The New Nation - Internet Edition

US and Iran appear on collision course

AP, Washington

The United States and Iran appear on a collision course in the Middle East, firing off mixed messages that are raising world tension and roiling oil markets amid fears that an eventual confrontation may be military.

Both insist war is not imminent, but their sharp words and provocative actions are stoking uncertainty as Washington and Tehran joust for strategic supremacy in the oil-rich region where American might - along with that of its top ally in the area, Israel - has long been dominant.

Concern spiked on Wednesday when Iran test-fired nine long- and medium-range missiles during war games in the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to show it can retaliate against any U.S. or Israeli attack. The display followed a joint military exercise by Israel and Greece last month in the Mediterranean that many saw as a warning to Iran.

The Iranian missile tests drew a quick response from Washington, which said the launches were further reason not to trust a country that it already accuses of fomenting instability in Iraq, supporting Israel's foes and attempting to build nuclear weapons. The testing sent oil prices higher before they calmed down later in the day. This despite the fact that leaders on both sides - President Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - had just this week tried to tamp down speculation that the use of force is inevitable. As he nears the end of his presidency, Bush says repeatedly that diplomacy is his preferred option to deal with any threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, although he has just as often refused to take the military option off the table. Ahmadinejad, who has often spoken of wiping Israel off the map, this week dismissed talk of war as a "funny joke."

"I assure you that there won't be any war in the future," Ahmadinejad said Tuesday during a visit to Malaysia. Shortly after Wednesday's missile tests, the White House didn't fling out any dire new warnings to Iran but settled for saying the testing was "completely inconsistent with Iran's obligations to the world" and served to further isolate the country. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood clear of discussing possible military responses, arguing that the tests instead were proof that a proposed missile shield for Europe, a system that has drawn vehement opposition from Russia, is vital to defending U.S. interests and allies. At a Pentagon news conference, Gates allowed that there had been a "lot of signaling going on" in the escalation of rhetoric between Iran, Israel and the U.S., but he added he does not think confrontation is closer. A main reason may be that neither side appears able to judge the other's true intent. U.S. officials say they can't discern Iran's motivations, citing the closed nature of the regime and ostensible differences between the country's hardline Islamic religious leaders, its Revolutionary Guards and moderates. Some Iranian leaders may want peace, but not others, they say. While Ahmadinejad tones down his rhetoric, others in Tehran have stepped up warnings of retaliation if the Americans - or Israelis - launch military action against Iran's nuclear sites. They threaten to hit Israel and U.S. regional bases with missiles and stop oil traffic through the vital Gulf region.

Wednesday's launches "demonstrate our resolve and might against enemies who in recent weeks have threatened Iran with harsh language," said Gen. Hossein Salami, the Revolutionary Guard's air force commander, according to state media. "Our hands are always on the trigger and our missiles are ready for launch," he was quoted as saying.

At the same time, the Iranian leadership may face a similar quandary in judging U.S. intentions. While Bush, Gates and Rice are stressing diplomacy, other, more hawkish, elements of the administration, notably Vice President Dick Cheney, are using more bellicose language similar to that of Israeli officials who have been more outspoken about the possible use of force.

And, with Bush's second term waning, Iran's calculations are also likely to be guided by what it thinks the policies of the next U.S. president will be.

The Republican and Democratic candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, both agree Iran is a threat. But they differ on how to deal with it.

Obama said the tests underscored the need for direct diplomacy with Tehran, while McCain's response mirrored that of the Bush administration and focused on tougher sanctions against Iran.

Some analysts believe Bush will act militarily against Iran before he leaves office in six months and that if he doesn't, McCain will, if he is elected.

John Pike, the director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense, security and space intelligence consultancy, is one.

"Bombing is either going to be the last thing Mr. Bush does or the first thing Mr. McCain does," he said.

US plays down fears of war with Iran

AFP, Washington

The United States has played down any prospects of war with Iran or any immediate dangers from its nuclear drive but warned that the world was ready to confront its "provocative" policies.

Iran's test firing of a medium range missile that it said could reach Israel drew anger in Washington but US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States and Iran were not close to war.

Asked if the two countries were closer to a military confrontation in light of the escalating rhetoric, Gates said, "No I don't think so."

"The reality is there is a lot of signalling going on, but everybody recognizes what the consequences of any kind of a conflict would be," he said.

"And I would tell you that this government is working hard to make sure the diplomatic and economic approach to dealing with Iran and trying to get the Iranian government to change its policy is the strategy and is the approach that continues to dominate," said the defense chief.

