Washington  - The US Federal Reserve painted yet another depressing picture of the state of the world's largest economy on Wednesday as plunging December retail sales told of a dismal holiday season for US retailers.

The US central bank warned Wednesday that economic activity was continuing to weaken across nearly all regions of the country going into 2009, according to its so-called Beige Book update on the economy.

Jerusalem  - Israel confirmed Wednesday evening that it would send to Cairo the following day Amos Gilad, a senior defense official, to follow up on the negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's Office could not give details about what Israel would present in Cairo, saying Gilad would primarily listen, but the Jewish State has said it want a cessation of rocket fire from Gaza as well as a end to arms smuggling into the Strip.

Gilad's trip had been originally scheduled for earlier in the week.

La Paz  - Bolivia broke diplomatic ties with Israel over the "disproportionate" attacks of the Israeli Army on the Gaza Strip, Bolivian President Evo Morales said Wednesday in La Paz.

Morales made the announcement as diplomats accredited in Bolivia greeted the president in accordance with protocol, Bolivian media reported.

He exhorted the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the ongoing attacks in Gaza which have already over 1,000 lives.

London/New Delhi, Jan. 14: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's visit with Congress party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to Amethi this evening is likely to not only raise eyebrows in political circles both here and in Britain, but will also be seen as an endorsement of Gandhi as India's future leader.

According to The Times, both who are tipped to be future prime ministers of their respective countries, will spend their time in Amethi eating with their hands and sleeping on charpoys (wooden bed frames strung with rope).

Berlin  - Technical experts from Germany's federal police and interior ministry are to travel to Egypt in the coming days to help Egypt secure its border with the Gaza Strip, the state secretary in the ministry said late Tuesday.

August Hanning said the move would fulfill a request from the Egyptian government "to support securing Egypt's border area with German expertise."

Washington  - President-elect Barack Obama's pick for treasury secretary could face tough questions in his confirmation hearing after problems arose Tuesday with his taxes and the immigration status of his former housekeeper.

Timothy Geithner, who now heads the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, apparently briefly employed a housekeeper whose immigration papers had expired while she worked for him, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.