GAZA CITY - ISRAEL plans to halt its three-week-old Gaza offensive because it has achieved its goals, a senior Israeli official said on Saturday.

'The goal is to announce, subject to the approval of the cabinet, a suspension of military activities because we believe our goals have been attained,' said the official who asked not to be named.

DESPITE the muted economy and labour market these days, the construction sector is an area of growth that job-seekers can still turn to, according to Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education.

She was speaking at the Built Environment scholarship, training and career fair organised by the Building and Construction Authority on Saturday, where more than 380 job vacancies were being offered by 33 exhibitors.

ISLAMABAD (Pakistan) - INVESTIGATORS have 10 days to complete their inquiries into the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan's top Interior Ministry official said on Saturday.

Mr Rehman Malik told reporters that investigators were looking at information handed over by India and leads gathered independently.

SEOUL - SOUTH Korea's armed forces ordered a border alert on Saturday after North Korea's military threatened an 'all-out confrontational posture' against Seoul.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered an intensified guard by the army, navy and air force and called for increased reconnaissance flights by spy planes, a spokesman for the joint chiefs told AFP.