Iran's missile launch Wednesday came a day after an aide to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Tehran would "set fire" to Israel and the US navy in the Gulf in response to any American attack over its nuclear program.

The missile launch is "very disturbing, provocative and reckless," said William Burns, the top official handling Iranian issues at the US State Department. But Under Secretary of State Williams played down any imminent dangers from Iran's uranium enrichment despite fears among world powers fear the sensitive nuclear program could be used to make a nuclear weapon. "While Iran seeks to create the perception of advancement of its nuclear program, real progress has been more modest," he told Congressional hearings on the "strategic challenge posed by Iran."

Iran has not yet mastered uranium enrichment, thanks to three rounds of sanctions imposed on Tehran by the UN Security Council for not suspending the nuclear program, he said.

"It is apparent that Iran has not yet perfected enrichment, and as a direct result of UN sanctions, Iran's ability to procure technology or items of significance to its missile programs, even dual use items, is being impaired," Burns said.

In addition to limiting Iran's access to proliferation sensitive technologies and products, Burns said key officials involved in Iran's procurement activities had been "cut off" from the international financial system and restricted from travel. Iran's banks were also being pushed out of their normal spheres of operation, he said.

Burns also told Iran to seriously reconsider its "provocative" and "threatening" policies and move towards a "cooperative and constructive" path.

"Until that time, however, the US and the international community remain committed to meeting the challenges posed by Iran," he said.

US lawmakers meanwhile expressed concern over the Iranian nuclear drive and missile tests and urged the administration of President George W. Bush to step up diplomatic efforts to end Iran's defiant nuclear drive.

"Iran daily inches closer to the point where it can produce enough weapons-grade uranium to make a nuclear bomb," said Howard Berman, the chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs panel.

"No one knows precisely when that will happen, but most experts say it will be soon," he said. "Some predict as early as the end of this year."

Senate foreign affairs panel chairman Joseph Biden called on the Bush administration to hold direct talks with Iran similar to those with North Korea that led to commitments to end the hardline communist state's nuclear weapons drive.

Iran insists its nuclear activities are aimed solely at generating energy but the West fears could be aimed at making an atomic bomb.

The United States has never ruled out military action against Iranian atomic facilities.

Burns said Washington would pursue "tough minded diplomacy, maximizing pressure on the Iranians at multiple points to drive home the costs of continued defiance of the rest of the world, especially on the nuclear issue."

Rice warns Iran that US will defend Israel

Reuters, Tehran

Iran tested more missiles in the Gulf on Thursday, state media said, and the United States pledged to defend its allies against any Iranian aggression.

Washington, which fears Tehran wants to master technology to build nuclear weapons, said after Iran test fired nine missiles on Wednesday that Tehran should halt further missile tests if it wanted to gain the world's trust.

Iran said the missiles could hit Israeli and U.S. bases. Speculation that Israel could bomb Iran has mounted since a big Israeli air drill last month. U.S. leaders have not ruled out military options if diplomacy fails to end the nuclear row.

Iran has responded by saying it will strike back at Tel Aviv, as well as U.S. interests and shipping, if it is hit. Tehran insists its nuclear program has only civilian goals.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on a visit to the former Soviet republic of Georgia that Washington was sending a message to Iran that it would defend American interests and those of its allies.

"We take very, very strongly our obligation to help our allies defend themselves and no one should be confused about that," Rice said after meeting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Wednesday's tests rattled global oil markets, pushing up the price of oil.

Iranian state TV and radio said the new missile tests took place during the night into Thursday.

"Deep in the Persian Gulf waters, the launch of different types of ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface, sea-to-air and the powerful launch of the Hout missile successfully took place," state radio said without giving further details of the missiles.

Iranian satellite channel Press TV said Hout was a torpedo.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guards test more missiles in Persian Gulf," the Press TV reported in a brief headline.

The reports followed remarks on Wednesday night by Guards air force commander Hossein Salami, who had told state television that a "night missile maneuver" was taking place. But he gave no details at the time.

Press TV said the new missile tests were part of an ongoing military maneuver.

21 killed in Iraq violence

AP, Baghdad

Bombs and bullets took a bloody toll Wednesday, killing 20 Iraqis and a U.S. soldier, even as military officials reported a sharp fall in attacks over the past year - a decline reflected in a steep decrease in violent deaths tallied by The Associated Press.

