Turks show no sign of letting up in northern Iraq

Turkey stepped up its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Wednesday and refused to set a pull-out timetable, despite a US warning that the incursion should last no more than "a week or two."

The military said 77 members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed overnight in what they called the heaviest clashes since its forces rolled over the border into the snow-bound mountains of northern Iraq last week.

That brought the army toll of PKK dead to 230, while its own losses climbed to 27 with the deaths since Tuesday evening of five soldiers and three government-armed Turkish Kurd "village guard" militiamen, the general staff said.

As fighter-bombers continued to pound rebel positions on the sixth full day of the incursion, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates made it clear that US support for its NATO ally was not open-ended.The offensive must end quickly, he said.

"I measure quick in terms of days, or a week or two, something like that. Not months," he said in New Delhi before flying to Ankara for talks.

But a senior Turkish official said the operation would continue


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Moussa getting nowhere – Saudi foreign minister

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday he was worried about the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon and blamed a "foreign party" for undermining attempts to restore stability in the country.

Speaking at a conference of Arab and South American foreign ministers in Buenos Aires, he said that Arab League chief Amr Moussa's mediation efforts have not yet yielded any results, adding that a "foreign party does not want to see stability in Lebanon."

At the same conference, Moussa reiterated that Lebanon's presidential election must take place as soon as possible and should be immediately followed by the formation of a national unity government.

Moussa's assistant, Hisham Youssef, arrived in Beirut Wednesday to pave the way for his boss' return in the coming few days. Youssef said Moussa's return depends on the success of his own preliminary talks.

Moussa is expected to arrive on Friday, two days ahead of a four-party meeting, grouping theArab League chief, leader of the parliamentary majority MP Saad Hariri, former President Amin Gemayel and opposition leader MP Michel Aoun.

But Hariri told his family's Future News television on Wednesday that there were no signs of a solution on the horizon and warned that the Lebanese were not obliged to implement "Syria's vision."

"A solution is not in the offing because opposition leaders are still trading roles," he said.

"Aoun insists on getting veto power in the next cabinet, while Speaker Nabih Berri is marketing the 10+10+10 [formula]," he said,in reference to a proposal in which the ruling coalition, the opposition and the new president would each get 10 ministerial posts in the next cabinet.

"Such formula was actually made in Syria," Hariri added.

In response, Aoun told Hizbullah's Al-Manar television that there was no need for Moussa's return given Hariri's objection to the 10+10+10 formula.

However, Berri told AnNahr and As-Safir newspapers late Tuesday that he would be willing to move forward with the 10+10+10 formula and head to Parliament next Tuesday to elect a new president.

"As far as I know, no party has rejected this formula. I told Moussa that I am ready to move forward with it," Berri said.

"Something is being prepared for the Sunday meeting," he added, without elaborating.

Ali Hamdan, Berri's media adviser, told The Daily Star on Wednesday that the speaker's position has not changed regarding the 10+10+10 formula.

Hamdan said the formula was initially proposed by Hariri, but "unfortunately,


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Siniora says lack of Lebanese president will sink Arab summit

Next month's Arab summit in Syria will be undermined if a solution to Lebanon's political crisis cannot be found by then, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warned on Tuesday.

The election of a new Lebanese president has been delayed since November and Siniora told Reuters efforts were being made to fill the post and prevent a power vacuum.

Siniora, whose anti-Syrian ruling coalition is locked in a 15month power struggle against an opposition led by Hizbullah, said without a president, the summit would lose its value.

"I believe that the lack of representation of Lebanon on a presidential level at the summit will make the summit lose a lot of its importance," he said.

"This summit should be attended by all the presidents and all the Arab countries. Let us imagine a summit without Lebanon having a presidential seat at it, how would it look?" asked Siniora,who was in Britain to meet with Premier Gordon Brown.

Diplomats and analysts say Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is unlikely to attend the Arab League summit unless Lebanon's political crisis is resolved.

Saudi-owned Al-Hayat daily reported on Monday that Syria will facilitate a lastminute presidential election in Lebanon prior to the summit.

Citing European sources, AlHayat said Syria will facilitate the election of the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, as president to "force major Arab countries not to boycott" the summit slated to be held in Damascus on March 27-29.

Lebanon has still not received any official invitations yet from Syria to attend the annual summit in Damascus at the end of March.

Siniora has said Lebanon wanted "good relations" with all countries in the world, including Syria and Iran, but not with Israel, "our only enemy."

"Relations, however, must be based on mutual respect," Siniora told reporters in London Monday.

He stressed "it is not acceptable for Iran to view Lebanon as an arena for solving conflicts."

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud's term ended in November 2007, plunging the country into the worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 CivilWar.

The war ended in 1990 but a Saudi-brokered peace pact has been strained to breaking point since the assassination in 2005 of former Premier Rafik Hariri.

In other developments on Tuesday, the British premier offered his Lebanese counterpart his full backing Tuesday.

Following talks in London, Brown offered support to Siniora and the Arab League in their efforts to end the impasse over the election of a new president.

"His government has our strong support as it works to restore and strengthen the integrity of Lebanon's institutions, and to protect Lebanon's future as a tolerant and diverse democracy," Brown said in a statement issued after the meeting."The UK will continue to back the efforts of the Arab League to resolve Lebanon's political impasse, to work closely with European and other international partners, and to continue our strong bilateral support."

Lebanon's Parliament recently postponed a session to elect a new president until February 26 – the 14th delay in three months.

Government supporters accuse Hizbullah of seeking to restore Syrian domination of Lebanon, while the opposition says Siniora's government is putting the country

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Barak issues new warning about heavy assault on Gaza

Is rael's top brass warned on Tuesday that its patience was wearing thin over rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, as more people were wounded in army attacks on the Hamas-run territory.

Amid growing calls for an all-out assault on the impoverished strip, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the armed forces would do whatever is necessary to stop the attacks.

"Israel will not refrain from taking any course of action in order to bring a stop to the fire against Sderot," Barak said, referring to the town that has borne the brunt of rocket fire.

"There are reasons why we are not using all our force right now, but it will happen at the right moment," he told journalists traveling with him to Turkey, without elaborating.

On Monday, the military's chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gaby Ashkenazi, said the army was "prepared and ready to broaden its actions in conformity with the decisions taken."

The military has conducted a series of deadly operations in Gaza over the past week after a suicide bombing in Israel that was claimed by Hamas.

Israel has also tightened its blockade on the isolated territory, allowing in only limited supplies of fuel and medicine to a 1.5 million population largely dependent on aid.

Israeli forces continued attacks against militants on Tues day. Seven Palestinians – including civilians – were hit during a pre-dawn firefight with an invading infantry unit in Gaza City, witnesses said.

An Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the same attack, an army spokesman said.

Two more Palestinians were hurt when soldiers opened fire while searching homes during an attack on the central town of Deir al-Balah, witnesses said.

An army spokesman confirmed the shootings.

Calls for a full-scale assault have been spurred by persistent rocket fire at southern Israel from Gaza, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned on Sunday that no one from the Islamist movement was immune.

But on Tuesday, Israeli novelist and veteran peace activist Amos Oz

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