Shares in major UK banks have fallen sharply amid fears more financial institutions will need to be bailed out by the government.

Barclays was worst hit, down 25%, while Royal Bank of Scotland, which is almost 60% state-owned, closed 13% lower.

Barclays has insisted that this year's profits will be "well ahead" of the £5.3bn in some pessimistic forecasts.

The bank took the unusual step of revealing some profit details - two weeks ahead of the official release.

Ban lifted

Earlier, the Irish government said it was to nationalise the Anglo Irish Bank after its funding problems continued.

US bank Citigroup suffered a big quarterly loss, while Bank of America also received a $20bn (£13.4bn) bail-out package.

Much of the fall in UK bank shares came in the last hour of trading in London, as worries grew in European markets that the latest US government rescue signalled that Washington's efforts to stabilise the financial sector were failing.

The falls came on the day the ban on short-selling, which had been imposed by the Financial Services Authority last September, expired.

"The shorting ban has been lifted and I guess the short guys have been sharpening up their tools and looking to see who they'll have a pop at next," said Numis Securities analyst James Hamilton.

Jittery mood

Barclays shares ended at 98 pence, their lowest level since 1993. The bank's shares have lost 45% of their value this week.

"We know of no justification for the fall in share price. We are fully aware of our regulatory obligations and we have not said anything," said a Barclays spokesman in a statement.

The bank then took the unusual step of giving some details of this year's profits - before they are officially published on 17 February.

"The board of Barclays expects to report profit before tax for the year, after reflecting all costs, impairment and market valuations, well ahead of the £5.3bn consensus estimate of sell-side analysts," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile Lloyds TSB saw its shares drop 30% this week as it geared up for the finalisation of its merger with HBOS on Monday. Uncertainty about the format of a new UK government plan being worked on to boost bank lending added to a jittery mood.

Rescue options

It is understood ministers are planning an urgent bank package, which could pave the way for more taxpayer money to be pumped into the sector to offset losses on soaring bad debts.

Possible options could include fresh capital injections into banks or more government guarantees on toxic assets.

A plan could come as early as next week, with state guarantees to get credit moving again high on the agenda.

Referring to the current talks between the Treasury and the banks with the view to encouraging them to lend more money, Manus Cranny at MF Global Spreads said: "Barclays equity holders are disadvantaged because they are outside the government's planned financial support package.

"Why not just nationalise these banks and be done with it? Until that happens you can't force the banks to lend."

David Buik of BGC Partners said: "It has become obvious that the banking sector needs more capital globally."

Commenting on Barclays and HSBC, which have so far decided not to take government aid, he said in the end they may have little choice.

"I suspect they will have difficulty raising further private capital in this climate if they need it," he said.

US bail-outs

Across the Atlantic, the bail-out of Bank of America was aimed at helping it absorb losses from the takeover this month of struggling rival Merrill Lynch.

The handout will also see the firm offered guarantees against losses on up to $118bn in troubled assets.

The US government will take a stake in the bank in return for the aid, which comes on top of the $25bn handed to the group in last October's series of bank bail-outs.

Citigroup had already received $45bn in government loans and benefited from a state pledge to guarantee about $300bn in mortgages and other assets.

Citi has announced it now plans to split into two companies. One business, Citicorp, will do traditional banking, and the other, Citi Holdings, will hold the company's riskier assets.

Mr Putin has been trying to form a Russian-EU gas transit consortium

The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine are to meet in Moscow in an effort to end the dispute disrupting supplies of Russian gas to Europe.

However, there are sharp divisions within Ukraine over whether to link transit supplies to supplies for Ukraine itself at the negotiations.

The EU has urged Russia and Ukraine to prove they are "credible" partners and said it was their "last chance".

A bid to hold a Moscow gas summit on the same day appears to be floundering.

Some central and east European states have been reduced to rationing gas.

Others have been seeking alternatives to the pipelines carrying Russian gas via Ukraine.

Russia ceased supplies of gas to Ukraine on 1 January after talks on the price Kiev should pay in 2009 collapsed.

On 7 January, it stopped deliveries to Europe via Ukraine, saying it was forced to do so because Kiev was stealing the gas.

Ukrainian officials deny the allegation and accuse Russia of provoking the crisis.

Almost 20 countries in Europe have been affected by what is the worst energy crisis the EU has ever faced, the BBC's Richard Galpin reports from Moscow.

Rival positions

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, fresh from a visit to Germany, one of Moscow's biggest gas clients, is due to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, on Saturday afternoon.

Ukrainians burn a poster of Mr Putin as a Golem figure turning off a gas pipe

Mr Putin said on Friday that a deal to end the gas crisis could be nearer after he discussed the formation of a gas transit consortium.

