Daily Update

- Oil prices surge due to Mideast violence, but Kuwait's cancellation of a major petrochemical deal with Dow Chemical Co. sent stocks falling as the cancellation was interpreted as an indication of the severity and staying power of the current recession. As the Israeli airstrike against Hamas targets continues to day three, widespread protest against Israel in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran have been reported

- 7,000 Iranian college students are said to have registered to fight Israel at the behest of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kamenei's proclamation that those who die in defense of Gaza against Israel will be considered martyrs

- ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed of Bangladesh has won the country's first democratic election since a military interim government took power in 2007; her political party, the Awami league, also won a parlimentary majority

- Look who's coming to dinner: a Chinese special envoy, the British High Commissioner, and Iranian President Ahamdinejad have all reached out to Pakistan to defuse escalating tensions between it and neighboring India

- Somalia's President Yusef has resigned as the country's Islamist Militants declare war on one another

Daily Update

- Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip continues for a second day. Over 240 Palestinians have died in the response to Hamas's rocket attacks. While many had expected Israel to use military force during the US presidential transition, Iran, not Hamas, was the expected target. The attacks have been described as the harshest in decades.

- The Bush Administration has been unwavering in its support for Israel and continues to blame Hamas for the violence in the Gaza Strip.

- India is hailing the election returns from Kashmir and Jammu as good signs for democracy and Indian national unity. In the wake of the Mumbai attacks, the elections were held under high security.