Lessening violence has been attributed mainly to the 2007 U.S. troop surge, a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and government crackdowns on Sunni extremists and Shiite militias. But the U.S. general who led efforts to train Iraq's army and police units warned Wednesday that progress is mixed and long-term American help will be needed.

The spate of bombings Wednesday came a day after Iraqi officials stepped up pressure on Washington to agree to a specific timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops, in a sign of the government's growing confidence amid falling violence.

The Iraqi military said Wednesday that the number of "terrorist attacks" in June declined 85 percent from the same period a year ago.

An average of 25 attacks took place each day last month, compared with 160 during June 2007, an Iraqi army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, said at a news conference. He did not provide details on the individual attacks included in the figures.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press count showed the number of Iraqi civilians and security personnel killed in June was down 66 percent from the same month a year earlier, dropping to 554 from 1,642.

The AP tallies civilian, Iraqi military and Iraqi police deaths each day as reported by police, hospital officials, morgue workers and verifiable witness accounts. Security personnel include Iraqi military, police and police recruits, bodyguards, and Awakening Council members.

In Washington, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, who oversees training of Iraqi soldiers and police, presented a cautious tone on Iraq's improved security.

Since he took on that job in June 2007, Iraq's security forces have grown from 444,000 to 566,000 and are better able to execute operations on their own, Dubik said. But he added that the fast-growing force still lacks experienced leaders and the ability to train all its new recruits.

"As I often said to my command in Baghdad, 'Progress doesn't result in no problems, it results in new problems,'" Dubik said in written testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.

The second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq, meanwhile, said the number of rocket and mortar attacks that can be linked to Iranian-sponsored fighters has fallen in recent weeks.

Landmine blasts kill six in Pakistan

AFP, Peshawar

At least six people were killed and nine others injured Thursday in a series of landmine blasts in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, an official said.

The blasts took place in Kurram district, where pro-Taliban militants are active and which has a history of sectarian and tribal violence.

No one claimed responsibility for the blasts, but similar bombings have been blamed on suspected pro-Taliban militants.

Three people were killed and six others injured when a pick-up carrying vegetables struck a landmine in Arawali village, local official Attaur Rehman told reporters.

In Marokhel, a tractor pulling a trolley hit a landmine, killing three people and injuring two others, he said.

In another incident, a man lost his leg when he passed over a landmine in the village of Magnek, Rehman said.

Separately, authorities on Thursday found the bullet-riddled body of a man in a wooden box in the tribal district of North Waziristan, with a note accusing him of spying on militants, a local official there told AFP.

Militants have killed several tribesmen they accused of spying for government and coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan. They are also opposed to "Western-funded" NGOs working in health and education sectors.

Israeli troops kill Palestinian on Gaza border

Reuters, Gaza

Israeli troops shot dead an unarmed Palestinian infiltrating Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Thursday, the army said, the first fatality along the frontier since a June 19 ceasefire.

A Hamas spokesman said the killing was "a serious challenge" to the Egyptian-brokered truce.

An Israeli army spokesman said the man crossed the fence dividing Israel from the Gaza Strip rather than a crossing point.

They fired at him after he refused their calls to stop and only later saw that he had not been carrying a weapon.

The Palestinian medical liason office said they had been informed by the Israeli army that a Palestinian had been shot dead in the early morning near the Kissufim border crossing.

His body was later transferred to a Gaza hospital.

The ceasefire deal calls on Hamas to prevent cross-border rocket fire and attacks from the Gaza Strip and for Israel to halt its raids and ease an economic blockade of the impoverished territory.

"Hamas and other factions are continuously evaluating the situation and will make the decisions that will secure the protection of our people," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said after the Palestinian was killed.

7 peacekeepers killed in ambush in Darfur

AP, Khartoum

In a brazen attack on horseback and from SUVs mounted with anti-aircraft weapons, some 200 gumen ambushed peacekeepers from a joint U.N.-African Union force in Sudan's Darfur region, killing seven in fierce battles that lasted more than two hours, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

Twenty-two members of the U.N.-African Union force were wounded in the fighting Tuesday. Attackers outnumbered the peacekeepers by nearly three-to-one.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's office said the joint military and police patrol was investigating the killing of civilians in North Darfur state when it was ambushed by militants driving vehicles armed with anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.

Five Rwandan soldiers and two police officers, one from Ghana and the other from Uganda, were killed.

"We are outraged by the attack," Shereen Zorba, deputy spokeswoman of the U.N.-AU mission known as UNAMID, told The Associated Press.