He said a deal was being brokered between Russia's Gazprom and EU firms to cover part of the cost of pumping gas from Russia to Europe.

It is not clear whether Ukraine would accept such a deal.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said that the issue of renewing Russian gas supplies to Europe was linked to finalising the 2009 supply contract for Ukraine but Mrs Tymoshenko, his political rival, argued the two issues were not connected.

"The issue of natural gas supplies to Ukraine and the issue of transit are interlinked and must be discussed as a single package," Mr Yushchenko's office said on the eve of the Moscow talks.

Speaking the same day, Mrs Tymoshenko said: "The Ukrainian government does not link the issue of concluding an agreement on [Russian] gas supplies to Ukraine with the issue of resuming gas transit to Europe."

Such a link, she added, would be "groundless and unfair".

She also demanded that Ukraine speak with one voice in the negotiations.

"Simply speaking, I need two things: Don't throw a spoke in the wheel and don't stab any backs," she said in Kiev.

'Last chance'

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited EU leaders to an emergency gas summit on Saturday but it appears that only envoys will be sent, including EU Energy Commissioner Andries Pielbags.

"Yushchenko for the chop" - a slogan at a rally in Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was scathing about the decision not to send EU heads of state.

"We expect anyone interested in resolving the problem as soon as possible to come to the summit being held in Moscow tomorrow," he said on Friday.

He urged the EU to "show its famous solidarity" and put pressure on Ukraine.

The European Commission has warned that the meeting is a last chance for the two countries to prove they are serious about finding a solution to the dispute.

EU states import a quarter of their gas from Russia and 80% of supplies come via Ukraine.

"The European Commission believes that the meetings in coming days offer the last and best chance for Russia and Ukraine to demonstrate they are serious about resolving this dispute," Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said.

"The gas must flow. We will regard this period as a test case for judging whether or not they are credible partners."

Divers in New York are searching for both engines of an airliner which crashed in the Hudson River.

They are using sonar to locate the engines which are believed to have detached after the US Airways Airbus A320 hit the water on Thursday.

Officials are also planning to lift the aircraft from the river on Saturday and recover the flight recorders.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg hailed the pilot, who landed the plane in the Hudson with no loss of life, as a hero.

Mr Bloomberg said he would be giving "incredibly brave" Captain Chesley Sullenberger and his crew the keys to the city.

The mayor also honoured rescuers who pulled all 155 passengers and crew to safety from icy waters.

Capt Sullenberger said earlier that the crash was caused by birds flying into the engines. Investigators say they plan to interview him on Saturday.

One person suffered two broken legs in the crash and paramedics treated 78 patients, most for minor injuries.

Focus on 'black boxes'

At a briefing in New York on Friday, National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman Kitty Higgins said divers and sonar were tracking the course of the plane which plunged in the river just minutes after taking off from LaGuardia airport.

1 1526 local time (2026 GMT): Flight 1549 takes off from LaGuardia airport 2 1527 (2027 GMT): Pilot Chesley Sullenberger reports birds hitting engines 3 1528 (2028 GMT): Pilot told to land at Teterboro airfield 4 1531 (2031 GMT): Pilot ditches plane in Hudson River

She said rescuers planned to start lifting the plane - which is currently tethered to a pier in Manhattan - on Saturday morning.

A giant crane and a barge have already been brought to pull the stricken airliner.

The plane is still intact, but officials say they will need to ensure it is recovered safely and without causing it to break apart.

The investigation is then expected to focus on recovering the flight recorders to help establish the cause of the crash.

'Inspirational'

Mr Bloomberg said on Friday that Capt Sullenberger had been "incredibly skilful" but would be unable to speak to the media while investigations were continuing.

The mayor said writer Ernest Hemingway defined heroism as "grace under pressure".

"I think it's fair to say that Captain Sullenberger displayed that yesterday. His brave actions have inspired millions of people in this city and millions more around the world," he said.

The mayor also presented awards to other uniformed and civilian personnel involved in the rescue, describing them as the city's "finest and bravest".

"Because of their efforts and the calm, steady leadership shown by the plane's pilot and crew, miraculously all 155 people on that plane made it to safety," he said.

President George W Bush had telephoned Capt Sullenberger to thank him for his actions, the White House said.

Bird strike

Passengers and eyewitnesses have been speaking to the media about their experiences.

"I heard an explosion, and I saw flames coming from the left wing, and I thought, 'this isn't good'," said passenger Dave Sanderson.

"Then it was just controlled chaos. People started running up the aisle. People were getting shoved out of the way."

Another passenger, Billy Campbell, described water rushing into the plane as flight attendants did "a wonderful job" of evacuating everyone.

"It's good to be alive today," said Martin Sosa, a father who had been travelling with two young children and his wife.

