Gaza ceasefire holds but mistrust runs deep

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm on Thursday with scenes of joy among the ruins in Gaza over what Palestinians hailed as a victory, and both sides saying their fingers were still on the trigger.

In the sudden calm, Palestinians who had been under Israeli bombs for eight days poured into Gaza streets for a celebratory rally, walking past wrecked houses and government buildings.

But as a precaution, schools stayed closed in southern Israel, where nerves were jangled by warning sirens - a false alarm, the army said - after a constant rain of rockets during the most serious Israeli-Palestinian fighting in four years.

Israel had launched its strikes last week with a declared aim of ending rocket attacks on its territory from Gaza, ruled by the Islamist militant group Hamas, which denies Israel's right to exist. Hamas had responded with more rockets.

The truce brokered by Egypt's new Islamist leaders, working with the United States, headed off an Israeli invasion of Gaza.

It was the fruit of intensive diplomacy spurred by U.S. President Barack Obama, who sent his secretary of state to Cairo and backed her up with phone calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi.

Mursi's role in cajoling his Islamist soulmates in Gaza into the U.S.-backed deal with Israel suggested that Washington can find ways to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood leader whom Egyptians elected after toppling former U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak, a bulwark of American policy in the Middle East for 30 years.

Mursi, preoccupied with Egypt's economic crisis, cannot afford to tamper with a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, despite its unpopularity with Egyptians, and needs U.S. financial aid.

MORE DEATHS

Despite the quiet on the battlefield, the death toll from the Gaza conflict crept up on both sides.

The body of Mohammed al-Dalu, 25, was recovered from the rubble of a house where nine of his relatives - four children and five women - were killed by an Israeli bomb this week.

That raised to 163 the number of Palestinians killed, more than half of them civilians, including 37 children, during the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza medical officials.

Nearly 1,400 rockets struck Israel, killing four civilians and two soldiers, including an officer who died on Thursday of wounds sustained the day before, the Israeli army said.

Israel dropped 1,000 times as much explosive on the Gaza Strip as landed on its soil, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

Municipal workers in Gaza began cleaning streets and removing the rubble of bombed buildings. Stores opened and people flocked to markets to buy food.

Jubilant crowds celebrated, with most people waving green Hamas flags but some carrying the yellow emblems of the rival Fatah group, led by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.

That marked a rare show of unity five years after Hamas, which won a Palestinian poll in 2006, forcibly wrested Gaza from Fatah, still dominant in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel began ferrying tanks northwards, away from the border, on transporters. It plans to discharge gradually tens of thousands of reservists called up for a possible Gaza invasion.

But trust between Israel and Hamas remains in short supply and both said they might well have to fight again.

"The battle with the enemy has not ended yet," Abu Ubaida, spokesman of Hamas's armed wing Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, said at an event to mourn its acting military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari, whose killing by Israel on November 14 set off this round.

"HANDS ON TRIGGER"

The exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said in Cairo his Islamist movement would respect the truce, but warned that if Israel violated it "our hands are on the trigger".

Netanyahu said he had agreed to "exhaust this opportunity for an extended truce", but told Israelis a tougher approach might be required in the future.

Facing a national election in two months, he swiftly came under fire from opposition politicians who had rallied to his side during the fighting but now contend he emerged from the conflict with no real gains for Israel.

"You don't settle with terrorism, you defeat it. And unfortunately, a decisive victory has not been achieved and we did not recharge our deterrence," Shaul Mofaz, leader of the main opposition Kadima party, wrote on his Facebook page.

In a speech, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's prime minister in Gaza, urged all Palestinian factions to respect the ceasefire and said his government and security services would monitor compliance.

According to a text of the agreement seen by Reuters, both sides should halt all hostilities, with Israel desisting from incursions and targeting of individuals, while all Palestinian factions should cease rocket fire and cross-border attacks.

The deal also provides for easing Israeli curbs on Gaza's residents, but the two sides disagreed on what this meant.

Israeli sources said Israel would not lift a blockade of the enclave it enforced after Hamas won a Palestinian election in 2006, but Meshaal said the deal covered the opening of all of the territory's border crossings with Israel and Egypt.

Israel let dozens of trucks carry supplies into the Palestinian enclave during the fighting. Residents there have long complained that Israeli restrictions blight their economy.

Barak said Hamas, which declared November 22 a national holiday to mark its "victory", had suffered heavy military blows.