"We are not part of the conflict, but a tool to alleviate the suffering of civilians. We try to establish some level of peace and security in the ground. But to drag us in to be part of the conflict is unjustifiable."

Hindered by a lack of crucial equipment, including attack helicopters, the joint U.N.-AU force has struggled to fulfill its mission since deploying Jan. 1 with about 9,000 soldiers and police officers.

The force is authorized to have 26,000 members, but it is faced with chronic shortages of staff and equipment and less-than-adequate cooperation from the Sudanese government.

The peacekeepers mostly patrol the wartorn Darfur region, helping protect unarmed civilians in the many camps of the displaced and mediate between fighting factions. But they often have little access to wide swaths of the remote western Sudanese area, roughly the size of France.

The peacekeeping force has been unable to persuade the U.S. and other governments to supply attack and transport helicopters, surveillance aircraft, military engineers and logistical support it needs to safely navigate Darfur.

On Tuesday, a patrol of 61 Rwandan soldiers, 10 civilian police officers and two military observers was on its way back to its camp after investigating recent slayings when it was ambushed near the village of Umm Hakibah, about 60 miles southeast of the North Darfur capital, El Fasher, Zorba said.

The U.N. rarely explicitly blames one of the warring factions for Darfur's violence and Zorba declined to say who was behind the attack. But the description that the gunmen were on horseback strongly suggests they belong to the janjaweed militia of pro-government Arab nomads.

"The U.N. secretary general condemns in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence" against peacekeepers, Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Actress Mia Farrow, a leading activist for peace in Darfur, laid some of the blame for the attack on the international community for allowing the Sudanese government to block full deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

Czechs bristle at Russian missile shield threat

AP, Prague

Experts say Russia's threat of a military response if the U.S. and Czech Republic ratify a missile defense system is mostly bluster. But for Czechs, the timing couldn't be more jarring.

Next month, this ex-communist country will mark the 40th anniversary of the Prague Spring challenge to Soviet domination - bold pro-democracy reforms that the Kremlin swiftly and brutally crushed. Bozena Haasova, an 81-year-old Prague retiree, is among many who vividly recall Aug. 20, 1968, the day the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations sent in tanks and troops to quell the rebellion.

"We'll never forget," she said. "We're happy that we finally got rid of them, and now they dare to threaten us again?"

Russia's warning came late Tuesday, after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg signed.

an initial agreement to deploy a radar system in the country as part of a missile shield that Washington says is intended to deal with the threat from Iran.

If the agreement is ratified, "we will be forced to react not with diplomatic, but with military-technical methods," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It did not elaborate on what would constitute a military response.

In February, then-President Vladimir Putin said Russia could aim missiles toward prospective missile defense sites and deploy missiles in the Baltic Sea region of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland, if the missile defense plan went forward.

Poland is still negotiating with the U.S. on hosting the 10 interceptor rockets that would be used to shoot down any incoming missiles.

"I think there's a lot more bark than bite to this threat," said Andrew C. Kuchins, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

"The targeting of missiles could be done. The launching of missiles is pretty impossible to imagine," he said.

Although the Czech government has agreed to offer the use of its territory, polls show a majority of Czechs oppose the plan, saying it would needlessly provoke Russia and expose the nation to reprisal attacks by terrorists. About 1,000 people staged a noisy protest in downtown Prague this week - one of many demonstrations against the proposal.

Turkish investigators probe attack on US consulate

AP, Istanbul

A Turkish government official says there are signs that the gunmen who attacked the U.S. consulate in Istanbul might have been inspired by al-Qaida but there is no firm evidence yet.

The official, who is close to the investigation, says the ties of the three attackers who were killed by police outside the consulate were being probed. Three police were also killed.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The Hurriyet newspaper suggests that Wednesday's attack could have been to avenge the death of an al-Qaida militant reportedly killed in Afghanistan by a U.S. bombing.

The al-Qaida militant and two of the three dead consulate assailants are from the same southeastern province in Turkey.

Doctors' strike shuts hospitals in Nepal

AP, Katmandu

Striking doctors in Nepal shut down all the hospitals and clinics in the Himalayan nation Thursday, demanding better government protection against attacks by angry relatives of patients who have died.

Doctors had shut down hospitals in the capital, Katmandu, on Wednesday and expanded the strike to the rest of the country on Thursday. Emergency services remained open.

Doctors groups say there have been several incidents over the past year in which people attacked or threatened hospitals and doctors over allegations of negligence in their relatives' deaths.

Dr. Kedar Narsingh of the Nepal Medical Association said the strike would continue until the government responds to their demands.