After crashing on the water, the plane was pulled rapidly down the river, until it was guided to a halt by tug boats against a pier.

The temperature was almost -7C (19F) and the current in the Hudson was running rapidly.

Ferryboats arrived within minutes of the crash to begin the rescue as passengers emerged in life jackets.

A powerful explosion has occurred outside the front gate of the German embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, with no immediate reports of injuries.

Afghanistan's interior ministry could not say what had caused the blast, whether it was a suicide attack or a device planted in a vehicle.

The Wazir Akbar Khan district is in a central and sensitive area of Kabul.

Taleban militants have bombed Afghan government and foreign interests in the city in the past.

The embassy caught fire after the explosion which destroyed several vehicles, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

Emergency vehicles are at the scene and fire-fighters are attempting to extinguish the flames, the reporter says.

Philipp Wendel, press officer for the German embassy, said he could not give any details.

AP notes that the embassy stands opposite a US base.

Israeli ministers are due to vote on a unilateral ceasefire proposal, amid signs of diplomatic movement on the three-week conflict in Gaza.

Government spokesman Mark Regev said he thought Israel may have achieved enough to allow a ceasefire.

Israel and the US signed a deal to halt the smuggling of arms into Gaza as Cairo continued its mediation efforts.

Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza again just before dawn, with heavy explosions south of Gaza City.

A BBC correspondent who managed to enter southern Gaza on Friday saw evidence of much collateral damage from recent bombing.

Christian Fraser says the situation for Palestinian families there is tough, with food and electricity supplies limited and no running water.

Movement towards a negotiated solution has been slow but there are signs that significant progress has been made during the past 24 hours, the BBC's Adam Mynott reports.

Since Israel launched its offensive on 27 December to end rocket attacks against its people, nearly 1,170 people are thought to have been killed.

Hamas talks

The Israeli prime minister's office said that as a result of "significant progress" at talks between Israeli officials and Egypt's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, a draft unilateral ceasefire would be discussed by Mr Olmert and his Defence Minister, Ehud Barak.

"Following the discussion, the cabinet for national security will be convened on Saturday evening to decide whether it should be adopted," it added.

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in Washington that Israel would have to suspend any ceasefire if Hamas continued to fire rockets.

Signing the deal on preventing arms-smuggling, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she hoped it would ensure Gaza could "never again be used as a launch pad" for attacks on Israel.

Mr Regev told BBC News that the foundations for announcing a ceasefire seemed to be in place.

"I think we're seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and we see the foundations for what we see as a long-term calm in the south, based on cessation of fire and, of course, absence of all arms smuggling to Hamas," he said.

Hamas leaders have returned to Cairo for further talks.

They insist that a ceasefire agreement is built on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza within a week and an immediate end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

One Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, has said the group will not accept Israeli conditions for a ceasefire.

"Despite all the destruction in Gaza, I assure you we will not accept Israel's conditions for a ceasefire," he said in Doha, Qatar.

Western diplomats say a pact underpinning any truce may be signed in Cairo this weekend between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The UN General Assembly in New York has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for an immediate and durable ceasefire in Gaza, leading to a full withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Earlier, after meeting Palestinian Authority leaders in the West Bank, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel to end the fighting immediately.

New air strikes

Israeli military officials say 40 air strikes on Gaza on Thursday night targeted smuggling tunnels, rocket launching points, weapons stores and a militants' training camp.

GAZA CRISIS BACKGROUND In depth: Gaza conflict Q&A: Gaza conflict Who are Hamas? Middle East conflict: History in maps

The bodies of 23 people were later recovered in the Tel al-Hawa district of Gaza City, medics said.

Militants fired about 10 rockets into Israel on Friday, causing no injuries, the Israeli army said.

Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza say at least 1,155 Palestinians have been killed and 5,015 wounded since Israel launched its offensive.

Thirteen Israelis - three of them civilians - have died, while 233 soldiers have been wounded, Israeli officials say.

A teenager reportedly died during anti-Israeli protests in the West Bank on Friday.

Russia and Ukraine have disagreed over gas payments

The European Commission has warned Russian and Ukrainian gas companies of legal action over a dispute which has left many Europeans without heat.

Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said he would advise EU energy companies to sue unless Gazprom and Naftogaz move fast to restore supplies.

Bulgarian, Slovak and Moldovan prime ministers have held talks in Moscow and Kiev but the deadlock remains.

Supplies remain cut off because of a row between Russia and Ukraine.

'Matter of urgency'

Mr Barroso told the European Parliament the dispute between Ukraine and Russia was "most unacceptable and incredible".

He said if agreements, sponsored by the European Union, are not observed "as a matter of urgency", he would advise energy companies that have deals with Gazprom and Naftogaz, to file lawsuits against them.

