International

Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:02:08 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 30 December, 2008

ISRAEL POUNDS HAMAS BUILDINGS IN 'ALL-OUT WAR'
Israel bombs a Hamas government compound, leveling at least
three structures, including the foreign ministry building,
eyewitnesses and Hamas security sources tell CNN. Airstrikes
have killed more than 375 Palestinians, most of them Hamas
militants, Palestinian medical sources say.

AWAMI LEAGUE WINS BANGLADESH ELECTION
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League won a
landslide victory in Bangladesh's first national elections in
seven years, claiming nearly 230 of the 300 seats in parliament,
the country's electoral commission reported.

THAI PM GIVES KEY SPEECH AMID PROTESTS
Thousands of red-shirted supporters of Thailand's former prime
minister gathered outside the Parliament for a third day on
Tuesday, vowing to prevent the country's new leader from
delivering his first policy speech.

TOKYO'S NIKKEI ENDS YEAR 42.1% DOWN
Major Asia and Pacific markets traded higher Tuesday in the
waning days of a dismal year.

TAIWAN'S EX-PRESIDENT RETURNED TO JAIL
A Taiwan court early Tuesday ordered ex-President Chen
Shui-bian, who is facing corruption charges, back to jail after
deeming him a flight risk.

POLICE: SANTA SHOOTER'S MOM ON HIT LIST
The man who police say dressed as Santa Claus and killed nine
people at a Christmas Eve party may have also had plans to kill
his mother and his former wife's divorce attorney, police said
Monday night.

BODIES OF 7 SNOWMOBILERS FOUND IN CANADA
Eight snowmobilers remain unaccounted for after two avalanches
in British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Three others survived the incident, which occurred south of the
town of Fernie. The 11 had been in Harvey Pass, a popular
backcountry snowmobile destination.

GERRARD CHARGED OVER ALLEGED ASSAULT
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was charged on Tuesday with
assault following an incident at a local nightclub, Merseyside
Police said.
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BUSINESS

LOANS TO U.S. AUTOMAKERS DELAYED
Emergency loans for two of the nation's top automakers didn't
materialize Monday, but the Treasury Department said it would
finalize the loans in time to meet the needs of the struggling
companies.

KUWAIT SCRAPS $17B CHEMICAL DEAL
Kuwait decides to cancel a deal to form a $17.4 billion
petrochemical joint venture with U.S. company Dow Chemical. The
move may put Dow's plan to use the money to repay a large part
of its $13 billion debt in peril.

MICROSOFT WEIGHS PAY-AS-YOU-GO COMPUTING
Microsoft has applied for a patent on metered, pay-as-you-go
computing. The application details Microsoft's vision of a
situation where a standard PC is given away or heavily
subsidized. The consumer then pays to use the computer, with
charges based on length of usage time and performance levels.