205 die as Israeli jets pound Gaza
Gaza, December 27 Israel’s air force fired about 30 missiles at targets in the Gaza Strip today, destroying several Hamas police compounds, killing at least 205 persons and injuring over 700, medical officials and witnesses said. The Israeli military confirmed it had conducted strikes, saying they targeted “terrorist infrastructure” and pledging to continue and expand attacks if necessary. Hamas vowed to avenge what it called “the Israeli slaughter”.
The leg of a Hamas policeman is seen in the rubble in Gaza on Saturday. — Reuters

Mounting pressure
PM speaks to Iranian President
New Delhi, December 27
Keeping up the pressure on Islamabad, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to persuade Pakistan to cooperate with India in bringing to book all those who masterminded the Mumbai attacks.

Mumbai Offensive
Stop whipping up war frenzy, Pranab to Pak
Kolkata, December 27
In a blunt message to Pakistan, the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said Islamabad should stop creating a war hysteria to divert attention from the all-important issue of terrorism. “They should now seriously think about curbing terror and refrain from harping on war,” said Pranab during a function organised by the Parsee Association at Behrampore in Murshidabad district.

Defuse tension, US urges India, Pak
Washington, December 27
The US has urged India and Pakistan to avoid escalating tensions amid reports that Islamabad was moving thousands of troops towards the Indian border. “We sincerely hope that both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times,” the spokesman of White House Gordon Johndroe said.

PM tells politicians Dump narrow agendas, develop vision
New Delhi, December 27 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called upon the current crop of political leaders to transcend narrow loyalties of language, caste and religion even as he expressed concern over these leaders asserting their sectional and sectarian identities. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delivers the 29th Bhimsen Sachar Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on Saturday. A Tribune photograph

Panel for Maoists’ integration
Deadlock ends as Prachanda agrees to demands
Kathmandu, December 27
Nepal Premier Prachanda has agreed to reconstitute a key panel linked to the integration of the former Maoist guerrillas with the national army, a move that could put the derailed peace process back on track.

4 killed as train smashes into car
Jalandhar, December 27
In a major accident, four persons were killed when the car (PB 08 V 8414) in which they were travelling was hit by a train at an unmanned crossing at Upplan village, near Nurmahal, late last night. This unmanned crossing has been the cause of several deadly accidents in the past five years, but the government and the Railways have yet to take steps to stop such incidents.

Tribune Special Foreign ‘soota’ may be fuelling terror New Delhi, December 27 Beware: your foreign cigarette puff may be lighting up terrorism, proving it to be injurious to the country’s health too. Yes, the profits from genuine as well as cheap fake smuggled cigarettes of popular foreign brands are now under suspicion of funding terrorism in India. Such cigarettes are coming into this country from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Korea and China.