itsjohntime

ISRAELI ELECTION RIVALS CLAIM VICTORY
Israel's elections end in rival claims of victory by Tzipi
Livni's ruling Kadima party and conservative Benjamin
Netanyahu's Likud -- a standoff likely to delay the formation of
a ruling coalition and hamper peace initiatives in the region.

TSVANGIRAI TO BE SWORN IN AS ZIMBABWE PM
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to be sworn in
as prime minister Wednesday as part of a new unity government
that Zimbabweans hope will signal an end to the political and
economic crises that have gripped the nation for months.

WINDS SPREADING AUSTRALIAN WILDFIRES
Through a smoky haze, flames continue to dance around the
remains of a house, a shed and the blackened trunks of trees on
remarkable video footage filmed by a local resident Brad Price,
moments after a deadly firestorm swept through the rural
Victorian town of Kinglake, in southeast Australia.

U.S.: N. KOREA MISSILE SITE SHOWS ACTIVITY
A U.S. spy satellite snapped an image within the last several
days of preparations at a North Korean missile site previously
used for Taepodong-2 missile launch operations, a senior U.S.
official said.

MILITANT ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN LEAVE 13 DEAD
Taliban militants carried out attacks on two government
buildings in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 10 civilians and
three officials.

CHINA KILLS 13,000 BIRDS TO CONTROL 'EPIDEMIC'
China has killed 13,000 birds in the country's far northwest to
control what it called an epidemic of bird flu, state media
reported Tuesday.
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BELGIAN 'AL QAEDA CELL' LINKED TO AIRLINE PLOT
Last December 11, fourteen individuals were arrested in the
early hours of the morning in one of the largest
counterterrorism operations in Belgian history. Six were
eventually charged with participation in a terrorist group. The
others were released.

ASIAN MARKETS FOLLOW WALL STREET'S DECLINE
Asian and Pacific stocks dipped Wednesday following Wall
Street's negative reaction to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner's plan to overhaul the nation's bank bailout plan.

_______________________________
BUSINESS

UBS POSTS RECORD LOSS, CUTS 1,600 JOBS
Switzerland's biggest bank UBS on Tuesday posted a worse than
expected loss of nearly $17 million -- the largest ever by a
Swiss group -- and announced 1,600 new job cuts.

REPORT: CHINA'S EXPORTS, IMPORTS DOWN
China's exports plunged 17.5 percent, to $90.45 billion, in
January, compared with the previous year, state-run media
reported Wednesday.

OBAMA URGES ACTION ON STIMULUS PROPOSAL
U.S. President Barack Obama used his first prime-time news
conference to push the American Congress to approve his
administration's economic stimulus plan.

// posted by itsjohntime @ 2/11/2009 09:36:00 AM