"A large part of the mid-range rockets were destroyed. Hamas managed to hit Israel's built-up areas with around a metric tone of explosives, and Gaza targets got around 1,000 metric tonnes," he said.

He dismissed a ceasefire text published by Hamas, saying: "The right to self-defense trumps any piece of paper."

He appeared to confirm, however, a Hamas claim that the Israelis would no longer enforce a no-go zone on the Gaza side of the frontier that the army says has prevented Hamas raids.

(Additional reporting by Noah Browning in Gaza, Ori Lewis, Crispian Balmer and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Alistair Lyon; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Football: Real Madrid send Man City to another early exit

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho marked his 100th Champions League game with a 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Wednesday that sent his side into the last 16 at City's expense.

City had to win to stand any chance of going through, so although Sergio Aguero's 73rd-minute penalty cancelled out Karim Benzema's early opener, the hosts went out in the group phase for a second successive season.

Madrid had Alvaro Arbeloa sent off, but with eight points -- three less than Group D leaders Borussia Dortmund -- they cannot be caught by either Ajax or City, who had not lost in their 19 previous European home games.

The English champions trail Ajax by a point and therefore must win at Dortmund in their final group fixture and hope the Dutch side lose in Madrid if they are to secure the consolation prize of a Europa League berth.

Mourinho, the youngest coach to reach the 100-match milestone, is now a step closer to delivering an elusive 10th European Cup to the Spanish champions, who have already fallen eight points off the pace in La Liga.

City coach Roberto Mancini elected to deploy a three-man defence at the Etihad Stadium, but the home side's defenders did not seem comfortable with the system and Madrid were quick to profit.

In the 10th minute, Angel di Maria was given space to cross from the right and his centre found the unmarked Benzema, who cantered in behind Maicon to beat Joe Hart on the volley from close range.

With Maicon and Pablo Zabaleta on the pitch, the right side of City's defence should have been secure, but Cristiano Ronaldo found plenty of room there.

Roundly booed on his first appearance in the city since leaving Manchester United in 2009, Ronaldo twice reached the byline on Madrid's left, only for Sami Khedira to put both of his crosses wide.

Ronaldo was bearing down on goal again moments later, but Matija Nastasic got back to clear his goal-bound lob off the line and Hart parried his follow-up.

Khedira darted through on goal after 24 minutes, only to miscue an attempted chip, which allowed Hart to save.

City changed their shape, with Zabaleta switching to left-back in a conventional back four, but they were unable to make inroads into the Madrid area.

Their best effort saw Iker Casillas forced to tip over a 25-yard effort from Aguero, who also teed up Maicon for a shot that dribbled wide.

The hosts improved early in the second period, with Aguero heading over from Maicon's cross and David Silva shooting at Casillas after Arbeloa's clearance came straight to him.

Carlos Tevez was introduced on the hour but still fortune eluded City, with Aguero's close-range volley miraculously kept out by Casillas in the 64th minute.

The game turned eight minutes later, after Arbeloa was shown a second yellow card for a push on Aguero inside the Madrid area.

Just as he had done in Saturday's 5-0 win over Aston Villa, Aguero converted the spot-kick, and City's last-16 ambitions appeared revived.

Tevez fired in a low shot that Casillas comfortably held, but despite five minutes of added time that prompted an incredulous reaction from Mourinho, there was to be no late drama.

- AFP/fa

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SC's 'one in a million tag' helped swift rejection of Kasab's clemency plea

NEW DELHI: The government did not waste much time in recommending to the President that Ajmal Kasab's clemency plea be rejected as the Supreme Court had said three months ago that if death sentence was to be imposed only in "one in a million case", then this was the one which deserved capital punishment.

The court, upholding the decision of the trial court which was affirmed by the Bombay High Court, had said that there was no escaping the conclusion that Kasab deserved death penalty alone for the cold blooded killing of scores of innocent persons just because they were Indians.

It said even if one took a narrow view of the "rarest of rare category" classification for award of capital punishment, this was the case where it should be imposed on the convict as it was the "very rarest of rare case to come before the Supreme Court since the birth of the Republic (on January 26, 1950)".

"Now, as long as the death penalty remains on the statute book as punishment for certain offences, including waging war and murder, it logically follows that there must be some cases, howsoever rare or one in a million, that would call for inflicting that penalty. That being the position, we fail to see what case would attract the death penalty, if not the case of the appellant (Kasab)," said a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Chandramauli K Prasad, which rejected Kasab's appeal on August 29.

