International

Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:01:04 -050
0TOP STORIES as of 0900 HKT -- 11 January, 2009

GAZA SOURCES: ISRAELI SHELLING KILLS GIRL, BURNS 49
Israeli shelling ignited several buildings, including a U.N.
school, in southern Gaza on Saturday, killing a girl and
severely burning 49 other people, local hospital sources said.
Meanwhile, Hamas militants fired 20 Grad long-range rockets into
Israel on Saturday, injuring four civilians, according to an
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman.

BUSH TAKES FINAL FLIGHT TO SEE DAD HONORED
An aircraft carrier named after the first President Bush was
commissioned Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia.

BUS TUMBLES INTO RAVINE IN PERU, KILLS 32
Thirty-two people were killed and 25 others injured when a bus
skidded off a rain-slicked mountain road and tumbled into a
ravine in northern Peru early Saturday : a transit police
spokesman

REPORT: EU, RUSSIA EDGE TOWARDS GAS DEAL
The European Union president held meetings in the Russian
capital Saturday to try to resolve a natural gas dispute between
Russia and Ukraine.

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.

LLOYDS TSB FINED OVER U.S. SANCTIONS BREACH
British bank Lloyds TSB has agreed to pay a $350 million penalty
to the U.S. authorities for illegal financial transfers that
violated sanctions, British media reports have said.

SUNNI-SHIA CLASHES IN PAKISTAN LEAVE 17 DEAD
Seventeen people have been killed and 30 wounded in clashes
between Sunni and Shia groups in villages in the Hangu District
in northwest Pakistan, police said Saturday.

ZIMBABWE INTRODUCES $50 BILLION NOTE
Zimbabwe's central bank will introduce a $50 billion note --
enough to buy just two loaves of bread -- as a way of fighting
cash shortages amid spiraling inflation.

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BUSINESS

INDIAN OIL WORKERS END CRIPPLING STRIKE
Facing intense government pressure, Indian oil workers agreed to
call off a three-day strike and go back to work, the Oil and
Petroleum Ministry announced.

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.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE REACH MONITORING DEAL
Russian energy giant Gazprom stated Thursday it was ready to
resume pumping gas to European markets through Ukraine as soon
as independent monitors are in place following EU-hosted talks
in Brussels.