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Israel hammers Gaza for fourth day, toll now 348

Reuters, Gaza

Israel rejected any truce with Hamas Islamists on Tuesday and said it was ready for "long weeks of action" on a fourth day of the fiercest air offensive in the Gaza Strip in decades.

As Israeli armored vehicles and troops were massed along the border for a possible invasion, Israeli warplanes pressed on with strikes, killing 12 Palestinians, including a pair of sisters, aged 10 and 12, in attacks on Hamas targets.

Medical officials put the total Palestinian death toll since Israel launched its offensive on Saturday as Gaza gunmen stepped up rocket fire, at 348 and more than 800 wounded. A United Nations agency said at least 62 of the dead were civilians. The latest Israeli attacks came hours after rockets fired by Gazan militants killed an Israeli soldier near the border with Gaza and a civilian in the city of Ashdod.

With six weeks to go to an election that polls suggest the hawkish right-wing Likud party will win, Israel's centrist government says the offensive aims to put a stop to the rockets.

Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said "there is no room for a ceasefire" with Hamas before the threat of rocket fire has been removed. "The Israeli army must not stop the operation before breaking the will of the Palestinians, of Hamas, to continue to fire at Israel," he told Israel Radio.

The Israeli military "has made preparations for long weeks of action," added Matan Vilnai, a deputy defense minister, in separate broadcast remarks.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum has urged Palestinian groups to respond using "all available means" against Israel, including "martyrdom operations," meaning suicide bombings. Israeli missiles flattened five ministerial buildings and a structure belonging to the Islamic University in Gaza City on Tuesday, witnesses said.

Another strike in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, killed two young girls taking out the trash near their home, medical workers and witnesses said. Later a security man was killed in a strike on a headquarters in Khan Yunis, medics and Hamas said. A Hamas sports center and two training camps belonging to the group were also destroyed in the attacks, which plunged Gaza into a blackout as explosions echoed across the city.

Israeli aircraft also fired missiles at the home of a senior commander in Hamas's armed wing. He was not home. Another attack targeted offices belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees militant group.

Broadening their targets to include the Hamas government in Gaza, Israeli warplanes on Monday bombed the Interior Ministry, which supervises 13,000 members of the group's security forces.

The building had been evacuated and there were no casualties. Hamas, an Islamist movement that took over the Gaza Strip in 2007 after routing Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, defied the Israeli assaults, the fiercest in the coastal territory since the 1967 Middle East war.

US backs Israel’s war on Hamas

AFP, Crawford

Rebuffing Arab appeals, the United States on Monday gave its blessing to Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip but said it was working behind the scenes to forge a "durable ceasefire."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was reaching out by telephone to key world leaders and diplomats to find a lasting way to end the violence, which has left at least 345 people dead in Gaza, officials said.

President George W. Bush stayed out of sight on his Texas ranch but discussed the crisis with Jordan's King Abdullah II one day after speaking by telephone with Saudi King Abdullah, the White House said.

"The president's message to King Abdullah, his overall message, is that we want to see the violence stop, but in a way that leads to a durable and sustainable cessation of violence. We can't have the violence stop now only for it to start up again in the near future," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

While both kings reportedly pressed Bush to help stop "Israeli aggression" in Gaza, widely denounced in the Arab world, Johndroe blamed recent Hamas rocket fire for triggering the bloodshed and defended the Israeli retaliation.

"The United States understands that Israel needs to take actions to defend itself," he told reporters in Texas. "They are taking the steps that they feel are necessary to deal with the terrorist threat.

"In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire," said Johndroe. "That is what the United States is working towards."

To that end, Rice spoke to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, EU special envoy Javier Solana as well as her French, British, Canadian, Egyptian, Russian, Saudi, Turkish and Israeli counterparts, said US State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid.

Pakistan urges India to resume dialogue, relocate troops

AFP, Islamabad

Pakistan on Tuesday called for negotiations with India and asked New Delhi to relocate its troops away from the border in a show of goodwill to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The proposals from Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi came as both sides took steps to rekindle relations that had quickly deteriorated following the Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

"Dialogue is in the interest of both the countries-we should sit across the table and also use diplomatic channels" to resolve differences, Qureshi said in a policy statement broadcast live on local television. The Pakistani minister proposed that India de-activate its forward air bases and relocate ground forces to "peacetime positions" as a sign that it wants to restore calm in the region.

"Pakistan wants to make two specific proposals to India to reduce tensions and create a congenial atmosphere," he said.

"India should de-activate its forward air bases and relocate its ground forces to peacetime positions," Qureshi said. "This will send a positive signal and reduce tensions in the region." Officials said here last week that Pakistani troops had been shifted from the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to the eastern border with India, but an Indian army spokesman told AFP that no troops had been moved on the other side.