The bench's conclusion -- "to hold back the death penalty in this case would amount to obdurately declaring that this court rejects death as lawful penalty even though it is on the statute book and held valid by constitutional benches of this court" - sealed Kasab's fate, requiring no substantial discussion on the merits of his clemency plea, official sources told TOI.

They said the Supreme Court's finding that the option of life sentence for Kasab was "foreclosed" made the task of the government easier for a swift decision rejecting the clemency and carry out the execution.

Kasab's trial proceedings before the "stern and non-nonsense" trial judge M L Tahiliani will be studied as an example of model trial proceedings as the Supreme Court has ordered these to be part of the National Judicial Academy and state academies training judicial officers.

The bench of Justices Alam and Prasad had said, "In the course of hearing of the appeal, we also came to know the trial judge Shri Tahiliani. From the records of the case, he appears to be a stern, no-nonsense person. But he is a true flag-bearer of rule of law in this country. The manner in which he conducted the trial proceedings and maintained the record is exemplary.

"We seriously recommend that the trial court records of this case be included in the curriculum of the National Judicial Authority and judicial authorities of the different states as a model for criminal trial proceedings."

On why Kasab should get death penalty, the bench said, "This is a case of terrorist attack from across the border. It has a magnitude of unprecedented enormity on all scales. The conspiracy behind the attack was as deep and large as it was vicious. The preparation and training for the execution was as thorough as the execution was ruthless.

"In terms of loss of life and property, and more importantly in its traumatizing effect, this case stands alone, or it is at least the very rarest of rare to come before this court since the birth of the Republic. Therefore, it should also attract the rarest of rare punishment.

"Against all this, the only mitigating factor is the appellant's young age, but that is completely offset by the absence of any remorse on his part, and the resultant finding that in his case there is no possibility of any reformation or rehabilitation."

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com

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US abortions fall 5 pct, biggest drop in a decade

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. abortions fell 5 percent during the recession and its aftermath in the biggest one-year decrease in at least a decade, perhaps because women are more careful to use birth control when times are tough, researchers say.

The decline, detailed on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, came in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Both the number of abortions and the abortion rate dropped by the same percentage.

Some experts theorize that some women believed they couldn't afford to get pregnant.

"They stick to straight and narrow ... and they are more careful about birth control," said Elizabeth Ananat, a Duke University assistant professor of public policy and economics who has researched abortions.

While many states have aggressively restricted access to abortion, most of those laws were adopted in the past two years and are not believed to have played a role in the decline.

Abortions have been dropping slightly over much of the past decade. But before this latest report, they seemed to have pretty much leveled off.

Nearly all states report abortion numbers to the federal government, but it's voluntary. A few states — including California, which has the largest population and largest number of abortion providers — don't send in data. While experts estimate there are more than 1 million abortions nationwide each year, the CDC counted about 785,000 in 2009 because of incomplete reporting.

To come up with reliable year-to-year comparisons, the CDC used the numbers from 43 states and two cities — those that have been sending in data consistently for at least 10 years. The researchers found that abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age fell from about 16 in 2008 to roughly 15 in 2009. That translates to nearly 38,000 fewer abortions in one year.

Mississippi had the lowest abortion rate, at 4 per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. The state also had only a couple of abortion providers and has the nation's highest teen birth rate. New York, second to California in number of abortion providers, had the highest abortion rate, roughly eight times Mississippi's.

Nationally since 2000, the number of reported abortions has dropped overall by about 6 percent and the abortion rate has fallen 7 percent.

By all accounts, contraception is playing a role in lowering the numbers.

Some experts cite a government study released earlier this year suggesting that about 60 percent of teenage girls who have sex use the most effective kinds of contraception, including the pill and patch. That's up from the mid-1990s, when fewer than half were using the best kinds.

Experts also pointed to the growing use of IUDs, or intrauterine devices, T-shaped plastic sperm-killers that a doctor inserts into the uterus. A study released earlier this year by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that does research on reproductive health, showed that IUD use among sexually active women on birth control rose from less than 3 percent in 2002 to more than 8 percent in 2009.

IUDs essentially prevent "user error," said Rachel Jones, a Guttmacher researcher.

