, Noor Muhammad, told said police were investigating the Taliban claim. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Atomic incentives dead if UN passes resolution-Iran TEHRAN, July 30 (Reuters) Iran said on Sunday it would stop considering international incentives aimed at ending its uranium enrichment programme if the U.N. Security Council passes a resolution against its atomic work. "If they issue a resolution against Iran, the package will no longer be on our agenda," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news conference. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Lebanon border crossing to Syria shut after Israeli raids MASNAA, Lebanon, July 30 (AFP) Lebanon's main international border crossing was closed on Sunday, a day after Israeli warplanes struck the road leading to Syria, further increasing the country's isolation. Heavy bombs had gouged out large craters on the road leading to the Syrian border at Masnaa in eastern Lebanon, witnesses said. The closure left one route through northern Lebanon to Syria as the only relatively safe passage out of the country. Lebanon's only international airport in Beirut has been closed since its runways were blasted by an Israeli air strike on July 13. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Rice holds talks with Israeli FM on Lebanon crisis JERUSALEM, July 30 (AFP) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began talks Sunday with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as part of a new round of diplomacy to try to find a way out of the 19-day-old Lebanon crisis. She was due to meet with Defense Minister Amir Peretz later. (Posted @ 11:50 PST)
Israeli forces make new incursion into Lebanon SIDON, Lebanon, July 30 (AFP) Israeli forces made a new incursion into Lebanon on Sunday and were engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah guerrillas in the southeastern border area, Lebanese police said. Clashes were raging on the outskirts of the village of Taibe, a few kilometers to the west of Fatima gate, a sealed border crossing into into Israel, they said. A Hezbollah statement said its guerrillas were engaged in "fierce confrontations" with Israeli forces which had moved into the Taibe region (Posted @ 11:45 PST)
20 Taliban killed in southern Afghanistan KABUL, July 30 (AFP) US-led coalition troops and Afghan security forces have killed 20 militants and foiled a Taliban-led ambush in southern Afghanistan, the US military said Sunday. The fighting erupted after a group of Taliban militants attempted an ambush in the Shahidi Asssas district of Uruzgan province late Saturday, the military said. The coalition forces responded using artillery and air strikes and killed 20 of them, the statement said. The military reported no casualties among coalition forces or Afghan troops. Uruzgan is part of the four southern provinces where NATO is due to take charges on Monday. The three other southern provinces including Kandahar and neighboring Helmand and Zabul provinces also see almost daily Taliban attacks mainly targetting Afghan and foreign troops. On Friday 18 Taliban fighters -- 14 of them in Helmand -- and four Afghan policemen were killed in fighting with Afghan and coalition troops. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
Israel bombs Gaza militants' homes GAZA, July 30 (Reuters) Israeli aircraft bombed the homes of two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding two people, witnesses said. One missile struck the house of the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, and the flying debris and glass wounded the militant's brother and sister-in-law in a neighbouring house. In a separate strike, Israel fired a missile into the home of a member of the Hamas in Gaza City. The house was destroyed, but there were no casualties. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
Israeli forces bombard southern Lebanon town BEIRUT, July 30 (Reuters) Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the town of Khaim in southern Lebanon on Sunday as Israel's war entered its 19th day, security sources said. They said Israeli tanks were massing near the Israeli border village of Metula as the bombardment took place. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Moderate quake hits Indonesia's Nias island JAKARTA, Indonesia, July 30 (AP) A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck near Indonesia's northern Sumatra island Sunday, a local geophysics agency said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, damage or a possible tsunami. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
6 dead, 2 injured in skydiver plane crash in eastern Missouri SULLIVAN, Missouri, July 30 (AP) A small plane carrying skydivers crashed shortly after takeoff, killing six people on board and injuring two others, authorities and witnesses said. Early reports Saturday indicated the plane may have struck a telephone pole before hitting a tree. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Netherlands and Germany reach final TERRASSA, Spain, July 30 (AFP) Germany and Netherlands both scored last gasp winners here Saturday to book their places in the Champions Trophy final. Christopher Zeller converted a penalty corner in added time for Germany to squeeze past Australia 4-3 while Robert Reckers notched the Netherlands' winner by the same score against hosts Spain. Earlier, Pakistan defeated Argentina 2-1 in a sluggish encounter dominated by Argentina. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Congolese polls open for watershed vote KINSHASA, July 30 (AFP) Polling stations opened Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo for presidential and parliamentary elections seen as a key step to stabilizing the war-scarred nation. (Posted @ 09:20 PST)
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