Despite optimism on Tuesday that the dispute was nearing an end, the rhetoric from Russia and Ukraine is increasingly antagonistic.

Moscow says gas is flowing again from Russia to Ukraine for export, but Kiev says it is technically unable to pass it on to its neighbours.

The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of holding Europe hostage, countering Ukrainian accusations of Russian blackmail.

Eighteen other European countries have been affected by the gas supply row.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still without heating in eastern and south-eastern Europe after Moscow stopped supplies routed through Ukraine last week.

Bulgaria, one of the hardest hit countries, has had to close schools and other public buildings, due to the cuts.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told Mr Putin that millions of Europeans are "truly suffering".

Modolva's Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii told the meeting in Moscow: "Our consumers do not understand why they should freeze when there is a contract for gas supplies."

Slovakia is desperate to get supplies of gas flowing again

Earlier, Slovakia's prime minister was in Kiev. He told his Ukrainian counterpart Yuliya Tymoshenko that his country had 11 days of gas reserves left.

Robert Fico said: "After 12 days, we will be obliged to resort to measures never seen in our history. "

Slovakia and the Baltic states are entirely dependent on gas from Russia.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko went to Poland, another country that relies entirely on Russia for its gas, to explain his case to his Polish counterpart.

Compromise difficult

An agreement, brokered late on Monday by the Czech prime minister, to allow international experts to monitor the flow of gas through Ukraine, was designed to overcome the deep feeling of mistrust between the two former Soviet neighbours.

Russia switched on the gas supply to Ukraine at the Sudzha pumping station on Tuesday morning.

But Ukraine said it could not physically pump the gas to Europe in the volumes Russia was providing, or along the pipeline route Moscow wanted it to take.

Russian energy giant Gazprom dismissed that claim. It says the taps are open on the Russian side.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Kiev says it is now difficult to see how a compromise can be brokered.

Steve Jobs has suffered dramatic weight loss in the past year

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is to take medical leave until the end of June, saying his health issues were more complex than he first thought.

Mr Jobs revealed last week he was being treated for a "hormone imbalance" but was staying on as the firm's head.

Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will stand in while Mr Jobs is away.

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, Mr Jobs had appeared increasingly gaunt at recent public appearances, sparking rumours about his health.

Speculation about his health had intensified since December, after Apple said Mr Jobs would not be making his annual keynote address at the Macworld conference in San Francisco.

Directors' support

In an email to employees on Wednesday, Mr Jobs said: "In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health... I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

"As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan."

In last week's statement, Mr Jobs said doctors thought they had found the cause for his weight loss: "a hormone imbalance that has been robbing me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy".

Apple's board said it was giving him "complete and unwavering support".

Apple's share price fell following the announcement, showing how closely the company's fortunes are still identified with the person who helped create it, says the BBC's Greg Wood in New York.

Mr Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976, but left in 1985 to start another computer venture. He returned to Apple in 1997 and became full-time chief executive once again in 2000.

Palestinian hospitals have been overwhelmed by the number of injured

Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip have passed 1,000, medical sources in Gaza say, as Egypt continues efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Nearly a third of the dead are reported to be children and nearly 5,000 people have been injured.

After talks in Cairo, Hamas officials said they were happy with the broad outlines of an Egyptian initiative but that details remained to be worked out.

Israeli negotiators are to visit Cairo to hear to discuss Egypt's proposal.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said 1,013 people have died in the conflict which started 19 days ago.

More than 300 of the dead are said to be children, 76 are women and more than 4,500 people have been injured, of whom 1,600 are children and 678 are women.

Thirteen Israelis have been killed, including three civilians and one soldier from rockets fired from Gaza and nine soldiers killed in fighting in Gaza.

It is impossible to independently confirm casualty figures as Israel has refused to allow international journalists to enter Gaza.

Diplomatic push

Egypt has been leading efforts to broker a ceasefire, that could include a new force of peacekeepers to prevent smuggling on its border with Gaza.

After talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the Egyptian initiative would show results as soon as possible.

The UN secretary general is in Jordan on the next leg of a Middle East tour before visiting Israel, the West Bank and Syria.

Hamas officials have also been in Cairo for talks with Egyptian negotiators.

"The movement has presented a detailed vision to the Egyptian leadership so that it (Egypt) can continue its pursuit to end the aggression and lift the injustice on our people in the Gaza Strip," Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil said.

These details concerned how to ensure that border crossings into Gaza could be re-opened under international supervision, he said, and would be presented to Israeli envoys visiting Cairo on Thursday.

A senior Israeli defence official, Amos Gilad, is to travel to Cairo on Thursday, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

Earlier on Wednesday, other Hamas officials had said the Egyptian initiative had been positively received but that more time was needed to discuss it.

