International

Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:02:09 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 0900 HKT -- 01 January, 2009

DOZENS KILLED IN BANGKOK NIGHTCLUB FIRE
At least 59 people were killed in a fire that broke out in a
nightclub in Bangkok during New Year's Eve celebrations, Thai
police said. The fire, at a club called Zantika, started at
about 12:35 a.m. (1735 GMT), police told CNN. Most of the
fatality victims were Thai, but foreigners have been identified
from Australia, the Netherlands, Nepal and Japan, police said.

OLMERT: NO PEACE IN GAZA TILL HAMAS ROCKETS STOP
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed Wednesday that Israel's air
assault on Gaza would not end until Hamas militants quit firing
rockets into Israeli territory. Despite a French proposal for a
humanitarian truce, Israel earlier Wednesday decided to continue
the operation.

EARS FOR IRANIAN NOBEL WINNER AFTER RAIDS
Iranian raids on the office of dissident attorney Shirin Ebadi
may have put her and her clients in "grave danger," Ebadi's
fellow Nobel laureates say.

AVALANCHE SURVIVOR: 'WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD'
Wiping tears from his cheeks, a man who survived avalanches that
killed eight snowmobilers in western Canada said Wednesday that
he and two others tried to save their friends but eventually
left the mountain because of the threat of more slides.

TWO ISRAELIS WOUNDED IN DANISH MALL SHOOTING
Two Israeli citizens were shot and suffered minor injuries
Wednesday at a shopping mall in the Danish town of Odense, a
police spokesman has said.

U.S. ARMY PROBES DEATH OF AL QAEDA SUSPECT
The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that Special Forces
troops killed an al Qaeda suspect in cold blood and cut off his
finger during an overnight operation near Baghdad earlier this
month.

BRITISH, AUSTRALIAN TROOPS TO STAY IN IRAQ
Iraq has signed troop withdrawal agreements that will have
British and Australian troops out of the country by the end of
July, Iraqi Defense Ministry said.

FIFTY YEARS ON, CUBA'S REVOLUTION SHOWS ITS AGE
Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution,
when Fidel Castro and a group of guerrillas toppled a
longstanding U.S.-backed dictator.
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BUSINESS

MARKETS MOSTLY HIGHER AT DISMAL YEAR'S END
Global markets were solidly in positive territory during limited
trading for the final session of 2008 -- a year that brought
several high-profile investment banks to their knees and shook
the financial world to near-ruin

SLOVAKIA READY FOR EURO SWITCH
Slovakia becomes the first of the larger ex-communist EU members
to join the European single currency on Thursday, hoping that
the move will provide stability amid the global economic storm.

OIL SLIDES NEARLY 60% DURING 2008
Crude continues its downward spiral as weak economic data and
Middle East tensions add to pessimism about oil demand. Crude
oil hit an all-time high of more than $147 in July but prices
have collapsed in the last six months as the credit crisis has
pushed the industrialized world into recession.