Hundreds of Pakistanis protesting over an anti-Islam film broke through a barricade near the US consulate in Karachi, sparking clashes with police in which one demonstrator was killed and more than a dozen injured.

President Bashar Assad’s forces killed at least 50 civilians, including 13 children, in central Syria, activists said.

The leader of Hezbollah defended the decision to bring down Lebanon’s Western-backed government, saying the Shiite militant group did so without resorting to violence and will not be intimidated by world reaction.

IRAN’S president said that if the Israelis launch a new war against Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the militant group should retaliate strongly enough to “close their case once and for all”.

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.

Hezbollah will hand over two captured Israeli soldiers in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners in Israel, the militant group’s leader said 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.

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.

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.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah today said his group possesses an arsenal of rockets that can reach "any corner” of the state of Israel, including Tel Aviv, from Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah warned Lebanon not to storm a besieged Palestinian refugee camp, calling instead for a negotiated solution.

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.

Shia worshippers in three Iraqi cities today suffered bombings and ambushes, killing at least 39 people, during the climax of ceremonies marking Ashoura, the holiest day in the Shia calendar.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah lashed out at US President George Bush today, telling throngs of Shias in Lebanon, marking their holiest day, that Bush was seeking to spark a civil war in the country.

Thousands of opposition protesters blocked roads with burning tyres, debris and blazing cars around the Lebanese capital of Beirut and outlying regions of Lebanon today in a bid to enforce a general strike aimed at toppling Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s government.

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.

Sixteen armoured carriers, several hundred combat troops and armed police today ringed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora’s office in unprecedented security measures ahead of a massive protest by Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies aimed at ousting the Western-backed leader.

Hezbollah’s leader has urged his followers to prepare for mass demonstrations to topple the government if it ignored the militant group’s demand to form a national unity coalition.

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.

Hundreds of thousands of people packed Beirut’s bombed-out suburbs for a Hezbollah “victory over Israel” rally today, where guerrilla leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was expected to deliver a historic speech about his group’s weapons.

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.

Hezbollah fighters are still in southern Lebanese towns and villages near the border with Israel, the leader of the militant group boasted in an interview broadcast by Al-Jazeera yesterday.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would lead to the Lebanon war.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah today said that “contacts” for negotiations on a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas had begun.

President George Bush said today that Hezbollah guerillas suffered a defeat at the hands of Israel in their month-long war.

Israeli helicopters airlifted hundreds of troops into the Hezbollah heartland and warplanes launched wide-ranging airstrikes today as officials raced to enforce a UN ceasefire and end fierce fighting still raging across southern Lebanon.

TENS of thousands marched in cities across Europe, Africa and the Middle East over the weekend, protesting against the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.

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

Hezbollah’s leader offered for the first time today to stop rocket attacks on northern Israel in return for an end to airstrikes throughout Lebanon.

So here I am, posting from Canada, after the longest flight ever. Jetlag not stopping me, computers that are not my own, or a headache...

PROTESTERS, angered by the Israeli air strike in Qana that killed up to 50 refugees, broke into the main UN building in Beirut yesterday, burning UN and American flags.

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.

A top Iranian envoy was in Syria today for talks on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in a meeting that brought together the guerrilla organisation’s two key sponsors, according to Iranian news reports.

About 2,000 Palestinians demonstrated in the West Bank today to show support for Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, whose guerrillas have been waging a two-week battle against the Israeli army.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah tonight said that the group’s leadership remained intact, appearing an interview on Al-Jazeera a day after Israel claimed to have bombed a bunker where he may have been hiding.

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.

Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker in south Beirut where the army believed senior Hezbollah leaders were hiding, a senior army official said today, but the guerrilla group denied the site was a bunker or that its leadership had been hurt.

Israeli missiles struck Lebanon from north to south and in the Bekaa Valley near Syria, killing 35 people, including a family who had come from Canada to visit their home village.

Israeli warplanes repeatedly blasted Beirut’s southern suburbs today, causing a series of huge blasts, Hezbollah’s Al Manar television reported.

Israeli warplanes renewed attacks on Lebanon early today, targeting bridges and fuel storage tanks and petrol stations in the east and south, security officials said.