The U.N. Security Council began a second day of talks on Syria Tuesday after President Bashar al-Assad's tanks shelled the protest hub of Hama on the opening day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

At least 24 civilians were reported killed across the country on Monday, among them 10 during protests after special evening prayers, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdul Rahman said.

The European Union on Tuesday added Syrian Defense Minister Ali Habib Mahmoud and four others to its blacklist of individuals and businesses associated with the ongoing repression there.

The EU's official journal also showed that the extended lists includes Mohammed Moufleh, head of Syrian military intelligence in Hama, the scene of a bloody crackdown by the army which activists say has left more than 100 dead.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour condemned on Monday the clash that broke out this morning between the Lebanese and Israeli armies at Wazzani in the South, saying that it is part of Israel’s ongoing violations of Lebanon have been taking place since 2006.

He added: “We will make the necessary contacts to the concerned sides and inform our mission to the United Nations to address the matter at the international organization.”

Russia urged Syria on Monday to immediately stop the use of force and repression against civilian protesters, in its strongest criticism yet of the government's crackdown on demonstrations.

The foreign ministry expressed "serious concern" after activists said Syrian security forces killed nearly 140 people Sunday in one of the deadliest days in more than four months of anti-regime protests.

Lack of a U.N. mandate and regional support means the conditions are not met for a Libya-style military operation in Syria, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen was quoted as saying on Monday.

"In Libya, we're carrying out an operation based on a clear U.N. mandate. We have the support of countries in the region. These two conditions are not met in Syria," Rasmussen told France's Midi Libre regional daily.

Calls mounted for an emergency U.N. meeting on Syria Monday after troops killed nearly 141 people in one of the deadliest days so far and the regime praised the army for "foiling" the country's enemies.

Rights activists said Sunday's death toll included at least 100 when the army stormed the flashpoint protest city of Hama, scene of a 1982 Islamist revolt that was put down by deadly force, killing an estimated 20,000 people.

Italy called for urgent U.N. Security Council talks on Syria and said European ambassadors in Damascus should meet on Monday following a deadly crackdown by the Syrian army on anti-regime protesters.

"We request that the United Nations Security Council hold an urgent meeting and adopt a very firm position," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in an interview with the public broadcaster RAI.

A U.N. panel has approved more than $1 billion in compensation payments for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The U.N. Compensation Commission says the money will go to five companies and four government or international bodies. It did not disclose the identities of the claimants Thursday but said all are in Kuwait.

UNIFIL Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas has said investigators trying to determine who was responsible for a roadside bomb that injured six French peacekeepers have "a lot of evidence" that will hopefully lead to the perpetrators.

Speaking in New York, Asarta wouldn't speculate on who set off Tuesday's bomb near the southern port city of Sidon as a four-vehicle U.N. convoy was passing by.

Britain's foreign minister for the Middle East and Africa has expressed concern over the roadside bombing that targeted a UNIFIL convoy near the southern port city of Sidon on Tuesday.

"I am deeply concerned by reports of another attack against a UNIFIL patrol in South Lebanon. My sympathy is with the injured and their families,” said Alistair Burt in a statement.