Middle Orient

As the fighting continues on both sides, Hizbollah has confirmed that the Israeli army has occupied a key border village. The Shi’ite guerrillas say three of their fighters were killed in the battle for Maroun al-Ras.

Mr Egeland, the UN’s emergency relief chief, described the destruction as “horrific” as he toured the city.

Sharon, 78, suffered a massive stroke resulting in a coma in early January.

Rice will visit Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

At least six Israeli bombs fell on the coastal city of Tyre in a 20-minute span Sunday morning, killing one civilian and wounding at least 20 others.

Benedict issued his latest plea as he greeted some 3,000 pilgrims in a meadow near his Alpine vacation retreat on a day that he had dedicated to prayers for peace in the Middle East

Will it make it easier or harder to resolve the pressing problems of Palestine and Iraq – and the much bigger battle against Islamic extremism? The more immediate question is: Who will emerge with what?

In Sidon, 14 people were injured and a mosque was destroyed in the first strikes on the southern port city.

A routine patrol discovered five Katyusha rockets aimed and ready to fire at a base housing around 200 soldiers of the Light Infantry.

The barrage of rockets landing in and around Haifa Sunday morning wounded 11 people, witnesses and local officials said.