The opening episode of Julian Assange’s new talk show featured an interview with militant leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose Syria-backed Hezbollah militia is considered a terrorist organisation in the US and Europe.

PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad extended a tank onslaught in Syria’s Sunni Muslim tribal heartland, residents said, in an escalating crackdown on protesters that prompted an extraordinary rebuke from the Saudi king warning the Syrian leader to adopt reforms or risk defeat.

US SECRETARY of state Hillary Rodham Clinton reassured the Lebanese people yesterday that Washington supports “voices of moderation” and will never make a deal with Syria that undermines the country’s interests.

Dozens of Palestinians handed out sweets and waved yellow Hezbollah flags to celebrate what they saw as a major victory in Israel’s return of five Lebanese prisoners.

Israel has signed an agreement to swap prisoners with the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, according to a statement today.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has concluded that Israel should exchange the perpetrator of a particularly serious terror attack for two Israeli soldiers held in Lebanon for the past two years, a senior government official confirmed today.

ISRAEL freed a convicted Hezbollah spy yesterday and the militant group turned over the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the 2006 war in Lebanon.

Israel freed a convicted Hezbollah spy today and sent him back to Lebanon, while Hezbollah turned over the remains of what it said were dead Israeli soldiers – in what could be the preliminary stage of a larger prisoner exchange between the bitter enemies.

Lebanon hung between fears of all-out war and hopes of political compromise as government supporters and opponents battled with rockets and machine guns in the mountains overlooking Beirut.

Running gunbattles raged in parts of Beirut after the leader of Hezbollah accused Lebanon's Western-backed government of declaring war on his Shiite militant group. At least four people were killed and eight wounded in the capital.

HEZBOLLAH chief Hassan Nasrallah warned yesterday that a Lebanese government crackdown on his group was tantamount to a “declaration of war” as clashes escalated between supporters of rival political factions in the deeply-divided country.

Islamic militants used the funeral of one of the world’s most wanted terrorists to threaten all-out war on Israel today.

One of the world's most-wanted terrorists has been killed in a car bomb explosion in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Hezbollah possesses sophisticated weapons that could be used to target Israel, a retired Lebanese army general said today, a day after the militant group’s leader promised that Israel would face a “big surprise” if it invaded Lebanon.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, today vowed to continue the opposition campaign led by his militant group to force Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to share power or step down.

Soldiers reinforced patrols and checkpoints around Beirut today following a rare night-time curfew imposed by authorities seeking to quell escalating clashes between factions supporting the Western-backed government and Hezbollah protesters trying to bring it down.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised that his opposition alliance would intensify its campaign to bring down the Lebanese government, pledging to mount an "effective" action in the coming days.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said “serious negotiations” were under way over the fate of two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture by the militant group sparked a month of brutal fighting in Lebanon.

Israel has quietly backed off from its plan to assassinate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah because of the international condemnation that his killing would create, the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported today.

Israelis would vote Ehud Olmert out of office if elections were held now, polls indicated today, as the defiant prime minister defended his performance in the Lebanon war and lashed out at his critics.

THE Israeli military and Hezbollah were trying last night to inflict as much damage as possible ahead of an expected ceasefire this morning.

Israel’s Cabinet approved the UN ceasefire deal after a stormy debate today, clearing a key hurdle to ending the month-long war in Lebanon, the government said.

A suicide bomber detonated a belt of explosives near a highly-revered Shiite shrine in southern Iraq today, killing at least 33 people and injuring 108.

The Israeli air force shot down a Hezbollah drone for the first time today, sending its wreckage plunging into the sea, the army said.

Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs and other parts of Lebanon early today, local media reported.

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened more rocket attacks on cities in central Israel tonight and dismissed a new diplomatic effort by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying the United States wants the fighting to continue.

Israeli troops and tanks massed on Lebanon’s border today and officials said the army was preparing for a limited incursion in Lebanon in the near future.

Israeli air and ground forces killed three Palestinians today during the second day of a raid against militants in a Gaza refugee camp, and the army dropped leaflets in Gaza City warning residents that it will attack homes hiding militant weapons.

About 15 Irish people have fled Lebanon following the escalation of violence in the Middle East, the Department of Foreign Affairs said today.

Palestinians might not get a state for many years as a result of Israel’s unilateral “disengagement” plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today.

A Palestinian gunman broke into an Israeli settlement early today, killing an Israeli man and wounding his 12-year-old daughter in their home, the army said.

HUNDREDS of Israeli police in riot gear stormed a disputed holy site yesterday, firing tear gas, stun grenades and plastic bullets to disperse Muslim worshippers throwing stones and shoes at them.

ISRAEL will try to kill the entire leadership of Hamas after assassinating the founder of the Islamic militant group in a missile strike, security sources said in Jerusalem yesterday.

ISRAELI soldiers yesterday began digging up 59 bodies of Lebanese militants buried in a small plot in northern Israel, a first step toward a prisoner swap with the Hezbollah guerrilla group take place this week