International

Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:02:03 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 10 January, 2009

ISRAEL: OVERNIGHT STRIKES TARGET HAMAS
The Israeli military says it carried out air attacks on 40
targets in Gaza and killed 15 Hamas fighters in battles
overnight and Saturday morning. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
Israel was disregarding a U.N. vote in favor of a cease-fire
because the resolution will not be heeded by "murderous"
Palestinian groups.

SOMALI PIRATES FREE TANKER AFTER RANSOM
Pirates holding a Saudi-owned oil supertanker off the coast of
Somalia have set the vessel free after receiving a ransom
payment, a piracy monitor in neighboring Kenya said Saturday.

5 WOUNDED IN CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOL DRIVE-BY
Five people were shot Friday outside a Chicago high school,
police said.

INDIAN FORCES GUN DOWN SUSPECTED INSURGENTS
Indian forces gunned down two suspected insurgents Saturday in
Assam, killing one of them, a day after a bomb explosion in the
remote northeastern state, the federal home ministry said.

U.S. VP-ELECT BIDEN ARRIVES IN AFGHANISTAN
Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham arrived
in Kabul on Saturday for meetings with U.S. military commanders
and Afghan leaders, a U.S. military spokesman said.

'SUICIDE BOMBER' CAUGHT AFTER LAHORE BLASTS
Three explosions rocked Pakistan's second largest city Friday,
according to Lahore police.

OBAMA TRAIN TRIP POSES SECURITY ISSUES
President-elect Barack Obama's January 17 train trip from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington is intended to make
the inauguration the most open and accessible in history.

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BUSINESS

EU: RUSSIA GAS SUPPLY SHOULD RESTART
Gas should start flowing again through the Ukraine from Russia
immediately after a deal was reached for EU monitors to
supervise the system, the EU says. The standoff has affected
millions of people across Europe, who have been forced to cut
down on gas heating or live without it amid freezing
temperatures.

INDIA RUNNING DRY AS OIL STRIKE BITES
Fuel pumps across India ran dry Friday as a strike by workers at
state-run oil companies entered a third day.

OBAMA CALLS FOR 'DRAMATIC ACTION'
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said Congress must take
"dramatic action" on his economic aid package as soon as
possible, warning that a failure to do so would have devastating
long-term consequences for the nation.