The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan says Syria has indicated it will increase border security to prevent the flow of arms to Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerilla group. The UN chief made the remark after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today, Mr. Annan said the Syrian leader promised to take all necessary measures to implement the UN resolution that ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. That resolution calls on nations to prevent the supply of arms to Lebanon without the consent of the Beirut government. Mr. Annan also said the Syrian leader supports the release of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah in July. The UN chief said Syria is asking for the release of Syrian citizens held in Israel.
The Israeli Defense Minister is demanding a sweeping independent investigation of the war with Lebanon that ended last month. Amir Peretz called for a state commission of inquiry puts him at odds with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who has called for a narrower probe of the conflict. A state commission of inquiry would have the authority to issue opinions and dismissed top officials.
Iranian state television says at least 80 people were killed when an airplane caught fire during landing at northeastern part of the country. The Russian-made airliner was carrying 148 passengers at the time of the incident in the city of Mashhad. An Iranian media say the fire started when one of the plane’s tires burst during landing and the aircraft slide off the runway.
European leaders have expressed regret about Iran’s refusal to suspend Uranium enrichment work but they say it’s too early to decide on possible sanctions. France’s Prime Minister called for more dialogue after Iran rejected a UN Security Council deadline Thursday to suspend enrichment activities. A European Union diplomat is to meet with Iran’s nuclear chief next week and diplomats from the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will discuss the issue in the coming days. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said again today that his country will never give up its nuclear program.
International donors have pledged 500 million dollars in aid for Palestinian territories. The pledges came at the end of a one-day conference of donor nations in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Sweden’s Aid Minister described the pledge as a fantastic result and said a large portion of the funds will be spent in rebuilding infrastructure in the Gaza Strip destroyed by Israel’s military offensive.
Iraqi search & rescue crews are pulling bodies from the destroyed buildings after a barrage of rocket and bomb attacks on Baghdad killed at least 64 people Thursday. The attack which officials say included explosives planted in apartments wounded more than 250 people, a series of explosions went off for half an hour in mainly Shiite areas of the capital.
Pakistani authorities say they have buried a tribal leader whose death during a military operation last week sparked violent protests. VOA’s Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad.
Pakistan government officials confirmed the burial took place early Friday amid tight security in the southwestern Province of Baluchistan. Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed last Saturday during a military raid on his mountain hideout. Bugti’s son says the government conducted the funeral without the family’s permission and refused to let them inspect the body. No family members attended Friday’s ceremony. Witnesses say the coffin was sealed with at least 2 locks before being hastily buried. A local cleric was reportedly the only person allowed to identify Bugti’s badly decomposing body. Pakistani lawyer and human rights specialist TJ says the rush to bury the body could be part of an official effort to cover up and extraditial killing. “The body will be reviewed as the kind of death of M way, that’s the main reason why nobody has the opportunity of looking that.’ The government claims Bugti died after the cave he was hiding in collapsed during a gun battle with government security forces. Benjamin Sand VOA news Islamabad.
The head of Somali Islamist Movement says he is ready to work with the interim government to stabilize the horrent African country.
South African President Thabo Mbeki is reported in good health after visiting a heart doctor and undergoing an angiogram.