The New Nation - Internet Edition

Israel, Hamas locked in fierce Gaza City street battles

AFP, Gaza City

Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters fought fierce battles in the streets of Gaza City early Tuesday as a war on Hamas that has killed more than 900 Palestinians entered its 18th day.

Israeli special forces backed by tanks and air strikes lunged ever deeper into Gaza's main city overnight, advancing several hundred metres (yards) into several neighbourhoods in the south, witnesses and correspondents said.

Palestinian fighters fought back with roadside bombs and mortar and gunfire. The explosions of bombs, thuds of tanks shells and the rattle of gunfire kept terrified residents who had not yet fled the area awake through the night.

An Israeli army patrol came under gunfire from inside Jordan early on Tuesday, the army said, adding that no one was hurt in the rare attack.

"A border guard patrol near the Rabin crossing came under fire from an unknown source from inside Jordanian territory and fired back in their direction," a spokesman told AFP.

"There were no injuries or damage," he said.

A Jordanian military official denied the incident.

The clashes come as the Israeli media widely speculated that the country's leadership may approve an expansion of its massive offensive in Gaza despite ongoing talks in Egypt on how to end a war launched to stop rocket fire. The tanks retreated shortly after dawn from the neighbourhoods of Tal al-Hawa and Sheikh Ajlin, allowing medics to rush into the area.

At least one person was killed in the nightime fighting although the toll was expected to be higher, medics said. Tanks and troops remained camped in the outlying neighbourhood of Zeitun.

Clashes between troops and fighters were also reported around the southern town of Khan Yunis.

Israeli warplanes pounded the densely-populated coastal strip with more than 60 air strikes overnight, targetting rocket launching sites, weapons storage facilities, Hamas outposts and smuggling tunnels on Gaza's border with Egypt, the army said.

Hamas kept up its defiance in the face of the onslaught, vowing it would emerge victorious, but said it was ready to examine truce initiatives.

In a rare televised address on Monday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya vowed: "We are approaching victory." "I tell you that after 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not fall," said the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, which the Islamists seized from forces loyal to moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June 2007.

But Haniya, who is not considered to wield influence over the group's armed wing, said the Islamists were ready to "examine in a positive manner any initiative which can put an end to this aggression and the blood of our children being shed."

US forces chief urges less military use in foreign policy

AFP, Washington

The top US military officer cautioned against ever growing militarization of US foreign policy, urging greater support for civilian approaches to the world's problems.

"I believe we should be more willing to break this cycle, and say when armed forces may not always be the best choice to take the lead," Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said late Monday.

Mullen's comments, in a speech prepared for delivery at the Nixon Center, echoed US Defense Secretary Robert Gates' views that US neglect of diplomacy and other civilian instruments of power has hurt Washington's standing in the world.

It comes at the end of an administration that is fighting two wars and a global campaign against terrorism that has stretched the US military to the breaking point.

Mullen explained that the military, whose budget has grown to around 650 billion dollars in 2009 compared to some 11.5 billion dollars for the State Department, has been used so much because it is "flexible, well-funded, designed to take risk."

"And so, when we are willing to pitch in, as we usually are, we tend to receive more resources," he said. "It's not that others aren't willing to lead. I know for a fact that they are. But in many cases, they are just not able," he said.

He argued that the US military should be able to transfer resources to other governmental departments to support non-military options.

UN chief heads to Mideast to press Gaza resolution

AP, United Nations

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon heads to the Mideast on Tuesday to step up diplomatic efforts to get Israel and Hamas to adhere to a U.N. cease-fire resolution in the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the devastated Palestinian territory.

Since Israel launched its air and ground offensive on Dec. 27, Ban said he has been on the phone constantly with top officials in the Middle East, Europe and the United States promoting a cease-fire. But he said phone calls aren't a substitute for direct talks with leaders who have influence on the parties.

"To both sides, I say: Just stop, now," the U.N. chief told a news conference Monday. "Too many people have died.

Sri Lanka gains ground from rebels

AFP, Colombo

Sri Lankan troops have captured more territory from Tamil Tigers in fierce fighting around the rebels' last stronghold in the northeast of the island, according to the defence ministry.

Heavy fighting was reported around guerrilla-controlled Mullaittivu district on Monday, with troops seizing a rebel administration base, a training camp and a bunker line, the ministry said.

