Mexico City, : Twelve people were killed in northern Mexico close to the US border, including eight in Ciudad Juarez, in the latest violence attributed to the country's brutal drug war. In Ciudad Juarez, known as Mexico's most violent city, a shooting on Wednesday between policemen and gunmen attacking a soda delivery truck killed two people -- an attacker and a deliveryman, according to local police officials. In another part of the city, a commando of hitmen killed a 35-year-man with several bullets after having chased him down several streets. The other victims were shot down on Wednesday in other parts of Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juarez is a border city across from El Paso, Texas. Feuding drug cartels have engaged in a brutal battle for dominance across the country, with some 5,400 people killed in 2008. The drug-related killings are especially prevalent in northern Mexico, the source of most illegal drug shipments to the United States, the world's biggest cocaine consumer. The rampant violence comes despite the deployment of some 36,000 troops across the country under the administration of President Felipe Calderon, who took power in late 2006.

GAZA CITY: Israeli warplanes pounded militant targets including a mosque in Gaza on Friday as Hamas ordered a "day of wrath" against Israel over the killing of a senior commander. Thousands of Israeli security personnel were on alert after Hamas called for "massive marches" following the main weekly Muslim prayers, starting off from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem and from all mosques in the West Bank. "We have mobilized thousands of people for the sector of east Jerusalem and neighbouring villages in order to maintain calm on Friday," Israel’s police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The army also locked down the West Bank for 48 hours, with movement in and out of the territory prohibited except for emergencies and special cases. Hamas called a "day of wrath" after an Israeli air strike killed Nizar Rayan, a firebrand hardliner, and several of his wives and children. At least 420 Palestinians have now been killed in Israel's seven-day-old blitz. Rayan is the most senior Islamist figure killed by Israel since Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004. With tanks and troops massed for a threatened ground offensive around Gaza and no ceasefire in sight, the army allowed foreigners to leave the battered enclave. "The (border) crossing was specially reopened to allow foreign nationals to leave the Gaza Strip," an army spokesman said, adding that more than 400 people were expected to cross. The Israeli military pounded the densely populated territory for a seventh day, carrying out some 20 strikes overnight, bombing rocket launching sites and Hamas buildings, the army said. Among the targets was a mosque in the northern town of Jabaliya that the military said was a "terror hub," used to stockpile weapons and as a Hamas operations centre. The Islamist movement tried to retaliate for the massive bombardment, sending a handful of rockets slamming into Israeli territory overnight without causing casualties. Israel unleashed its "Operation Cast Lead" on Hamas in Gaza on Saturday in response to persistent rocket fire from the territory, which the Islamists have run since June 2007. Since then, at least 420 Palestinians have been killed and at least 2,180 wounded, according to medics. At least 25 percent of those killed are civilians, according to a UN count. Gaza militants have fired more than 360 rockets into Israel, killing four people and wounding dozens more. Some of the rockets have reached deeper than ever inside Israeli territory, penetrating some 40 kilometres (24 miles) from the Gaza border. The Israeli offensive -- one of its deadliest-ever on Gaza -- has sparked angry protests in the Muslim world and defied diplomatic efforts to broker a truce. In the latest protest, more than 4,000 Muslims demonstrated in Sydney. Foreign minister Tzipi Livni reiterated that Israel does not think the time is yet ripe for a truce after talks in Paris on Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other leaders. "The question of whether it's enough or not will be the result of our assessment on a daily basis," she said. Peace moves were also stalled at the UN Security Council even though UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the conflict had become "a dramatic crisis." The civilian population in Gaza and stability throughout the Middle East "are trapped between the irresponsibility displayed in the indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas militants and the disproportionality of the continuing Israeli military operation," Ban said.

Thai police say cause of club fire still unclear

Bangkok,: The cause of a fire in a Bangkok nightclub that killed 59 New Year revellers is still not clear so it is premature to file criminal charges, Thai police said on Friday. More than 200 people were also injured in the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Thursday in the Santika nightclub, popular with both foreigners and high-society Thais. "We can't charge anybody right now because things are still unclear," Deputy National Police Chief Chongrak Chutanont told a news conference. "The only charge we could lay against the club owner is allowing teenagers aged below 18 to enter," he said. Police also have to check with the Commerce Ministry to identify the real owner of the nightclub but that will not be possible until January 05, when Thai government offices and businesses reopen after the long year-end holiday. "We need to find out in the club's registration record who holds the biggest share, then we'll lay charges against the right person," said police Superintendant Suthin Suppuang. Witnesses and local media have said the fire was caused by fireworks or by an electrical fault. Police have denied speculation it was the result of an arson attack as the club held its farewell party on New Year's Eve due to its lease expiring. One Singaporean man, identified as Teo Sze Siong, was among the dead, and several foreign clubbers were treated in hospital. More than 100 people were still hospitalized on Friday. Some 32 were seriously injured, including two Americans and one Briton, an official at an emergency centre said. Dozens of bodies wrapped in white cotton sheets were moved from the club to the police headquarters, many of them charred beyond recognitio"Sixteen dead bodies are still unclaimed and need to be identified by DNA test," a police official said.

LONDON: TV actress Jade Goody, who is battling with cervical cancer, was rushed to the hospital when her condition worsened due to a flu type virus which she caught after appearing on stage for her role as the Wicked Queen in pantomime 'Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs'. Goody, who became famous in India during her stint with reality show 'Big Brother' in UK for bullying Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, was diagnosed with cancer last year and since then she has been under treatment. Check ups revealed Goody's chemotherapy drugs had reduced count of infection-fighting blood cells in her body to a dangerously low level that doctors wanted to admit her immediately, the Daily Mail reported. "Jade was desperate to appear in the pantomime and not let anyone down. She is very prone to infection and has obviously picked up something which has hit her incredibly hard," said a source close to the 27-year-old actress. Goody has been unable to appear in her play for more than a week and rang doctors when she felt no better on Monday. Her consultant at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where she had further checks yesterday, has warned that she may be unable to return to the show which runs until January 24. Although her gruelling treatment appears to have been going well it is certainly straining Goody's health. The mother of two was recently admitted in hospital and was allowed to go home on condition she had complete rest after hospital tests. But she was told she will be taken into hospital later this week if her health does not improve.