NPR 2009-01-12（在线收听）

Israeli forces moved further into the Gaza Strip today, killing at least 29 Palestinians, that brings the death toll to more than 870 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel is getting close to achieving its goals. NPR's Anne Garrels has more from Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Olmert gave no timeframe for an end to the assault, suggesting it could still go on for some time. Olmert said patience, determination and effort are still needed to realize Israel's goals, among them an end to Hamas rocket attacks. Israel has warned Gaza's one and a half million residents it plans to escalate its air and ground assault, telling Gazans to stay away from fighters for their own safety. But locked into the narrow strip of land, Gazans reached by phone say they have nowhere safe to move. Warned in one place, several report, they fled to another only to find people there too had been warned to evacuate. Israel's Security Council is expected to discuss a possible third stage of the offensive in which the military would move into Gaza's densely populated urban areas. So far Israeli forces have launched attacks from the outskirts. Anne Garrels, NPR News, Jerusalem.

President-elect Obama wants to make it more transparent as to how the second half of the 700-billion dollar bailout fund is spent. Mr. Obama, appearing on ABC's This Week, says he's asked his economic advisors to develop a set of principles to ensure more openness about how that money's doled out.

Let's lay out very specifically some of the things that we are gonna do with the next 350 billion of money.

Obama's team is talking with the Bush administration about having Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson ask Congress to release the rest of bailout fund this week.

Europe's energy crisis suffered a new twist when Russia rejected a deal with Ukraine aimed at restarting supplies of natural gas. Their price dispute has left hundreds of thousands of Europeans braving freezing temperatures without heat. NPR's Moscow correspondent Gregory Feifer reports.

Russia had said it would reopen its pipelines to Europe as soon as a deal was signed for an international team of observers to verify the flow of gas through Ukraine. Prime Minister Mirek Topol nek of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency, persuaded both sides to sign an agreement this weekend. But in a meeting staged for television cameras, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Ukraine has issued a new declaration that contradicts the signed agreement.

We are forced to consider the signed documents invalid, Medvedev said, and we will not implement it until the stipulations are removed or revoked by Ukraine. Moscow has proposed sending officials to discuss the crisis in Brussels on Monday. Gregory Feifer, NPR News, Moscow.

The average price of gasoline went up about 12 cents nationwide over the past three weeks. It's the first price hike in half a year.

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Paramilitary and law enforcement personnel in southwest China have raided four underground armories. The raid was part of a nationwide drive by police to reduce violent crime. NPR's Anthony Kuhn filed this report from Beijing.

On orders from the Police Ministry in Beijing, over a thousand paramilitary police and SWAT team personnel set out by train from the city of Chongqing. Armed with machineguns, explosives and assault rifles, they traveled on trucks into the mountains where Chongqing borders on southern Hunan and Guizhou provinces. According to state media, the teams arrested dozens of illegal arms makers and merchants early Friday morning. They also captured more than 60 guns which the police described as well-made. Some media reported exchanges of gunfire, but there was no mention of casualties. Gun ownership is illegal in China. The current anti-gun drive has so far netted 470 criminal suspects and 183 guns since August 12th. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

The Senate acted on a bill in a rare Sunday session that would set aside 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness. Democrats made certain they had enough votes in Committee to overcome Republican stalling tactics by including some measures sponsored by Republicans. The measure ensures the Federal Government's highest level of protection on land that includes California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, Oregon's Mount Hood and Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

The Philadelphia Eagles eliminated last year's Super Bowl Champions New York Giants 23-11 today to reach the NFC title game for the first time in eight straight seasons, for the fifth time in eight seasons. The final game of the AFC playoffs is now underway.