UN plays down risk of renewed Lebanon-Israel strife

UNITED NATIONS: A top UN official on Friday played down risk of renewed fighting between Israel and Lebanon''s Shiite movement Hezbollah but urged the two sides to refrain from further "inflammatory" words.

Michael Williams, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, told reporters that he briefed the Security Council "on the recent rise in rhetoric and public threats between Israel and Lebanon which have generated concerns of a renewed confrontation."

"This public rhetoric and brinkmanship contravenes the spirit of (Security Council) Resolution 1701 and is utterly unhelpful," he noted.

Resolution 1701 ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah that killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. It has not led to a permanent ceasefire.

Williams said that in his private talks with Israeli and Lebanese officials, both sides, in contrast to some of their public utterances, "continue to express their commitment to the prevailing cessation of hostilities and to the full implementation of Resolution 1701."

"I believe that it is these private statements, rather than the public rhetoric, that convey their true intentions and I have called on all relevant parties to desist from inflammatory statements," he added.

India to act decisively if another attack happens: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: India will act "swiftly and decisively" if another terrorist attack emanates from Pakistani soil, Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Friday, urging Pakistan to "reinvent itself" as a genuine democracy and a responsible neighbour.

"If we are able to establish with a reasonable degree of certainty that another attack on India emanated from Pakistani soil, we will respond swiftly and decisively," the Indian home minister said while addressing an event.

"It suffices to say our response will be swift and decisive," he added, in response to a a query if this also meant military action.

Referring to Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafeez Saeed, Chidambaram said, "Investigations around the world are carried out in a certain way. If Pakistan does not know how to interrogate Saeed, then they should allow my agents to go in there and do the job. I am willing to get this done."

"If Pakistan wants to bury its head ostrich-like, then what can we say. I''d like to believe that Pakistan has stepped back from sponsoring non-state actors, but there is no proof of that yet," Chidambaram said.

Pakistan could make a start towards convincing India of its sincerity by providing voice samples of those suspected of guiding the 26/11 terrorists from Pakistan, said Chidambaram.

But in the same breath he indicated that Pakistan had simply refused to act even though India had sent in a list of suspects.

Arguing that Pakistan had proved to be a "difficult neighbour" ever since partition and independence in 1947, Chidambaram said India''s main hope was for a political transformation in Islamabad.

"It must reinvent itself to become a truly democratic country where real power lies in democratically elected leaders'' hands," he said.

"The two nations are nuclear powers, and war is not an option, so we must talk," the home minister said. "At other times, we must remain vigilant."

"We tried to make a beginning with the foreign secretary talks, but nothing came out of it, I''m afraid," Chidambaram said. "But I am told we are still open to another round of talks between the foreign secretaries."

Man rescued as China landslide toll climbs to 27

BEIJING: A 20-year-old man was rescued from the mud and rubble of a massive landslide in north China early Friday after being buried for 54 hours, as the death toll rose to 27, state media said.

The man, identified as Cao Lele, was still in intensive care in a hospital near the site of the disaster in a remote part of Shaanxi province, Xinhua news agency reported.

His 17-year-old sister was also rescued, but quickly succumbed to her injuries.

"The girl had a very weak pulse when she was taken to hospital. Emergency medical treatment failed after just a few minutes," hospital official Wang Xiongwei told Xinhua.

Up to 25 houses in the village of Shuanghuyu were buried when the mountainside came crashing down early Wednesday.

The brother and sister were found beneath a collapsed floor, clutching their mother who had died, the report said. Rescuers located them after the man cried for help.

The rescue effort has since been called off, as all of the missing have been accounted for.

Israel seals off West Bank amid heightened tension

JERUSALEM: Israel sealed off the West Bank on Friday amid tension in Jerusalem over controversial plans to build new homes for Jewish settlers and fears of fresh violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Israeli police also barred men under the age of 50 from prayers at the Jerusalem site of the mosque compound, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews and where clashes broke out last week.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the army to seal off the Israeli-occupied West Bank until midnight on Saturday, an army spokesman said, citing a heightened risk of attacks.

Since the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in September 2000, Israel has sealed off the West Bank ahead of major holidays, but only rarely on other occasions.

The closure was announced one day after US Vice President Joe Biden concluded a visit of the West Bank and Israel aimed at promoting renewed peace talks but marred by an announcement that 1,600 new settler homes would be built in annexed east Jerusalem.

The announcement infuriated the US administration, ignited international condemnation and cast doubts over the outlook for the indirect talks, which the Palestinians had reluctantly agreed to hold after a 14-month hiatus in negotiations.

The Arab League withdrew its support for the indirect talks and the Palestinians said Israel''s move severely damaged the peace process.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell on Thursday called Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who is on a visit to Tunisia, to press him to go ahead with the planned talks, a Palestinian official said, asking not to be named.

But Abbas demanded US guarantees that Israel first freeze the project to build new homes in the east Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomo.

Abbas told US officials that "it is very difficult for us to go to any negotiations, direct or indirect, without the cancellation of the Israeli building project," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP on Friday.

The US State Department insisted on Thursday it had not heard anything to indicate the Palestinians had pulled out of the planned talks. It said the talks could still go ahead and pointed out Mitchell due back in the region next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday apologised for the timing of the settlement announcement made as Biden was holding a day of talks in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Biden welcomed a clarification that construction would not start for several years, saying this would give negotiators time to tackle the issue, but he also reiterated condemnation of Israel''s go-ahead for the project.

The Palestinians, however, dismissed the statement, saying the issue was the plan itself, not the timing of the announcement.

The international community considers all Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, to be illegal.

Under US pressure, Israel imposed in November a partial, 10-month moratorium on settlement projects in the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem.

Putin to sign multi-billion dollar arms deals in India

NEW DELHI: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was to seal a series of multi-billion dollar arms deals Friday during a visit to India aimed at boosting ties with Moscow''s old Cold War ally.

According to Russian officials, Putin will sign more than a dozen pacts amounting to 10 billion dollars, including an accord to resolve the troubled sale of a refitted Soviet-era aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov.

Other deals include a contract to sell India 29 MiG fighter jets and an agreement to install additional nuclear power units in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is already building two reactors.

The sale of the Admiral Gorshkov has been marred by a series of price disputes and delayed deliveries, fuelling concerns in Moscow that India could be tempted to end its dependence on Russian military equipment.

Putin''s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the new accord would "suit both sides" and help put the dispute behind them.

"We have an enormous interest in India," he told reporters ahead of Putin''s arrival in New Delhi.

Russia supplies 70 percent of India''s military hardware but in recent years New Delhi has looked to other military suppliers including Israel and the United States.

The strong ties between Moscow and New Delhi date back to the 1950s after the death of Stalin. But India has in recent years also taken care to balance this friendship by fostering closer relations with Washington.

India''s foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash described Russia as a "valued partner and time-tested friend."

"We have a similar outlook on a whole host of regional and international issues," Prakash said.