ISRAEL

Israeli troops and tanks split the Gaza Strip and ringed its main city on Sunday in an offensive against Hamas militants but civilians trapped in the Palestinian enclave suffered more bloodshed.

GAZA - Israeli artillery shelled the Gaza Strip on Saturday, stepping up the offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave as tanks and troops waited on the border for a possible ground offensive.

Israel's week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip is a violent sequel to a drive led by the US

GAZA - Hamas's top leader warned Israel its army would be defeated if it invaded the Gaza Strip, while the United States said it envisioned a ceasefire with international monitoring that would ensure the Islamist group could not rearm.

Gold futures gained on Tuesday to a 10-week high on speculation that increased tensions over Iran's nuclear program will boost investment demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation. Silver also gained while dollar dropped against international counterparts.

Israel closed its border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as doubts intensified over a rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, breaching a week-old ceasefire agreement.

Gold futures edged lower on Friday but managed to close the week with a gain of almost 4 percent as oil prices continued to soar and weakness in the U.S. dollar boosted the demand for a hedge against inflation.

Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. Announced Thursday it has sealed a deal with Apple Inc. to offer the popular iPhone in Hong Kong and Macau later this year.

Dish Network Corp., the second biggest U.S. satellite television broadcaster accused News Corp.'s NDS Group of hacking the security code of Dish's access cards, causing damages worth $90 million.

A senior Israeli defense official said on Friday that Palestinians firing rockets from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip would bring upon themselves what he termed a shoah, the Hebrew word for holocaust or disaster.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China on Tuesday to press North Korea to disclose its nuclear programs so that a stalled disarmament deal can move forward.

Thousands of Palestinians formed a human chain in the Gaza Strip on Monday in a protest against an Israeli blockade that has deepened hardship in the Hamas-controlled territory. Israel had put troops on alert along the frontier and threatened to open fire if protesters tried to surge across the border. Organizers had forecast 40,000 to 50,000 participants but only about 4,500 people turned out in inclement weather.

Enter the e-waiter. Restaurants in Europe, the United States and Japan are testing technology to let diners order their food direct from a screen at their table instead of depending on a fellow human being to note their choice -- sometimes grumpily or erroneously.

Hezbollah's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday threatened Israel with open war after accusing the Jewish state of killing one of its top commanders. Zionists, if you want this type of open war then let the whole world hear: let it be an open war, Nasrallah told mourners at the funeral of Imad Moughniyah, a legend to Hezbollah but one of the men most wanted by Israel and the U.S. for planning attacks that killed hundreds.

Top Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyah, accused of masterminding a hijacking, suicide bombings and hostage takings of U.S. and Israeli targets in the 1980s, was killed by a car bomb in Damascus, the Shi'ite Muslim group said on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday Iran was still seeking to build nuclear weapons and called for a greater international effort to prevent Tehran from succeeding.

Egypt began closing its breached border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, using barbed wire and water cannons to keep Palestinians from leaving the Hamas-controlled territory in defiance of an Israeli blockade.

The Renault-Nissan (RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) alliance on Monday signed a deal to begin mass producing electric cars as part of an Israeli-led project to develop alternative energy sources and slash oil dependency.

Gaza hospitals will run out of drugs and fuel for generators within a few days unless Israel eases the border blockade it imposed to curb Palestinian rocket attacks, international organizations said on Monday.

A right-wing party quit Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government on Wednesday, condemning his peace talks with the Palestinians and leaving him even more politically vulnerable.

Iran, Mideast peace and democracy in the region topped the agenda for President Bush during talks Monday with ally Saudi Arabia. Bush's first visit to the kingdom came as his administration notified Congress of its intent to sell $20 billion in weapons, including precision-guided bombs, to the Saudis. The announcement was timed to coincide with the president's arrival in the Saudi capital.