Aid diary: Water shortage Bowen diary: Syrian warning Gazan families: Pulling together In pictures: Inching into Gaza

Hamas, which controls Gaza, has said any ceasefire agreement would have to entail a halt to Israeli attacks, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the opening of border crossings to end the blockade of Gaza.

BBC Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says Israel will not agree to a deal that does not guarantee an end to Hamas's smuggling of weapons across the Egyptian border and the cessation of rocket attacks into southern Israel.

For its part, Hamas refuses to accept an agreement that could in effect spell the beginning of the end for its military wing.

Egypt and other key Arab states can put pressure on Hamas but the US remains unwilling to press Israel to make any concessions, our correspondent says.

'Seeds of extremism'

Israel launched its campaign against Gaza on 27 December, saying it wanted to end Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

Both Hamas and Israel rejected last week's UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The Israeli offensive has provoked widespread international condemnation at the cost in civilian casualties.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said he was cutting relations with Israel over what he called the "genocide" in Gaza.

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria warned that Israel's campaign would fuel extremism and terrorism in the Arab and Muslim world.

"The effect of war is more dangerous than war. It is sowing seeds of extremism around the region," Mr Assad said in an exclusive BBC interview.

Israeli divisions?

On Wednesday, Israel continued to bombard the Gaza Strip and residents spoke of heavy machine-gun fire as Israeli troops fought Hamas gunmen near Gaza City.

Meanwhile, three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, landing on open ground.

No casualties or damage were reported.

In another development, a newly-released audiotape said to feature the voice of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has called for a holy war to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

The authenticity of the tape, posted on a number of Islamic militant websites, could not be independently verified.

Humanitarian concerns have increased amid the fighting, although some aid is getting through to Gaza during daily three-hour lulls Israel has allowed to let in supplies.

Eighteen days and nights of air raids have left many areas in the Gaza Strip in ruins [EPA] The Israeli military has made its deepest push into Gaza since the beginning of its ongoing assault on the Palestinian territory. Explosions from heavy aerial bombardment continued in the early hours of Tuesday and fierce gunfire could be heard as ground troops moved into the more densely-populated areas of the Strip, as the assault entered its 18th day. Al Jazeera's Arabic channel reported that the heaviest fighting between Israeli and Palestinian fighters was in Tal al-Hawa, in the south of Gaza City. Clashes were also reported in Beit Lahiya, to the north of the city, and east of Khan Younis. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Gaza City, said there was an intensification of Israeli ground operations, with reservists moving in to support regular ground forces. Tank attack The AFP news agency reported tanks supported by warplanes had moved into several southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City and Palestinian fighters were responding with mortar fire. A spokesman for the Palestinian health ministry said dozens of calls for ambulances had been received, but none could not be dispatched because of the fighting. Combat continued despite another day of pleas from both the United Nations and the European Union to stop the violence which has so far killed 919 Palestinians and wounded 4,250 others, an estimated 40 per cent of them civilians, mostly women and children. Expressing frustration and anguish at the failure of both sides to adhere to a legally binding UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said he planned to step up diplomatic efforts to end Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza and Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel. "To both sides, I say: just stop, now," the UN chief told a news conference on Monday. "Too many people have died. There has been too much civilian suffering. Too many people, Israelis and Palestinians, live in daily fear of their lives." Israeli goal But Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said the offensive which includes the latest deployment of reservists into Palestinian neighbourhoods, must continue until Hamas is completely disarmed. "To both sides, I say: just stop, now" Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general He said the military operation would end once Hamas's military wing halted its rocket attacks. "We want to end the operation when the two conditions we have demanded are met: ending the rocket fire and stopping Hamas's rearmament. If these two conditions are met, we will end our operation in Gaza," he said in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reporting on the devastation in Rafah late on Monday said the continuous shelling had reduced the city to rubble and the Israeli military had been dropping leaflets warning local residents to flee. He said the human suffering was compounded by the 18-month Israeli blockade that had led to a food and fuel shortage. Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad, reporting from the Israel-Gaza border, said there were no signs of the war ending despite the huge humanitarian toll on the residents. Hamas resolve Israeli reservists were deployed to support regular forces in Gaza [EPA] The Israeli military said air raids were carried out on at least 25 targets across the Gaza Strip and Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, said on Monday that the army had "achieved in 16 days what no other country in the world fighting terror has done in 16 years". But the Palestinian fighters fired nearly 30 rockets across the border into southern Israel on Monday, according the an Israeli army spokesman, and Hamas said it would continue to battle Israeli troops inside Gaza. Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader and ousted Palestinian prime minister, said from Gaza City that Israel would not emerge victorious. "This holy blood that has been spilt will never be in vain, it will make the victory. The children's and women's blood and bodies will be a curse which will haunt this occupation," he said. Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political leader in exile, said: "The Palestinian resistance is standing steadfast on the battlefield as it is in the political arena. "The resistance cannot be broken in the face of the Israeli aggression, nor can our resolve despite the deep wounds, the great pains, the massacres, the destruction, the punishments and mass killings."