"The government has not even bothered to call us for talks and has not taken us seriously," he said. "We will continue our protest until the government responds positively."

In the latest incident, the family of a patient who died after kidney surgery threatened doctors at a hospital in Katmandu over the weekend.

Narsingh said the government had promised better security at hospitals two years ago after a similar incident led to a doctors' strike, but that little has been done.

McCain rejects Obama’s call for upped Iran diplomacy

AFP, Washington

Republican White House hopeful John McCain demanded action on tougher sanctions against Iran Wednesday, rejecting Democrat Barack Obama's call for aggressive diplomacy following Tehran's missile tests.

The presidential rivals sketched sharply different approaches after Iran's Revolutionary Guard test-fired a missile capable of reaching Israel, provoking global condemnation and jolting the US presidential race.

"We have lines of communication with the Iranians and they are many," McCain told reporters in Pennsylvania, saying Iran had already been offered a sheaf of incentives to change its ways.

"Their behavior has obviously not changed-the time has now come for effective sanctions on Iran," McCain said.

Senator Obama argued for a carrot-and-stick policy of tightened sanctions and a more robust diplomatic effort by the United States to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program.

"Through its nuclear program, missile capability, meddling in Iraq, support for terrorism, and threats against Israel, Iran now poses the greatest strategic challenge to the United States in the region in a generation," he said in a statement.

"Now is the time to work with our friends and allies, and to pursue direct and aggressive diplomacy with the Iranian regime backed by tougher unilateral and multilateral sanctions.

"It's time to offer the Iranians a clear choice between increased costs for continuing their troubling behavior, and concrete incentives that would come if they change course.

"The threat from Iran's nuclear program is real and it is grave. As president, I will do everything in my power to eliminate that threat, and that must begin with direct, aggressive, and sustained diplomacy."

McCain rebuked Obama for his failure to vote for a Senate measure last year that branded the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

"It's my understanding that this missile test was conducted by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," McCain said.

"This is the same organization that I voted to condemn as a terrorist organization when an amendment was on the floor of the United States Senate. Senator Obama refused to vote, called it a provocative step," he said.

India seeks IAEA nod to push atom pact with US

Reuters, Vienna

India on Wednesday submitted a draft nuclear safeguards accord to International Atomic Energy Agency governors for approval, the IAEA said, a crucial step towards launching a U.S.-Indian nuclear cooperation deal.

Communist opposition in India had long prevented India's coalition government from advancing the deal through several hurdles to put it into force. But the logjam eased when communists left the government this week in protest.

Proponents of the U.S.-India accord say it will move the Asian giant's trade and diplomatic relations closer to the West and more broadly promote an alternative to high-polluting and expensive oil and gas energy in developing nations.

Critics say it will encourage nuclear proliferators by lifting a ban on sales of U.S. nuclear fuel and reactor technology imposed after India-one of just three nations outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) -- developed atomic bombs in secret and conducted a nuclear test in 1974.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the safeguards text, which India hammered out with IAEA inspectors early this year, had been sent to the agency's 35-nation board after the New Delhi government gave the green light.

The agreement allows for regular inspections of India's declared civilian nuclear reactors.

Board members were discussing a date for a special meeting. Diplomats said this could happen on July 28 at the earliest.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has begun lobbying for votes to survive a no-confidence motion, expected within weeks, after the communists' defection. New backing from a regional party may be enough to avoid an early election.

Time is running out if the nuclear deal is to be ratified by the U.S. Congress, the last stage in the implementation process, before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.

India must also obtain a waiver for the nuclear deal from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, where reservations lurk because NSG regulations ban trade with non-NPT states. It is unclear when the NSG, which acts by consensus only, will meet.

"A number of states will have serious questions, serious concerns. They will not like to be railroaded by time pressures into approval," said a Western diplomat accredited to the IAEA.

Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association urged IAEA governors not to simply rubber-stamp the safeguards deal.

"Given that India maintains a nuclear weapons program outside of safeguards, facility-specific safeguards on a few additional 'civilian' reactors provide no serious non-proliferation benefits," he said in Washington.

He said governors should also be alert for any Indian assertion of a "right" to abrogate the safeguards pact if foreign fuel supplies are interrupted, even if that is because India had resumed nuclear testing.

"Such proposals should be flatly rejected t as illegitimate and contrary to IAEA standards," said Kimball.

Russia should not worsen tension in Georgia: Rice:

Reuters, Tbilisi

Russia should help resolve tension over Georgia's rebel regions instead of contributing to it, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday, and she urged an end to violence there.

