International

Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2008 20:02:20 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 0900 HKT -- 29 December, 2008

ISRAEL CONTINUES ATTACKS AS DEATH TOLL NEARS 300
Israeli jets have pounded more Hamas facilities in Gaza Monday
as Hamas retaliated with more rockets and the U.N. Security
Council called for an immediate halt to hostilities.

PRO-INDIA PARTIES WIN MAJORITY IN KASHMIR POLLS
Pro-India parties have won enough seats in the state assembly to
form a ruling alliance in Indian-administered Kashmir, according
to tallies announced Sunday.

IRAQ LETS BRITISH, OTHER FOREIGN TROOPS STAY
The Iraqi Presidency Council approved a resolution Sunday that
will allow non-U.S. foreign troops to remain in Iraq after a
U.N. mandate expires at year's end.

MDC: MUGABE ISSUES PASSPORT TO RIVAL
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government has issued a new
passport to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, according to a
senior official with Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change
party.

AFGHAN CAR BOMB KILLS 14 CHILDREN
A suicide car bomb blast near a voter registration site killed
16 people, 14 of them children, and wounded 58 in southeastern
Afghanistan Sunday morning, according to a senior police
official and the U.S. military.

24 HITCHHIKERS KILLED IN TRUCK CRASH
At least 24 day laborers who had hitched a ride on a truck
loaded with iron rods were killed Sunday when the vehicle
flipped over into a ditch, impaling some and crushing others
under the weight of its load, police in northern Bangladesh
said.

BOMB KILLS 37 AT PAKISTAN POLLING STATION
A suicide car bomb apparently targeting voters killed at least
37 people and wounded 16 others in the Bunair district of
Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Sunday, a police
official said.

RICE: PEOPLE WILL THANK BUSH FOR ACHIEVEMENTS
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that despite President
Bush's low approval ratings, people will soon "start to thank
this president for what he's done."

BUSINESS

JAPAN'S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT SEES RECORD FALL
Japan's industrial output took the largest drop in history in
November over October, tumbling 8.1 percent -- nearly double the
previous high of 4.3 percent in January 2001, according to a
report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

CHINA DAIRIES TO COMPENSATE VICTIMS
Victims of tainted baby formula, which caused hundreds of
thousands of infants to become sick, six of whom died, are
expected to be compensated by 22 Chinese dairy producers that
made the milk.

AMERICANS KEEP TIGHTER GRIP ON CASH
In a troubling sign that U.S. consumers are retrenching this
holiday season, consumer spending and orders for durable goods
fell further in November, according to government reports.