The UN rights body adopted a resolution condemning Israel of 'grave violations' [AFP] A resolution condemning Israel's military offensive in Gaza has been adopted by the UN Human Rights Council. The non-binding resolution, approved in Geneva on Monday, said Israel's operation had "resulted in massive violations of human rights of the Palestinian people". More than 900 Palestinians have died during the fighting, many of them women and children, and a further 4,100 have been wounded. At least 25,000 have been displaced due to the ongoing bombardment, but are unable to flee the overcrowded territory as crossing points remain closed. The resolution, drafted by Arab, Asian and African countries, called for an international mission to be sent immediately to the Gaza Strip to investigate Israel's actions. It also called for an immediate end to the "launching of the crude rockets against Israeli civilians" by the Palestinian factions. Israel launched its operation on December 27 after a ceasefire with Hamas ended a week earlier, stating its objective was to target the Palestinian faction's infrastructure and bring an end to the firing of homemade rockets into southern Israel. 'Fairytale world' Fewer states than expected supported the resolution, which passed by 33 votes to one, with 13 abstentions. The US, not a member of the council, took no part in the debate. Israel dismissed it as one-sided and reflecting the "fairytale world" of the 47-member council. The text of the document said the council "strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli military operations ... which have resulted in massive violations of human rights of the Palestinian people and systematic destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure". The resolution was opposed by Canada while European countries, Japan and South Korea abstained. The resolution was backed by, among others, Russia, China, Argentina and Brazil. During a debate on the resolution, Pakistan, speaking for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), denounced what it called Israel's "unrestrained use of force, killing of innocent civilians" and violation of UN havens. At least 40 people died last Tuesday when the UN-run school they were sheltering in was hit by Israeli fire. 'Massive violations' All European Union countries abstained and Canada voted against the resolution. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera: "In the end they [the UN] passed the resolution, it was not unanimous. I would not say it was that heated, at the end of the day there were still differences of opinion. Israel dismissed the non-binding resolution as one-sided [AFP] "Many states praised the Palestinian delegation for the flexibility they had shown in the negotiations, but they could not quite reach a consensus." Speaking in the Gaza Strip, John Ging, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) operations in Gaza, repeated his call for an immediate end to the fighting. "I say now, to all politicians, here in Israel and internationally, you have an obligation to the ordinary people in the name of humanity and all that is civilised, we need to stop this now. Those who help will never be forgotten. "Israel is responsible for its own actions and it is very clear to us that there are a lot of actions in this conflict that will need to be fully investigated independently and internationally. "Those who have been killed and injured, those who are innocent, deserve accountability." Peter Splinter, Amnesty International's representative at the United Nations in Geneva, backed the call for an investigation, saying "there must be a full accountability for war crimes". "Evidence of war crimes is presenting itself each day," he told Al Jazeera. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a former UN secretary-general, added his perspective on the situation, saying the assault on Gaza "is a present the Israelis gave to the fundamentalists". "It will reinforce extremists, fundamentalists, all over Arab countries and even inside Israel," he said.

Israeli troops have also been shot at on their country's border with Syria [AFP] The Israeli army has said that troops guarding its border with Jordan has been fired at from inside the Arab nation. No one was hurt in the attack on Tuesday, an Israeli army spokesperson said. "Troops were fired upon from the Jordanian side of the border. It was unclear who the gunmen were," the spokesperson said However, witnesses told Al Jazeera Arabic that the assailant had crossed the Jordanian border at the Wadi Araba crossing and opened fire at the Israeli patrol from outside the Jordanian territories. Other sources said that four Israeli soldiers were injured, one seriously, in the shooting. There was no immediate comment from Jordan. The alleged attack comes 18 days into Israel's Gaza offensive and after sporadic attacks from within Israel's Arab neighbours. Shots were fired at an Israeli army vehicle from Syria along the border on Sunday. No one was hurt, but it was the second such attack on the Israel-Syria border since the start of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip. On January 8 four Katyusha rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into the northern Israeli city of Nahariya. Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement in 1994 and the border is usually quiet.

All fashion trends are cyclical, and in recent years have gradually modernised the looks of the 20th Century and planted them firmly in the 21st. And so too it is with men's hair trends in 2009: it's out with the new, and in with the old. Or at least an old hair style with a new twist.