"After bitter clashest troops captured a LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) administration base inflicting heavy damages on the terrorists," the ministry said in a statement. Casualty details on both sides were not known, but the ministry said troops recovered three rebel bodies after the confrontation. Military claims cannot be verified as the independent media are barred from travelling to the fontlines.

The LTTE did not comment on Monday's fighting, but the rebels have admitted loosing ground in recent weeks-including the northern town of Kilinochchi which they used as their political base for nearly a decade.

Sri Lanka has poured in a record 1.7 billion dollars into this year's war effort as troops push to eject the Tigers from their last stronghold in the jungle and lagoon district around Mullaittivu.

Militants attack NATO truck depot in Pakistan

AFP, Peshawar

Taliban militants launched a rocket attack on a NATO supply depot in northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, torching one truck and damaging three others, police said.

The attack on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar was the first since Pakistan launched a massive military operation late last month in the rugged Khyber tribal region bordering Afgahanistan to clear militants from the area. That offensive was mounted after a series of spectacular attacks on depots in and around Peshawar in which hundreds of vehicles used to ferry supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan were torched.

"The militants fired six rockets on a NATO terminal during the night. One truck was hit and it caught fire, while three other vehicles suffered minor damage," senior police officer Fida Mohammad told AFP.

Police and paramilitary soldiers tracked down the attackers and a brief gun battle ensued, he said. After about 30 minutes, the militants fled.

There were no reports of any casualties, the officer said.

Authorities were forced to close the highway linking Peshawar to the Afghan border town of Torkham for several days at the height of the army offensive in the Khyber area.

Japan PM under pressure as ex-minister quits

Reuters, Tokyo

A reform-minded former financial minister left Japan's ruling party on Tuesday in a sign that unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso's grip over his Liberal Democrats has weakened further, ahead of an election this year.

With public support ratings below 20 percent, Aso is struggling to exert leadership in the face of an emboldened opposition, which controls parliament's upper house and has threatened to stall bills in a bid to force an early election.

Aso, 68, has ruled out a snap poll, but Yoshimi Watanabe, an ex-financial services minister and other lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are turning up the heat as anxiety grows about the chances of the party losing more than 50 years of near-unbroken rule.

Cambodian PM makes first ME visit

AFP, Phnom Penh

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has departed for oil-rich Kuwait in his first-ever visit to the Middle East, aimed at expanding business and trade ties. Hun Sen was accompanied by a number of high-ranking government officials and business people as he left on the four-day trip on a plane provided by Kuwait.

"This visit will lead to the development in the future between Cambodia and Kuwait, and between Cambodia and other countries in the Middle East," Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters.

Pakistan state not linked to Mumbai attack: Britain

Reuters, New Delhi

Britain's Foreign Secretary said on Tuesday that he believed the Pakistan state did not direct the Mumbai attacks, contradicting accusations from the Indian government that state agencies were involved.

"I have said publicly that I do not believe that the attacks were directed by the Pakistani state and I think it's important to restate that," David Miliband told a news conference.

He added that it was clear the attacks originated from Pakistan, and Islamabad had to crack down on the militants operating on its soil, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which has been blamed for the Mumbai attacks.

Khatami may run for president again

Reuters, Tehran

Mohammad Khatami, who won presidential elections in 1997 and 2001 with landslides, gave the strongest signal yet on Monday that he was considering running in this year's race for the Iranian presidency. Khatami worked for political and social change during his eight years in office but hardliners in charge of major levers of power in the Islamic Republic blocked many of his reforms, costing Khatami some key supporters, such as students. If he chooses to run, Khatami can expect to face Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who came to power in 2005 pledging a return to revolutionary principles and promising to spread Iran's oil wealth more fairly.

Serbia offers tax-free reward for Mladic capture

Reuters, Belgrade

A tax-free million euro reward is on offer to anyone helping Serbia with information leading to the arrest of its most wanted war crimes fugitive, Ratko Mladic, an official said on Monday.

Serbia had already in the past offered a million euro reward, but has clarified that the bonus will be exempt from 20 percent income tax, said Bruno Vekaric, a spokesman for Serbia's Special War Crimes Prosecutor's Office.

"It is clear that the state will pick up tax liability for people who contribute to their arrests," he said of war crimes suspects Mladic and Goran Hadzic. In recent days Serbia has put up new wanted posters for Mladic, the former commander of Bosnian Serb troops during the 1992-1995 war and Hadzic, who led Croatian Serbs during the 1991-1995 conflict there.