"It (Russia) needs to be a part of resolving the problem and solving the problem and not contributing to it," Rice said. "I have said it to the Russians publicly. I have said it privately," she told a news conference.

"The violence needs to stop and whoever is perpetrating it, and I have mentioned this to the president, there should not be violence," she said, standing alongside Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. "It is very important that all parties reject violence as an option. There must be a peaceful solution." Tension has been rising in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, both the focus of friction between the pro-Western government in Tbilisi and neighboring Russia, which supports the separatists.

Rice also she said she wanted international mediation on the conflicts to be shifted to a higher level.

The two regions broke away from Tbilisi's rule after wars in the 1990s, but they have no international recognition.

Russia, which has peacekeepers in the regions, says Tbilisi wants to use force to re-establish its control, and that the local populations do not want to be part of Georgia.

Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally seeking NATO membership, says Moscow wants to annex the regions. It accuses Russia of using the separatists to cause instability.

Earlier this year Russia established semi-official ties with the separatist administrations and reinforced its peacekeepers in Abkhazia. The United States and European Union said those moves risked stoking tension.

The conflict has recently turned bloody. Four people were killed when a bomb exploded in a cafe in Abkhazia on Sunday and two died when rebels clashed with Georgian troops in South Ossetia last week.

The rise in violence follows the resumption of talks between Moscow and Tbilisi and media reports that the two are trying to tease out a compromise deal likely to anger hardliners.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, writing by Moscow bureau, editing by Mary Gabriel)

Israel approves new homes in east Jerusalem settlement

AFP, Jerusalem

An Israeli commission has approved the building of 920 new homes in occupied east Jerusalem, the municipality said on Wednesday, in a new blow to shaky peace talks with the Palestinians.

"The district commission has approved for construction 920 housing units in Har Homa," a statement said, referring to a neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, known in Arabic as Jabel Abu Ghneim, that has more than 10,000 residents.

The Har Homa project is part of a plan to build some 40,000 new homes over the next decade in neighbourhoods in both east and west Jerusalem, that the housing minister approved in June, a ministry official told AFP.

Until now specific aspects of this project were unknown.

Israel occupied and annexed the eastern half of the city after the 1967 war in a move not recognised by the international community or the Palestinians, who wish to make the Holy City the capital of their future state.

A total of 245,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem alongside more than 200,000 Jewish settlers.

Israel pledged to halt all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank when peace talks were revived at a conference in the United States last year.

But it considers the whole of Jerusalem its "eternal, undivided" capital and has insisted it will continue to build in both the city's eastern sector and in the larger West Bank settlement blocs that it intends to keep in any deal.

Little progress has been made in the negotiations so far, with the thorny settlements issue one of the major bones of contention.

The Jewish state's settlement expansion in Jerusalem has infuriated the Palestinians, who have accused Israel of obstructing peace efforts.

The United States has heavily criticised its close ally over its settlement activity in the occupied territories, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warning that the settlements issue must not block any peace deal.

"No party should be taking steps at this point that could prejudice the outcome of the negotiations," Rice said after meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June

Turkish PM makes first visit to Iraq

AFP, Baghdad

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first visit to Iraq on Thursday aiming to help with security and reconstruction efforts and discuss the thorny cross-border issue of Kurdish rebels.

Erdogan was greeted by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other senior ministers, including Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, a Baghdad airport official told AFP.

His visit comes just a day after gunmen attacked the highly-fortified US consulate in Turkey's biggest city of Istanbul, triggering a shootout that left three attackers and three police officers dead. Turkey's Anatolia news agency said Erdogan was accompanied by four ministers including Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Energy Minister Hilmi Guler.

It said Erdogan will first hold talks with Maliki where they were expected to sign an agreement aimed at developing bilateral ties and later meet other leaders including President Jalal Talabani.

Erdogan is only the second top leader from one of Iraq's neighbours to visit since the March 2003 invasion, after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a historic trip in March.

Ahmadinejad's visit symbolised the flourishing ties between Tehran and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad installed after the ouster of Saddam Hussein by the invading troops.

Worried by the growing tilt of Baghdad towards Shiite dominated Iran, Washington has been urging Iraq's other Sunni-led neighbours to boost their diplomatic ties with Baghdad.

Last month, Turkish special envoy Murat Ozcelik met Maliki and underlined Turkey's desire to support Iraq in its efforts to advance stability and reconstruction, the Iraqi premier's office said.