International

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 05:02:08 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 08 January, 2009

ISRAEL MILITARY STEPS UP GAZA AIRSTRIKES
The Israeli air force intensifies its operations across Gaza,
launching strikes against approximately 60 targets in the
Palestinian territory. The attacks came as four rockets fired
from from Lebanon strike northern Israel, wounding two people.

ROCKETS FROM LEBANON STRIKE ISRAEL
Four rockets fired from from Lebanon strike northern Israel,
wounding two people, Israeli police and emergency medical
services say. A statement from the Lebanese Army says the
rockets were launched by "an unknown group" and that the Israeli
retaliatory fire inflicted no casualties.

RED CROSS DEMANDS ACCESS TO GAZA
The International Committee of the Red Cross calls on Israel to
allow it immediate access to Gaza, saying a trip into Gaza City
revealed weak children laying with their dead mothers and other
"shocking" scenes.

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE GAS OFFICIALS HOLD TALKS
The heads of Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukraine's
state-run gas company Naftogaz held brief talks overnight in
Moscow to discuss the impasse on natural gas deliveries, a
Gazprom spokeswoman said Thursday.

REPORT: NORTH KOREA TO HOLD ELECTION IN MARCH
North Korea will hold its delayed parliamentary elections in
March, a sign that leader Kim Jong-il's health is improving,
according to South Korean state-run media.

WOMAN SUSPECTED OF WITCHCRAFT BURNED ALIVE
A woman in rural Papua New Guinea was bound and gagged, tied to
a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week, possibly
because villagers suspected her of being a witch, police said
Thursday.

ALLEGED POLYGAMISTS ARRESTED IN CANADA
Two leaders of a Canadian polygamist sect are arrested and
charged with polygamy in what could be a landmark case.

JETBLUE, SCREENERS SETTLE ARABIC T-SHIRT LAWSUIT
JetBlue Airways and two TSA screeners will pay $240,000 to
settle an Iraqi man's claim he was denied access to a flight
until he covered a T-shirt that read in English and Arabic, "We
Will Not be Silent."

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BUSINESS

AUTOMAKERS FACE GRIM JOB REPORTS
A rebound in sales will be difficult, if not impossible, to come
by for General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler LLC as long as
the unemployment rate keeps rising.

LENOVO TO CUT 2,500 JOBS, RESTRUCTURE
Personal computer maker Lenovo, expecting to report a loss for
the third fiscal quarter ending December 31, announced it would
cut 2,500 jobs as part of a restructuring expected to save $300
million.

CONTINENTAL, BOEING TEST BIOFUELED JET
A Continental Airlines jetliner flew with one engine powered by
a mix of oils from algae and jatropha plants Wednesday in what
the plane's manufacturer called an "outstanding" test flight.