Wednesday, January 21, 2009
International
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 21 January, 2009
OBAMA ORDERS HALT TO GUANTANAMO TRIALS
In one of his first acts in office President Obama has ordered
the U.S. government to suspend prosecutions of prisoners at
Guantanamo Bay for 120 days, military officials said Tuesday.
Obama has vowed to close the naval prison at the U.S. base.
While his order does not go that far, it will stop the
prosecutions of 21 detainees facing war crimes charges.
MICHELLE OBAMA CASTS SPELL WITH IVORY GOWN
Michelle Obama dazzled on the dance floor Tuesday night at the
Neighborhood Inaugural Ball in Washington, wearing an elegant,
one-shouldered ivory gown created for her by 26-year-old
designer, Jason Wu.
WORLD (MOSTLY) CELEBRATES
Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th U.S. President has been
accompanied by celebrations around the world.
SCHNEIDER: TONE OF SPEECH RIGHT FOR THE TIMES
President Obama's inaugural address was cooler, more measured
and reassuring than that of other presidents making it, perhaps,
the right speech for the times.
OBAMA SPEECH DRAWS ON SURPRISING SOURCES
Barack Obama, who shot from obscurity to fame based on a single
speech and then captured the White House in a campaign marked by
soaring rhetoric, delivered a restrained, sober inaugural
address Tuesday.
FIRST COUPLE WALTZ THROUGH 10 INAUGURAL BALLS
Stefanie Hurst isn't worried about someone else wearing the same
black-and-cream-colored Oleg Cassini gown that she plans to wear
to one of the official presidential inaugural balls in
Washington. She just worries about whether her frock will arrive
in time for her to wear it.
TED KENNEDY COLLAPSES AT INAUGURAL LUNCH
Senator Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, collapsed Tuesday
afternoon during a luncheon held for President Barack Obama in
the Capitol's Statuary Hall, a senator told CNN's Dana Bash.
COMMENTARY: OBAMA THE KIND OF HERO WE NEED
President Barack Obama, our newly inaugurated 44th president,
showed the millions watching around the world and the freezing
millions there in person on the Mall why he won the election --
and why so many believe he can lead us in these troubled times.
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BUSINESS
ASIAN MARKETS SINK ON ECONOMIC WORRIES
Asian markets posted wide-ranging losses, with Tokyo's Nikkei,
Seoul's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropping 2 percent or
more, as investors looked beyond U.S. President Barack Obama's
historic inauguration to the battered economy he inherits.
MINING GIANT BHP BILLITON CUTS 6,000 JOBS
BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, said Wednesday
it will cut about 6,000 jobs due to the deteriorating outlook in
the global nickel market.
SINGAPORE ECONOMY TO SHRINK IN 2009
Singapore's economy is likely to shrink in 2009 more than the
government had forecast earlier this month, according to the
Ministry of Trade and Industry.
