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Full Story At CNN.com

(CNN) — Australia declined a request from the Bush
administration to resettle detainees held by the United States at
Guantanamo Bay, the Australian Associated Press agency (AAP) reported
Saturday.

Australia’s acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said each detainee was considered on a “case-by-case basis” and decided that none met her country’s “stringent national security and immigration criteria,” AAP reported.

Australia turned down a similar request from the Bush administration in early 2008 to resettle a small group of detainees. Washington approached Canberra again in early December.

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Full Story At CNN.com

GAZA CITY (CNN) — Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel on Monday despite a 10-day Israeli military campaign that reportedly has left more than 500 Palestinians dead.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar says rocket attacks on Israel will continue.
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Neither Israel nor the Hamas leaders in Gaza showed any sign of considering a cease-fire in the face of continuing international pressure to do so.

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Full Story At Yahoo! News

UNITED NATIONS – The United States has blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, diplomats said.

French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, the council president, said the 15 council members could not agree on a statement in closed discussions held after Israel launched a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip on Saturday. But he said there were “strong convergences” among the members to express concern about the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the need for “an immediate, permanent and fully respected cease-fire.”

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Full Story At Yahoo! News

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, bisecting the coastal territory and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas gained momentum.

Thousands of soldiers in three brigade-size formations pushed into Gaza after nightfall Saturday, beginning a long-awaited ground offensive after a week of intense aerial bombardment. Black smoke billowed over Gaza City at first light and bursts of machine gun fire rang out

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Full Story At  msnbc.com

For seriously predicting that the United States will break into six parts in June or July of 2010, Igor Panarin has suddenly become a Russian state-media celebrity. Hardly a day goes by without another interview or two for the KGB-trained, Kremlin-backed senior analyst. The clamor in Russia for his ideas is growing, he says.

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Full Story At  Reuters

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country’s 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.

The governors of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin — all Democrats — said the initiative for the two-year aid package was backed by other governors and follows a meeting in December where governors called on President-elect Barack Obama to help them maintain services in the face of slumping revenues.

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Full Story At Yahoo! News

– Israel rejects calls for ceasefire

* Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza Slideshow: Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza
* Gaza’s dire situation Play Video Video: Gaza’s dire situation Reuters
* Livni: Israel has ‘no alternative’ Play Video Video: Livni: Israel has ‘no alternative’ BBC

Palestinian firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli air strike on the home AP – Palestinian firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli air strike on the home of senior Hamas leader …

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel assassinated a Hamas strongman Thursday in its first assault on the top leadership of Gaza’s rulers, escalating a crushing aerial offensive even as it declared it was ready to launch a ground invasion.

The airstrike targeted the eight-story apartment building that was home to Nizar Rayan, 52, ranked among Hamas’ top five decision-makers in Gaza. The attack killed 12 other people including two of Rayan’s four wives and four of his 12 children, Palestinian health officials said. The Muslim faith allows men to have up to four wives.

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Full Story At  Los Angeles Times

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol Palin and her boyfriend Levi Johnston are proud new parents of a baby boy, according to People.

His name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, says Colleen Jones, Bristol’s grandmother’s sister.

“We think it’s wonderful,” said Jones, the sister of Bristol’s grandmother Sally Heath. “The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited.”

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