India has blamed the banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for the attacks on its financial centre Mumbai, which left a total of 172 people dead, including nine of the 10 gunmen.

New Delhi says Pakistan has not done enough to crack down on LeT in response to the attacks, but Qureshi reiterated that Islamabad would cooperate with India if it provided concrete evidence that Pakistani nationals were involved.

Scenic Pakistani valley falls to Taliban fighters

AP, Islamabad

Taliban militants are beheading and burning their way through Pakistan's picturesque Swat Valley, and residents say the insurgents now control most of the mountainous region outside the lawless tribal areas where jihadists thrive.

The deteriorating situation in the former tourist haven comes despite an army offensive that began in 2007 and an attempted peace deal. It is especially worrisome to Pakistani officials because the valley lies away from the areas where al-Qaida and Taliban militants have traditionally operated and where the military is staging a separate offensive.

"You can't imagine how bad it is," said Muzaffar ul-Mulk, a federal lawmaker whose home in Swat was attacked by bomb-toting assailants in mid-December, weeks after he left. "It's worse day by day."

The Taliban activity in northwest Pakistan also comes as the country shifts forces east to the Indian border because of tensions over last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, potentially giving insurgents more space to maneuver along the Afghan frontier.

Militants began preying on Swat's lush mountain ranges about two years ago, and it is now too dangerous for foreign and Pakistani journalists to visit. Interviews with residents, lawmakers and officials who have fled the region paint a dire picture.

A suicide blast killed 40 people Sunday at a polling station in Buner, an area bordering Swat that had been relatively peaceful. The attack underscored fears that even so-called "settled" regions presumptively under government control are increasingly unsafe.

Rebels kill almost 200 in Congo: UN

AFP, Kinshasa

Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebels have killed almost 200 people in northeast Congo, a UN agency said in a report released Monday, although rebels issued a swift denial.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its report that the rebels had killed 189 people and torched 120 houses during the bloody campaign in Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, LRA deputy peace delegation chairman Justin Labeja told AFP by telephone that "the accusations that LRA has killed 200 people in DRC are totally untrue. LRA has not killed anybody."

Labeja, a long-time confidant of LRA leader Joseph Kony, said the group "is still committed to negotiating with the Ugandan government as long as there are guarantees and the International Criminal Court warrants are suspended."

Troops from DR Congo, Uganda and southern Sudan have been working together since mid-December to find Kony, who is wanted by The Hague-based tribunal for war crimes.

The vice-governor of Orientale province, Joseph Bangakya Angaze, told AFP by telephone that local authorities would ask the Congolese government Tuesday to include the Central Africal Republic in the joint mission.

Taiwan’s ex-president taken into custody again

AFP, Taipei

A Taiwan court early Tuesday reversed its previous decision and placed former president Chen Shui-bian back in custody pending his trial on corruption charges, his lawyer said.

A panel of three judges at the Taipei District Court made their decision following a 12-hour hearing, during which Chen and his lawyers battled prosecutors' attempts to return him to custody for further investigation, the TVBS cable news network reported.The judges said in their ruling Chen had to be detained as he could collude with other suspects, destroy evidence and flee the island if released, it said.

One of Chen's lawyers Cheng Wen-lung described the ruling as "unfair" and vowed to appeal.

"The ruling is not a surprise, because apparently it is the result of politics intervening in justice," the lawyer said.

Chen, along with his wife, has been charged with embezzling government funds and fraud as well as money laundering.

Ireland feared 'doomsday’ civil war in NIreland

AFP, Dublin

Ireland feared a doomsday scenario could develop in British-ruled Northern Ireland in the 1970s if sectarian violence descended into all-out civil war, newly-released archives showed Tuesday.

Dublin drew up a contingency plan amid concerns that over 250,000 Roman Catholics could be trapped and unable to escape, according to the previously secret files released by the national archives office.

There were also fears that if the British army withdrew Dublin might be forced to deploy the Irish army, to prevent the Irish Republican Army (IRA) from taking up the role of "protectors" of the minority community.

Up to 200,000 Catholic refugees could flee south across the border into the Irish Republic, according to one file which suggested boosting Irish army and police numbers "without provoking an answering escalation" in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland, a province of the United Kingdom, was dogged by three decades of civil unrest known as the Troubles, which killed about 3,000 people before Britain and Ireland brokered the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.

7 bodies recovered in Canada avalanches

AP, Fernie

Search teams recovered the bodies of seven snowmobilers Monday, a day after they were swept away by avalanches in western Canada's backcountry, police said. An eighth man was missing and believed dead.