2009 sees men's hair styles fall into two distinct categories: school boy and rocker. But while the rocker look is certainly a 20th Century creation, the resulting hair style finds its roots (if you'll pardon the pun) distinctly in 19th Century Britain. And so it is in 2009; while the odd 2009 runway collection featured something akin to a grunge revival, the majority of us will live out 2009 with a refined, classically inspired hair cut.

There's little point in wearing clothes from 2009's fashion trends unless you have the one other major element just right: hair.

Taking their cues from 2008, in 2009 women's hair trends will play to the extremes. They might be extremely short, extremely girly, extremely sexual or extremely slick. It'll only be the bob hair cut which will sit somewhere to the left of extreme; and you're going to be hard pressed to find that hair style on fashion forward women.

From feather to fur, sky-scraper heels to bohemian boots - our guides on 2008 fashion trends and 2009 fashion trends are constantly being updated with new clothes, tips and insights into Autumn (Fall)/Winter 2008/2009 fashion trends. If you'd like to read about Spring/Summer 20009 fashion trends follow the link.

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Men's fashion trends are few and far between; yes, a lot of women's trends are eventually adapted to the men's market, but if 2009 men's hair trends prove anything it is that classics will always rule when it comes to men's fashion. Unsurprisingly it's no different when it comes to men's suits.

Two suits perfect for 2009 and 2010 from Tom Ford's Spring 2009 collection

Germans are reluctant to spend due to the tighter economy

Germany's coalition government has agreed an economic stimulus package worth about 50bn euros ($67bn; £45bn), senior ministers have said.

More details are expected later of the measures aimed at helping the country during what some fear could be its worst recession since World War II.

The initiatives include investments in railways, roads and schools, as well as a number of tax relief measures.

A 23bn euros plan, passed last month, was derided for being too cautious.

In its second attempt to kickstart Europe's largest economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet has gone further, and she is expected to unveil the details of the plan on Tuesday.

"All in all, it is a package that will help get us through the financial crisis and secure jobs," said Christian Democrat parliamentary president Volker Kauder.

Tax cuts

The agreement follows squabbles between the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats over how to shore up the German economy and prevent job losses.

The new two-year stimulus package will include investment measures worth around 18bn euros for infrastructure projects, correspondents say.

The package is also expected to include:

• A 100bn euro programme for firms struggling through the ongoing credit crunch
• Tax cuts and breaks, including reductions in state health care contributions and bonuses of 100 euros per child
• A 2,500 euro payment for scrapping a car older than nine years and buying a new vehicle

But, says the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin, this package alone will not solve Germany's biggest problem at the moment: its falling exports.

Due to the global economic downturn, there is less demand abroad for German goods, such as cars and machine tools.

Germany is heavily reliant on exports, which saw their largest fall in November since reunification in 1990.

Last year it unveiled a bail-out for businesses worth up to 500bn euros but its use has been limited due to strict conditions attached to taking the money.

Meanwhile, figures released on Tuesday morning showed that German wholesale prices fell 3% in December from the previous month, and were down 3.3% on a year-on-year basis.

The UN says it urgently needs $500m to continue clearing landmines and other unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan.

It says the money is needed to meet international commitments to clear the country of such material by 2013.

The UN mine clearing agency head in Afghanistan said operations had been scaled back in parts of the country due to a recent drop in funding.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most heavily mined countries, with people regularly killed and injured by them.

Hundreds of thousands of mines have been laid since the Soviet invasion in 1979.

Russia shut off the gas last Wednesday after it accused Kiev of stealing gas

Russia says it will resume pumping gas through Ukraine to Europe, following the completion of a monitoring deal.

The state-run energy company, Gazprom, said supplies would resume on Tuesday morning, if there were no obstacles.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Europe have been left without gas since Russia turned off the taps over a contractual dispute with Ukraine.

The BBC European Affairs correspondent says the underlying causes of the crisis are still unresolved.

Russia is still not providing Kiev with any gas for domestic consumption, in an ongoing bilateral dispute over debts and prices.

Disagreement remains over how much Ukraine should pay Russia for its gas, and what Russia should pay Ukraine in return for transporting gas to Europe.

Russia shut off the gas to Europe last Wednesday after it accused Kiev of stealing gas meant for other European customers. Ukraine's domestic supply was cut a week earlier.

Hundreds of thousands of people in 15 European countries are now hoping for relief, after almost a week of suffering bitterly cold winter temperatures without any heating.

'Down to work'

Under the deal agreed on Monday, EU and Russian observers will monitor supplies from pumping stations on Ukraine's eastern and western borders, in order to calm Russian fears that Ukraine is siphoning off gas for its own use. Ukraine has denied this allegation.

Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin he proposed restarting gas deliveries at 0800 (0700 GMT) on Tuesday.

