WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Israel has been told to avoid civilian casualties in air raids and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, a spokesman for U.S. President Bush said Friday.

HAVANA, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Cubans Thursday commemorated the 50th anniversary of the revolution that brought former leader Fidel Castro to power.

CRAWFORD, Texas, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush spent the last day of 2008 in telephone diplomacy, discussing Gaza and tensions between India and Pakistan, a spokesman said.

CRAWFORD, Texas, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush and his Palestinian counterpart agreed Hamas must respect a cease-fire for it to be lasting, a White House spokesman said Tuesday.

CRAWFORD, Texas, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and work toward a "sustainable and durable" cease-fire, a spokesman for U.S. President Bush said Monday.

CAIRO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Arab leaders immediately condemned the Israeli airstrikes Saturday on the Hamas stronghold of Gaza.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Pakistan canceled leave for its soldiers and was redeploying troops to the Indian border, officials said Friday.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush not only visited patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he was a patient himself briefly.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The White House is providing contingency plans to help U.S. President-elect Barack Obama navigate a global crisis if one erupts in his first days in office.