Gaza hit by new Israeli strikes

Three Palestinians have been killed and dozens more injured by new Israel tank fire and air strikes on the Gaza Strip, medical sources say.
Reports of the deaths came hours after Israel dropped leaflets warning Gazans to stay away from areas used by Hamas, saying its operation would escalate.
In Syria, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said the conflict in Gaza had killed any chance of a settlement with Israel.



Some 820 Gazans and 13 Israelis have reportedly died in 14 days of fighting.

Of the three reported deaths on Sunday, one woman was killed by Israeli artillery fire in the southern Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

Two militants were also killed by an air strike while in a car on a coastal road, medical workers said.

In the latest attacks, dozens of Palestinians were reportedly injured in southern Gaza, near the village of Khouza to the east of Khan Younis.

Palestinian medics in the area said many of those injured were suffering from burns and gas inhalations - symptoms they said indicate exposure to white phosphorous.

The reports could not be independently confirmed. Although white phosphorous is legal in munitions, its use against civilians is banned under international law.

New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using white phosphorous in its current Gaza operations.

Israel's military categorically denied the reports from Khouza, saying all weapons used by Israel used complied with the law.

Although Gaza is one of the most densely-populated territories in the world, there are areas of open ground on the fringes of the built-up districts.

Regulators face Madoff grilling

The top US financial regulatory body has ordered an in-house investigation into why it did not detect the $50bn (£33bn) Madoff fraud case sooner.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head, Christopher Cox, launched an inquiry into what he called a serious agency breakdown.



It has been revealed the SEC received specific warnings about Wall St figure Bernard Madoff almost ten years ago.

Mr Madoff has been charged with fraud in one of the biggest-ever such cases.

Investors, banks and charities across the world fear they may have lost billions of dollars since Mr Madoff's arrest.

It is thought that Bernard Madoff was running what was essentially the world's largest pyramid scheme, the BBC's Andy Gallacher reports.

Now serious questions are being asked about the SEC's role in not preventing it in the first place, our Washington correspondent says.

India 'entered Pakistan airspace'

Pakistan has said two Indian warplanes violated its airspace on Saturday, but that there was no cause for alarm as the incursions had been "inadvertent".

They flew up to 7.4km into the Lahore and Azad Kashmir sectors, it said.

Information Minister Sherry Rehman said Pakistan's air force remained "on alert and ready to face any eventuality, but we do not expect this to escalate".

The Times of India quoted "highly placed sources" in India's air force as denying any such incident had occurred.

Last week, India's foreign minister denied making a "threatening" phone call that prompted Pakistan to put its forces on alert following the co-ordinated attacks by militants in Mumbai which left more than 170 people dead.

Pranab Mukherjee said the call was a hoax which Pakistan was using to divert attention from the fact its nationals had been involved in the attacks.


The director of public relations for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said the Indian aircraft had violated Pakistani airspace on two separate occasions on Saturday.

"Both the Indian aircraft entered into Pakistan's airspace between two to four nautical miles at two different sectors," Air Commodore Humyun Viqar told Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.

He said Pakistani jets had responded, forcing the Indian aircraft to turn back.

Pakistan's information minister confirmed the incursion and said officials had "spoken to the Indian air force and they have said it was inadvertent".

"Our air force is on alert and ready to face any eventuality, but we do not expect this to escalate," Ms Rehman said. "There is no need for alarm."

Jamaica votes for death penalty

Jamaica's parliament has voted to keep the death penalty, as the Caribbean nation struggles to contain one of the world's highest murder rates.

MPs were allowed a free vote, rather than having to vote along party lines.
Jamaica has had a moratorium on the death penalty since 1988 but the governing Jamaica Labour Party, elected last year, has pushed for its return.



Jamaica currently has nine men on death row. There have been 1,200 murders on the island so far this year.

The vote followed weeks of passionate debate. Thirty-four members of parliament voted in favour of capital punishment, 15 voted against. There were 10 abstentions.

Those opposed wanted improvements to Jamaica's heavily criticised police and justice system, while those in favour pointed to the ever-upward rise in violent crime.

The Jamaica Labour Party was elected with a call to resume hanging immediately.

Concerns had been raised about the risk of sanctions - primarily from the EU - but Prime Minister Bruce Golding said that if due legal process was observed, then the law should take its course.

US Vatican abuse case to go ahead

A US federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit against the Vatican over claims it covered up decades of child sex abuse by priests can go ahead.

The case was filed by three men from Kentucky who say they were abused by clergy in their childhood.



It centres on a 1962 directive from the Vatican - made public in 2003 - which told church officials not to disclose sex abuse complaints against priests.

The US Roman Catholic Church has been plagued by a string of abuse scandals.

On a visit to the US earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI criticised US bishops for their handling of the child sex abuse crisis, saying their response had sometimes been very poor.

In ruling the Kentucky lawsuit could go ahead, the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision by a district judge.

Although the Vatican is largely protected from lawsuits, the court ruled that clergymen could be taken to court as part of their role as Roman Catholic Church employees.

Obama pledges 'jolt' to economy

US President-elect Barack Obama has promised the rapid implementation of a multi-billion-dollar package to deliver a "jolt" to the ailing economy.

Mr Obama said he intended to create and save 2.5 million US jobs by investing in the national infrastructure.



But he stressed that the scale of the problem required action by the US in tandem with other governments.

Mr Obama also named his top economic advisers, confirming Timothy Geithner as the next treasury secretary.

Mr Obama said that having served in senior roles at Treasury, the IMF and the New York Federal Reserve, Mr Geithner would offer "an unparalleled understanding of our current economic crisis, in all of its depth, complexity and urgency".

Brazil flooding kills at least 20

At least 20 people are reported to have died and thousands have been forced from their homes following floods in Brazil's Santa Catarina state.

A state of emergency has been declared in the area and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has offered federal help to deal with the disaster.

Heavy rainfall over the last two months has led to landslides which have destroyed homes and blocked roads.

Four towns in the southern state are reported to be cut off by the flooding.


Weather forecasters say more rain is expected for the region.

By Sunday night more than 15,000 people had been forced out of their homes. Some are able to stay with relatives and friends, while others have gone to public shelters.

In total more than a million people are said to have been affected by the flooding.

Many of the deaths have been caused by landslides which have destroyed homes and blocked roads.

As well as the help from the federal government, neighbouring states are sending equipment and rescue workers to Santa Catarina.

Heavy rain and flooding in Brazil have been known to lead to high death tolls in the past partly because homes are often constructed in dangerous locations that are vulnerable to landslides.

State governments have been criticised for not doing enough to stop people building in areas of high risk.