The bodies were found late Monday afternoon as searchers plowed through avalanche debris near Fernie in British Columbia's Elk Valley, about 550 miles east of Vancouver, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Chris Faulkner.

Eleven snowmobilers, mainly in their 20's from the nearby coal-mining town of Sparwood, were hit by back-to-back avalanches on Sunday. Eight were buried but three from the group clawed through the snow and reached safety.

Search efforts - which involved several dozen rescue officials and volunteers as well as search dogs - had been delayed until later Monday by the threat of more avalanches.

"The snowmobilers were well-outfitted, dressed warmly and many had the proper safety equipment," said Faulkner.

Afghan, NATO troops kill nine rebels

AFP, Kandahar

At least nine Taliban-linked militants were killed in clashes with Afghan and international forces in troubled southern Afghanistan, a police commander said Tuesday.

The fighting erupted in the Nawa district of Helmand province after dozens of rebels attacked Afghan security forces manning a checkpoint, provincial police chief Assadullah Sherzad told AFP. Afghan reinforcements backed by NATO-led troops rushed to the scene and killed nine rebel attackers, Sherzad said.

"Nine Taliban were killed and their bodies were left in the area. We had no casualties," he added.

Helmand province, which borders Pakistan, sees much of the violence in the bloody insurgency being waged by remnants of the Taliban regime, which was toppled in a US-led invasion in late 2001.

UN chief urges end to 'unacceptable’ Gaza violence

AFP, United Nations

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Monday urged Arab and world leaders to do more to immediately end the "unacceptable" violence in the Gaza Strip as Israel bombed the region for the third day.

"Both Israel and Hamas must halt their acts of violence and take all necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties. A ceasefire must be declared immediately," Ban said.

"The suffering caused to civilian populations as a result of the large-scale violence and destruction that have taken place over the past few days has saddened me profoundly." At least 345 people have been killed since Israel unleashed its bombing campaign on the Strip on Saturday after increased rocket and mortar fire from Gaza on southern Israel.

Ban said he was "deeply alarmed by the current escalation of violence in and around Gaza. This is unacceptable. "I have been repeatedly condemning the rocket attacks against Israel while recognizing Israel's right to defend itself. I have also condemned the excessive use of force by Israel in Gaza," he said.

Jordan King urges Bush to help end Gaza strikes

AFP, Amman

Jordan's King Abdullah II urged US President George W. Bush on Monday to help end Israel's air blitz of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip that has killed more than 340 Palestinians, the palace said.

"Effective international efforts must be launched to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and end the suffering of the Palestinians," the king told Bush by telephone, a palace statement said.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, is a key US ally in the region.

The Israeli air onslaught that began on Saturday has also wounded more than 1,550 people.

The king, who has ordered food aid and medical supplies to be sent to Gaza, joined other Jordanians on Monday in donating blood for wounded Palestinians.

Shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist’s trial postponed

AP, Baghdad

A spokesman for Iraq's Higher Judicial Court says the trial of the journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush has been postponed.

The trial of Muntadhar al-Zeidi was to begin Wednesday on charges of assaulting a foreign leader. But court spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said Tuesday that the trial has been postponed indefinitely pending a high court ruling on what charges the journalist should face.

Al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush during a Dec. 14 joint news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The gesture of contempt for the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq made al-Zeidi a folk hero in Iraq and thousands of people have demonstrated for his release.

Thai PM says his goal is to heal political divide

AP, Bangkok

Anti-government protesters abandoned their siege of Thailand's Foreign Ministry building on Tuesday, easing a standoff that threatened to reignite a long-running political crisis.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cabinet then left the building, where he had earlier given a key policy address in which he vowed to jump-start Thailand's economy, heal its political divisions and repair its tattered image.

"The government has come into office at a time of conflict. This conflict has become the weakness of the country," he told lawmakers that included only his coalition members. Opposition members boycotted the session.

"Meanwhile, the global economic crisis has turned the situation from bad to worse," he continued. "Our government's priorities are reviving the ailing economy and solving the conflicts between groups in Thai society."

Blagojevich lawyer says impeachment not justified

AP, Springfield

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lawyer said Monday that a vague array of charges and evidence doesn't merit removing the governor from office, and he urged a House committee not to recommend impeachment. Attorney Ed Genson complained bitterly that lawmakers were considering snippets of tape-recorded conversations that are quoted in a criminal complaint against the Democratic governor. He said no one knows the full context of those remarks or whether they are quoted accurately.

"We are fighting shadows, and that's not right," Genson said. Monday's hearing was the first time Genson has comprehensively responded to the impeachment charges. Blagojevich was arrested by the FBI Dec. 9 on a variety of corruption charges, including scheming to benefit from naming President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate.