International

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:01:03 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 15 January, 2009

BESIEGED AID GROUP PLEADS FOR GAZA TRUCE
As red-hot shrapnel falls on the main U.N. HQ in Gaza, the
organization's aid agency has called on both Israel and Hamas to
stop their now-20-day war. But a spokesman for the U.N. Relief
and Works Agency says neither side seem to be listening, halting
distribution of food and health supplies to outlying parts of
the warzone.

BUSH OFFICIAL SAYS GITMO DETAINEE TORTURED
For the first time, a senior Bush administration official has
publicly described a detainee's treatment at the U.S. Navy Base
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as torture, according to a published
report.

RED CROSS WORKERS KIDNAPPED IN PHILIPPINES
Men on motorcycles with machine-guns abducted three workers of
the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern
Philippines Thursday morning, officials said.

WORST OF U.S. DEEP FREEZE IS YET TO COME
Frigid air gripped cities from the Canadian border to Florida on
Wednesday, with some cities posting record lows.

CHINA BECOMES WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST ECONOMY
China has become the world's third-largest economy, surpassing
Germany and closing rapidly on Japan, according to government
and World Bank figures.

ASIAN MARKETS TUMBLE AFTER WALL ST SELL-OFF
Asian markets tumbled Thursday after a sell-off on Wall Street,
with the Nikkei closing 4.9 percent lower after Japan's Cabinet
office reported a record drop in November machinery orders,
another sign of the ongoing recession.

APPLE'S JOBS TO TAKE SICK LEAVE
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs said today he will take a leave of
absence because of health issues, CNNMoney.com reports. Jobs,
who announced last week that he suffered from a hormone
imbalance that caused him to lose weight, said he will be away
from the job until the end of June. "My health-related issues
are more complex than I originally thought," he said in a letter
to employees.

SUSPECTED WWII BOMB WOUNDS MAN IN JAPAN
A worker was severely injured Wednesday when a bomb, believed to
be left over from World War II, went off at a construction site
in Okinawa, police said.

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BUSINESS

VOTE LOOMS ON REMAINING U.S. BAILOUT FUNDS
The U.S. Senate will vote Thursday on whether the second half of
the $700 billion financial rescue package is released, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid said late Wednesday.

KELLOGG WARNS ON PEANUT BUTTER CRACKERS
The Kellogg Co. announced Wednesday it is recommending that
consumers not eat its peanut butter crackers because they may be
tainted with salmonella.

GEITHNER SNAG PROMPTS BUREAUCRATIC MOVE
As U.S. President-elect Barack Obama defended Tim Geithner, his
Treasury Secretary choice, a top Bush official agreed to stay on
as acting Treasury Secretary if Geithner is not confirmed by
Inauguration Day, a source close to the transition team said.