Ananat said another factor may be the growing use of the morning-after pill, a form of emergency contraception that has been increasingly easier to get. It came onto the market in 1999 and in 2006 was approved for non-prescription sale to women 18 and older. In 2009 that was lowered to 17.

Underlying all this may be the economy, which was in recession from December 2007 until June 2009. Even well afterward, polls showed most Americans remained worried about anemic hiring, a depressed housing market and other problems.

You might think a bad economy would lead to more abortions by women who are struggling. However, John Santelli, a Columbia University professor of population and family health, said: "The economy seems to be having a fundamental effect on pregnancies, not abortions."

More findings from the CDC:

— The majority of abortions are performed by the eighth week of pregnancy, when the fetus is about the size of a lima bean.

— White women had the lowest abortion rate, at about 8.5 per 1,000 women of child-bearing age; the rate for black women was about four times that. The rate for Hispanic women was about 19 per 1,000.

— About 85 percent of those who got abortions were unmarried.

— The CDC identified 12 abortion-related deaths in 2009.

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Rockets Fall Silent in Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

The rockets and missiles fell silent over Gaza for the first time in eight days today, but gunfire erupted in the crowded streets of the Palestinian enclave to celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire in the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The two sides fired final salvos at one another up until the final moments before the 2 p.m. ET cease-fire deadline. At least one Israeli missile landed at 1:57 p.m. ET in Gaza, and four rockets were launched toward the Israeli province of Beer Sheva at 1:59 p.m. ET.

After 2 p.m. ET, however, the sky was finally empty of munitions.

The eight days of fighting left 130 Palestinans and five Israelis dead, and badly damaged many of Gaza's buildings. A bomb that exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv earlier today left an additional 10 Israelis wounded.

The fighting came to an end after a meeting between Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"This is a critical moment for the region," Clinton said after the meeting, standing next to Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr to announce the deal.

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"The people of this region deserve a chance to live free of fear and violence and today's agreement is a step" in that direction, Clinton said. "Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome."

Clinton said that Egypt and the U.S. would help support the peace process going forward.

"Ultimately every step must move us toward a comprehensive peace for people of the region," she said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the cease-fire from Tel Aviv after Clinton's announcement.

"I agree that that it was a good idea to give an opportunity to the cease-fire... in order to enable Israeli citizens to return to their day to day lives," Netanyahu said.

He reiterated that it was vital to Israel's security to "prevent smuggling of arms to terrorist organizations" in the future.

An Israeli official told ABC News that the ceasefire would mean a "quiet for quiet" deal, in which both sides stop shooting and "wait and see what happens."

"Who knows if the ceasefire will even last two minutes," the official said. The official said that any possible agreement on borders and blockades on the Gaza/Israel border would come only after a period of quiet.

Clinton and Morsi met for three hours in Cairo today to discuss an end to the violence. The secretary of state met with Netanyahu Tuesday night for more than two hours, saying she sought to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza."

The fighting dragged on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning despite Hamas officials declaring publicly Tuesday afternoon that they expected a cease-fire would be announced Tuesday night, after Clinton and Netanyahu's talks.

The airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces overnight hit government ministries, underground tunnels, a banker's empty villa and a Hamas-linked media office. At least four strikes within seconds of each other pulverized a complex of government ministries the size of a city block, rattling nearby buildings and shattering windows.

Hours later, clouds of acrid dust still hung over the area and smoke still rose from the rubble. Gaza health officials said there were no deaths or injuries.

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Egyptian-brokered Hamas-Israel ceasefire takes hold

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza Strip agreed on Wednesday to an Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire to halt an eight-day conflict that killed 162 Palestinians and five Israelis.

Both sides fought right up to 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) when hostilities were due to stop, with several explosions shaking Gaza City and rockets hitting the Israeli city of Beersheba.

Even after the deadline passed, a dozen rockets from Gaza landed in Israel, all in open areas, a police spokesman said.

If it holds, the truce will give 1.7 million Gazans respite from days of ferocious air strikes and halt rocket salvoes from militants that unnerved a million people in southern Israel and reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time.

"Allahu akbar, (God is greatest), dear people of Gaza you won," blared mosque loudspeakers in the enclave as the truce took effect. "You have broken the arrogance of the Jews."

Fifteen minutes later, wild celebratory gunfire echoed across the darkened streets of Gaza, which gradually filled with crowds waving Palestinian flags. Ululating women leaned out of windows and fireworks lit up the sky.

Hamas leaders welcomed the agreement, calling it a triumph for armed resistance, and thanking Egypt for its role.

