Olmert says Israel won’t end blockade

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Israel has no plans to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon until an international peacekeeping force takes up positions along the Syrian border and at Beirut’s airport.

Israeli officials said Olmert wasn’t issuing an ultimatum. But the tough stance appeared to be an attempt to put pressure on the international community to send a powerful force willing to disarm Hezbollah, which fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel during 34 days of fighting.

The proposed U.N. rules of engagement for the international force would allow troops to open fire in self-defense, protect civilians and back up the Lebanese army in preventing foreign forces or arms from crossing the border, according to a U.N. document obtained Tuesday.

London

Bomb plot suspects appear in court

Eleven suspects charged in an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners appeared in court for the first time Tuesday, and the eight men who faced the most serious charges were ordered held until next month as detectives press on with their investigation.

The eight men charged with the most serious offenses of conspiracy to murder and preparing to commit terrorism – Tanvir Hussain, 25, Ahmed Ali, 25, Umar Islam, 28, Arafat Khan, 25, Assad Ali Sarwar, 26, Adam Khatib, 19, Ibrahim Savant, 25 and Waheed Zaman, 22 – were ordered held until a second court appearance on Sept. 4.

Cossar Ali, 24, who is married to defendant Ahmed Ali, and 24-year-old Mehran Hussein, were ordered to appear on Aug. 29. Both were charged with failing to disclose information that could help prevent a terrorist act.

A 17-year-old male, who cannot be named for legal reasons and who is charged with possessing material that could be used to prepare a terrorist act, also was ordered back to court next week.

Islamabad, Pakistan

Nuclear scientist fighting cancer

Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who developed the Muslim world’s first nuclear bomb and later confessed to leaking weapons technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, is battling prostate cancer, the government said Tuesday.

The announcement could lead to renewed calls for Pakistan to let the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency question the 70-year-old scientist over his international black market dealings – a request Pakistan reiterated it would refuse.

Khan was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month.

Miami

Tropical Storm Debby forming

Tropical Storm Debby formed off the coast of Cape Verde in the eastern Atlantic on Tuesday, forecasters said.

The depression that formed Monday was centered 300 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde. The storm had maximum sustained winds near 40 mph, with some strengthening forecast for the next 24 hours.

Long-range forecasts show the storm nearing Bermuda in about a week.