(Reuters) – Israel and Hamas remained locked in a 16-day-old Gaza war on Sunday, ignoring international calls for a ceasefire. The Palestinian death toll topped 850, including many civilians. Three Israeli civilians, killed by rockets, and 10 soldiers have died. Here are some questions and answers about the conflict:

RIYADH (Reuters) – A leading Saudi campaigner for political rights has been released without charge after eight months in detention, a rights activist said on Sunday. Matruk al-Faleh, a politics professor, was set free on Saturday after he was taken from his offices at King Saud University in Riyadh last …

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers killed 10 Palestinian gunmen during clashes in the city of Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian medical officials said. The location of the fighting, on the southwest side of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip’s biggest population centre, suggested Israel was intensifying a more than two-week-old offensive. Troops previously …

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The head of Russian gas company Gazprom, Alexei Miller, faces a serious obstacle to his dream of turning his firm into a $1 trillion bluechip company: he owes his loyalty to the Kremlin. That tension was in evidence this week when Miller was at the center of …

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has not exhausted its diplomatic options in its attempt to bring the Mumbai attack plotters to justice, India’s foreign minister said Saturday. “We have not reached the end of the road,” Pranab Mukherjee told CNN-IBN television channel. But he also said that India had enough …

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani authorities have extended for 60 days the detention of the founder of the Islamist militant group India has blamed for November’s attacks in Mumbai, a government spokesman said on Sunday. Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest in the city of Lahore in early December …

(Reuters) – Following are developments in the fighting in the Gaza Strip as of 0500 GMT: (* Denotes new or updated items) *GAZA – Palestinian witnesses report heavy fighting east of the city of Gaza where Hamas militants fired anti-tank missiles and mortar bombs at advancing Israeli forces who responded …

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Sunday the job of stopping arms smuggling from Egypt to the Gaza Strip should be done by Egyptian forces and rejected the idea of an international force. European and Israeli diplomats have said an international force is part of a package mediators are trying …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi exchanged views over the phone Friday on promoting further development of bilateral relations in 2009 and international and regional issues of common concern. On the situation in the Gaza Strip, Yang said China is seriously concerned and …

TEHRAN (FNA)- The first shipment of Iranian crude oil of 65,000 metric tons arrived in Karachi on Friday to fulfill supply of local refineries. The shipment is being carried out on the fresh agreement between Iran and Pakistan on the condition of 90 days deferred payment. According to reports, the …