Some Israelis staged protests against the deal, notably in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi, where three Israelis were killed by a Gaza rocket during the conflict, army radio said.

Announcing the agreement in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said mediation had "resulted in understandings to cease fire, restore calm and halt the bloodshed".

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, standing beside Amr, thanked Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi for peace efforts that showed "responsibility, leadership" in the region.

"SEVERE MILITARY ACTION"

The Gaza conflict erupted in a Middle East already shaken by last year's Arab uprisings that toppled several veteran U.S.-backed leaders, including Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, and by a civil war in Syria, where Bashar al-Assad is fighting for survival.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed to "exhaust this opportunity for an extended truce", but told his people a tougher approach might be required in the future.

"I know there are citizens expecting a more severe military action, and perhaps we shall need to do so," he said.

The Israeli leader, who faces a parliamentary election in January, delivered a similar message earlier in a telephone call with U.S. President Barack Obama, his office said.

Obama in turn reiterated his country's commitment to Israel's security and promised to seek funds for a joint missile defense program, the White House said.

Hamas leaders taunted Israel, with the movement's exiled chief Khaled Meshaal saying in Cairo that the Jewish state had failed in its military "adventure". But he pledged to uphold the truce if the Israelis complied with it.

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's chief in Gaza and its prime minister there, said: "We are satisfied and proud of this agreement and at the steadfastness of our people and their resistance."

According to a text of the agreement seen by Reuters, both sides should halt all hostilities, with Israel desisting from incursions and targeting of individuals, while all Palestinian factions should cease rocket fire and cross-border attacks.

BUS BOMBING

The deal also provides for easing Israeli restrictions on Gaza's residents, who live in what British Prime Minister David Cameron has called an "open prison".

The text said procedures for implementing this would be "dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire".

Israeli sources said Israel would not lift a blockade of the enclave it enforced after Hamas, which rejects the Jewish state's right to exist, won a Palestinian election in 2006.

The ceasefire was forged despite a bus bomb explosion that wounded 15 Israelis in Tel Aviv earlier in the day and despite more Israeli air strikes that killed 10 Gazans.

The Tel Aviv blast, near the Israeli Defence Ministry, touched off celebratory gunfire from militants in Gaza and had threatened to complicate truce efforts. It was the first serious bombing in Israel's commercial capital since 2006.

In Gaza, Israeli warplanes struck more than 100 targets, including a cluster of Hamas government buildings. Medical officials said a two-year-old boy was among the dead.

Israel has carried out more than 1,500 strikes since the offensive began with the killing of a top Hamas commander and with the declared aim of deterring Hamas from launching rocket attacks that have long disrupted life in southern Israeli towns.

Gaza medical officials said 162 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, including 37 children and 11 women, were killed in Israel's assault. Nearly 1,400 rockets were fired into Israel, killing four civilians and a soldier, the military said.

Egypt, an important U.S. ally now under Islamist leadership, took centre stage in diplomacy to halt the bloodshed, using its privileged ability to speak directly to both sides.

"CRITICAL MOMENT"

Israel, the United States and the European Union designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. It seized the Gaza Strip from the Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007 in a brief but bloody war with his Fatah movement.

"This is a critical moment for the region," Clinton said. "Egypt's new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone for regional stability and peace."

She also promised to work with partners in the region "to consolidate this progress, improve conditions for the people of Gaza, provide security for the people of Israel".

Egypt has walked a fine line between its sympathies for Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood to which Mursi belongs, and its need to preserve its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and its ties with Washington, its main aid donor.

"Egypt calls on all to monitor the implementation of what has been agreed under Egypt's sponsorship and to guarantee the commitment of all the parties to what has been agreed," its foreign minister said at the news conference in Cairo.

Israel, the top recipient of U.S. assistance, agreed to stop fighting after having gathered troops and armor on the border with Gaza in preparation for a high-risk ground assault.

In Amman, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged both sides to stick to their ceasefire pledges. "There may be challenges implementing this agreement," he said, urging "maximum restraint".

Israel withdrew unilaterally from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but maintained control over its borders. The United Nations says it remains an occupied territory, along with the West Bank.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation, led by Abbas, wants the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem for an independent state.

