(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.

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.

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.”

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

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.

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.

– 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.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Viacom and Time Warner Cable reached an agreement in principle on Thursday that avoided a blackout that would have prevented more than 13 million U.S. subscribers from seeing popular TV shows like “Dora the Explorer” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” The two sides said in a statement they expected to finalize details of the agreement over the next several days. Viacom wanted Time Warner Cable to pay an extra $35 million to $40 million a year for carrying its cable channels, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

CNN) – Bill and Hillary Clinton will celebrate the end of the year in the heart of a city just as happy as they are to see the tail end of 2008, joining New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to watch the crystal ball drop in Times Square tonight.

(CNN) — 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.
Jeffrey Adams says he freed himself and helped free two others before making a “gut-wrenching” decision to leave.

Jeffrey Adams says he freed himself and helped free two others before making a “gut-wrenching” decision to leave.

Jeffrey Adams, flanked by his fiancée, said he and the two other survivors “did everything we could to try to save” the eight Sunday.

“They died doing what they loved. … I’m truly sorry to the families that we couldn’t find them,” Adams said.