Israel says prefers diplomacy but ready to invade Gaza

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel bombed dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire. Mediator Egypt said a deal for a truce to end the fighting could be close. The leader of Hamas said it was up to Israel to end the new conflict...

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Motor Racing: Red Bull worried by alternator failures

AUSTIN, Texas: Red Bull team chief Christian Horner admits their latest alternator failure, suffered by Australian Mark Webber, in Sunday's United States Grand Prix is a worry ahead of the drivers' title showdown in Brazil next weekend.Webber's alternator failure was the team's third this season and came in the race in which they celebrated clinching a third consecutive constructors' championship.Webber...

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Katju condemns arrest, fires emails to Maharashtra CM

NEW DELHI: Former Supreme Court judge and Press Council chairman Justice Markandey Katju fired two emails of protest within hours of each other on Monday to the Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan strongly condemning the arrest of two girls from Palghar town, located 87km north of Mumbai, for criticizing on Facebook the state "bandh" following Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death....

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Israeli Airstrike Kills Top Islamic Jihad Commander

An Israeli strike on a Gaza City high-rise today has killed one of the top militant leaders of Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group said.The second strike in two days on the downtown Gaza City building that houses the Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, has killed Ramez Harb, who is a leading figure in Al Quds Brigades militant wing, according to a text message Islamic Jihad...

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Israeli air strike kills 11 civilians in Gaza: Hamas

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - At least 11 Palestinian civilians, including four children, were killed on Sunday in what Hamas said was an Israeli air strike on a Gaza apartment building, the highest death toll in a single incident in five days of fighting. Israel gave off signs of a possible ground invasion of the Hamas-run enclave as the next stage in its air and sea offensive billed as...

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Iron Dome intercepts two rockets over Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV: Israel's vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile system on Sunday shot down two rockets over Tel Aviv as sirens wailed across the city, in the fourth such interception in one day, police said."Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, and the Iron Dome shot down two rockets," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld."There were no reports of injuries or damage on ground level in Tel Aviv or (the surrounding...

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EU drug regulator OKs Novartis' meningitis B shot

LONDON (AP) — Europe's top drug regulator has recommended approval for the first vaccine against meningitis B, made by Novartis AG.There are five types of bacterial meningitis. While vaccines exist to protect against the other four, none has previously been licensed for type B meningitis. In Europe, type B is the most common, causing 3,000 to 5,000 cases every year.Meningitis mainly affects infants...

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Israel hits Hamas government buildings, reservists mobilized

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza on Saturday, including the prime minister's office, after Israel's cabinet authorized the mobilization of up to 75,000 reservists in preparation for a possible ground invasion. Palestinian militants in Gaza kept up cross-border salvoes, firing a rocket at Israel's biggest city Tel Aviv for the third...

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British electricals retailer Comet to shut 41 stores

LONDON: British electrical goods chain Comet, which went into administration at the start of November, said on Saturday it would close 41 stores by the end of the month if a buyer could not be found."A closing down sale with increased discounts has, therefore, begun in 27 stores Saturday and will begin in a further 14 stores early next week," administrators Deloitte said in a statement."While...

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Bal Thackeray dies, life comes to a halt in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Life virtually came to a halt in several parts of Maharashtra following the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray today. Shopkeepers and hoteliers downed shutters immediately after the news of his death. There were some stray incidents of stone pelting in some areas in Mumbai and Thane. Taxis and autos were off the roads while local trains and BEST buses were plying in Mumbai though...

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