(Additional reporting by Noah Browning in Gaza, Ori Lewis, Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem, Yasmine Saleh, Shaimaa Fayed and Tom Perry in Cairo, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Margaret Chadbourn in Washington; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and David Stamp)

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Oil prices fall amid hopes for Mideast truce

NEW YORK: Oil prices slumped Tuesday on fresh economic strains in Europe and amid expectations -- still unfulfilled late in the day -- of a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza.

New York's main contract, WTI light sweet crude for delivery in January, slid $2.53 from Monday to $86.75 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for January shed $1.87 to $109.83 a barrel in London trade.

"Rumors abound today as headlines out of the Middle East signalled an 'imminent ceasefire' agreement, but as of this writing nothing has been set in stone," said BMO Capital Markets in its market summary.

"The rumor alone pushed the market lower erasing much of the gains from the previous day sessions, and given all the headline watching, expect continued swings as the Middle East risk premium has re-emerged as the Alpha dog on the street."

Oil prices had surged about $2 a barrel to strike one-month highs on Monday as Israel stepped up its assault on Gaza.

The pressure lower also came with Moody's downgrade of France's sovereign rating late Monday, warning that it was vulnerable to more deterioration in the eurozone.

Despite hopes for a cease-fire and the unexpected arrival in Israel of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, there was no letup late Tuesday to Israel's attacks on Gaza, killing another 26 and taking the toll of the week-long assault to more than 130.

Clinton was to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Palestinian officials and to visit Cairo to meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, seen as one of the most influential negotiators in the current conflict.

- AFP/fa

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NDA wants vote on FDI in retail in House

NEW DELHI: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday decided to focus on moving a motion in Parliament under a voting provision to oppose FDI in multi-brand retail, leaving Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee isolated over her no-trust vote proposal.

Banerjee was on the brink of a major embarrassment as NDA joined the Left in formally indicating that it finds opposing the government on FDI a much more paying proposition than a no-confidence motion as it would result in a strong coalition of BJP, Left and regional parties.

Trinamool's efforts to reach out to the Left also failed as CPM leaders reiterated their position that a no-trust motion will only see regional parties like Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) along with smaller entities bailing out the government.

The tone for the NDA meeting was set by BJP leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley who argued that the government has gone back on its word that it will not proceed to implement the FDI proposal without taking political parties on board.

Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav said the FDI issue will recreate the Opposition unity seen during the Bharat bandh last December.

NDA leaders felt the government should be held to account for breaking the word of President Pranab Mukherjee who as the finance minister had said no decision to allow global retailers will be taken without striving for a political consensus.

Banerjee also found herself at the receiving end of parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath's jibes. ""For the first time in my 32 years in Parliament, I am seeing a party with 19 members moving a no-confidence motion," a confident Nath said.

NDA did hold out a sop for Banerjee, saying the alliance will "explore the possibilities" for a no-confidence motion, but the formulation is intended more to keep lines with the Trinamool leader open rather than any serious political calculation. BJP leaders feel Congress's ally turned foe can be a useful partner in Parliament.

The Opposition alliance's decision sets the stage for a stormy start to Parliament's winter session with BJP and Left preparing to press for motions entailing a vote that will be rejected with equal force by the government. This would well mean disruptions marking the first few days of the session.

After having blocked the entire monsoon session over Coalgate, BJP is not keen on a prolonged stand-off over FDI. It could be willing to settle for some hard bargaining with the government that can ensure a detailed debate in Parliament.

BJP sources said that even a debate without a vote will help the Opposition's cause as it will allow Congress allies like DMK and outside supporters like SP express their reservations. SP leader Ramgopal Yadav said, "we have decided not to implement FDI in UP. We will decide on voting when the time comes."

A debate on FDI will effectively demonstrate Congress's isolation while recreating the wide unity of political parties seen during the Bharat bandh organized to oppose the move.

"NDA will move a resolution under voting provisions seeking disapproval of the government's decision (to permit FDI in multi-brand retail) and urging the government to withdraw the decision," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the meeting.

On the Trinamool's proposal for a no-confidence motion, Prasad said, "This government has failed on all the fronts and the time has come for it go. The NDA would consult all political parties to explore the possibility of a no-confidence motion against the government."

The meeting was attended by senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, NDA convener Sharad Yadav, Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral, Shiv Sena leader Ananth Geete, JD(U)'s Shivanand Tiwari and Kuldeep Bishnoi of Haryana Janhit Party.

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New push for most in US to get at least 1 HIV test

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.

Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once — not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.