Mr Putin replied: "Good, let's get down to work".

Despite a deal signed by Russia, Ukraine and the Czech presidency of the EU, it may be some time before supplies return to normal.

Analysts say that in theory, supplies could return to normal within 24 hours but a more likely time frame is 36 to 48 hours.

Earlier, Ukraine had dropped provisos it wanted to add to the agreement.

Welcoming the deal, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyria said Ukraine had "never been the obstacle for the delivery of the Russian gas to the European Union".

"The six days' war between Gazprom and the EU customers is going to come to an end," he said.

Major shortages

The agreement may be greeted with scepticism in some of the hardest-hit countries, says the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Kiev, after the same deal fell through last week.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had emphasised that Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine would flow only when monitors were in place and a transit deal had been signed by all parties.

While a number of EU teams are already in position, others are not, and Russian monitors have still to deploy to stations in western Ukraine, our correspondent says.

Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine on New Year's Day, saying it would pump only enough for customers further down the pipeline.

Thousands of Europeans have been left without gas in freezing temperatures

But then Moscow accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas intended for third countries and it restricted supplies even further.

Ukraine denied the claim, but the flow of Russian gas ceased completely on 7 January, leaving many European countries with major shortages.

The EU gets a quarter of its gas supplies from Russia - 80% of which passes through Ukraine - and more than 15 countries across central Europe have been hit by the shutdown of Russian supplies.

Serbia and Bosnia-Hercegovina are among the worst hit as many homes rely on heating stations that only run on gas.

Palestinians have been warned to leave areas close to Hamas facilities

The UN secretary general has implored Israel and Palestinian militants to halt the fighting in Gaza immediately.

Ahead of a trip to the region to push for a truce, Ban Ki-moon said too many people had died and there had been too much civilian suffering.

His call came as Israeli ground forces and tanks moved deeper into Gaza City, with a BBC producer there saying he could hear shooting from tanks.

Nearly 30 rockets or mortars were fired on Israel from Gaza on Monday.

Early on Tuesday, the 18th day of the conflict, Israeli troops advanced in the southern and eastern suburbs of Gaza City, backed by artillery and helicopters.

The western areas of the city came under shellfire from Israeli gunboats.

The Israeli military has denied a Hamas claim that it had destroyed two Israeli tanks.

An army spokesman told the BBC that "more than 60 targets were targeted by IAF [Israeli Air Force]" during the night.

But the Israeli military announced a three-hour ceasefire starting at 0900 local time (0700 GMT) to allow aid lorries into Gaza.

The truce also coincides with visits to the territory by UN and Red Cross officials.

Gaza 'not broken'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Palestinian militants will keep on feeling Israel's "iron fist" as long as Hamas fires rockets at Israel.

But a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniya, said the group was "approaching victory".

"After 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not collapse," he said in a televised address from a secret location in Gaza

Both Hamas and Israel rejected last week's UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Palestinian medical sources say 910 people have been killed in Gaza so far, of whom 292 were children and 75 were women. Israeli officials say 13 Israelis, including three civilians, have been killed.

On Monday, casualty reports from Palestinian medics ranged from nine to 26 dead, while Israel said five of its soldiers had been injured, one of them seriously.

Israel is preventing international journalists from entering Gaza, making it impossible to independently confirm casualty figures.

'Society destroyed'

"My message is simple, direct and to the point: the fighting must stop," Mr Ban told a news conference in New York ahead of his departure on Tuesday for the Middle East.

"In Gaza, the very foundation of society is being destroyed: people's homes, civic infrastructure, public health facilities and schools."

His diplomatic tour will see talks with the leaders of Egypt, Israel and Syria as well as the Palestinian president in Ramallah.

However UN officials say he will not be meeting representatives of Hamas, and it is not clear whether he will go to Gaza itself during his week-long trip.

Meanwhile reports suggest diplomatic efforts between Egypt and Hamas in Cairo are progressing.

After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said the elements were in place for a ceasefire agreement.

"I am hopeful we can put an agreement together but it's going to have to be worked on very hard and it's got to be credible," he told journalists.

All-out push?

On Monday as Israel continued its air and ground offensive, Hamas said it had been involved in fighting with Israeli troops in several districts.

Israel hopes the scale of its operation will greatly reduce the number of missiles fired from Gaza into southern Israel, while eroding support for Hamas.

As the fighting continued, a spokesman for the charity Save the Children said it was impossible for aid workers to do their jobs.

"We need the violence to stop. We need the attacks to stop. It's only when that happens that we will be able to operate," Benedict Dempsey said.

Aid agencies say Gaza's 1.5 million residents are in urgent need of food and medical aid.

Deborah Shane Keller Williams Realty, San Clemente California 949-521-3512 Email Request Information