The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make HIV screening simply a routine part of a check-up, something a doctor can order with as little fuss as a cholesterol test or a mammogram. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has pushed for widespread, routine HIV screening.

Yet not nearly enough people have heeded that call: Of the more than 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, nearly 1 in 5 — almost 240,000 people — don't know it. Not only is their own health at risk without treatment, they could unwittingly be spreading the virus to others.

The updated guidelines will bring this long-simmering issue before doctors and their patients again — emphasizing that public health experts agree on how important it is to test even people who don't think they're at risk, because they could be.

"It allows you to say, 'This is a recommended test that we believe everybody should have. We're not singling you out in any way,'" said task force member Dr. Douglas Owens of Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

And if finalized, the task force guidelines could extend the number of people eligible for an HIV screening without a copay in their doctor's office, as part of free preventive care under the Obama administration's health care law. Under the task force's previous guidelines, only people at increased risk for HIV — which includes gay and bisexual men and injecting drug users — were eligible for that no-copay screening.

There are a number of ways to get tested. If you're having blood drawn for other exams, the doctor can merely add HIV to the list, no extra pokes or swabs needed. Today's rapid tests can cost less than $20 and require just rubbing a swab over the gums, with results ready in as little as 20 minutes. Last summer, the government approved a do-it-yourself at-home version that's selling for about $40.

Free testing is available through various community programs around the country, including a CDC pilot program in drugstores in 24 cities and rural sites.

Monday's proposal also recommends:

—Testing people older and younger than 15-64 if they are at increased risk of HIV infection,

—People at very high risk for HIV infection should be tested at least annually.

—It's not clear how often to retest people at somewhat increased risk, but perhaps every three to five years.

—Women should be tested during each pregnancy, something the task force has long recommended.

The draft guidelines are open for public comment through Dec. 17.

Most of the 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. every year are among gay and bisexual men, followed by heterosexual black women.

"We are not doing as well in America with HIV testing as we would like," Dr. Jonathan Mermin, CDC's HIV prevention chief, said Monday.

The CDC recommends at least one routine test for everyone ages 13 to 64, starting two years younger than the task force recommended. That small difference aside, CDC data suggests fewer than half of adults under 65 have been tested.

"It can sometimes be awkward to ask your doctor for an HIV test," Mermin said — the reason that making it routine during any health care encounter could help.

But even though nearly three-fourths of gay and bisexual men with undiagnosed HIV had visited some sort of health provider in the previous year, 48 percent weren't tested for HIV, a recent CDC survey found. Emergency rooms are considered a good spot to catch the undiagnosed, after their illnesses and injuries have been treated, but Mermin said only about 2 percent of ER patients known to be at increased risk were tested while there.

Mermin calls that "a tragedy. It's a missed opportunity."

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Hopes Rise for Gaza Ceasefire

Hopes for a ceasefire between between Israel and Islamic militants in Gaza rose today as Hamas declared that a ceasefire would be announced and Israel indicated that a deal was possible.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told ABC News the news would be announced at a press conference in Cairo where Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been trying to broker an end to the fighting.

An Islamic Jihad website also reported that the ceasefire would go into effect tonight.

The Israel-Gaza Conflict in Pictures

Israeli officials, however, told ABC News that a final deal had not been concluded and if there was a pact it would be announced after midnight local time, or 5 p.m ET, following a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Families Pray for Ceasefire Watch Video

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State Department Spokesperson Grilled on Gaza Watch Video

Clinton flew to the region today to meet with Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about the fighting.

A ceasefire, if it can be reached, would bring a halt to the worst violence between Gaza and Israel in four years. In the meantime, however, Abu Zuhri called on all militant groups to continue firing rockets on Israel "in retaliation for the Israeli massacres."

Israeli missiles also continued to explode in Gaza while sirens sounded in Israel, signalling incoming rocket fire from Gaza.

Hamas said three Palestinian journalists were killed by an Israeli missile today and Israel said one of its soldiers was killed in by a Palestinian rocket today.

Gazans streamed out of northern neighborhoods during the afternoon after the Israel Defense Forces dropped leaflets telling residents to evacuate before dark. Scared Palestinians poured into Gaza City, cars and trucks piled high with belongings, many heading to schools for shelter.

There have been 126 Palestinian deaths in six days of fighting, just under half were civilians. Three Israelis were killed last Thursday when a rocket slammed into their apartment.

ABC News' Matt Gutman contributed to this report

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