International

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:01:08 -0500T
OP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 25 January, 2009

CARTEL 'STEWMAKER' SAYS HE DISSOLVED 300 BODIES
A suspect in police custody calls himself a "stewmaker" for a
Mexican drug lord, saying he disposed of about 300 bodies by
dissolving them in acid.

OBAMA: ECONOMY IS 'AN UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS'
U.S. President Barack Obama has painted a bleak economic picture
of the country, hours before he is to meet with his economic
team. Speaking in his first weekly address as president, Obama
said: "We begin this year and this administration in the midst
of an unprecedented crisis."

HUDSON CRASH PILOT GETS WARM WELCOME HOME
The pilot who made a treacherous crash-landing on New York's
Hudson River look like a routine maneuver got a hero's welcome
Saturday in his California hometown.

TWO SUSPECTED PAKISTANI MILITANTS SLAIN IN INDIA
Two terror suspects were killed in a shootout early Sunday on
the outskirts of New Delhi, according to Indian police.

'COWARDLY' BOMBING KILLS 15 IN MOGADISHU
A car bomb exploded Saturday in Somalia's capital, killing 15
people and wounding 24, a government spokesman said.

INDIAN PM RECOVERING AFTER HEART SURGERY
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is "stable, comfortable
and making rapid progress" after a successful heart surgery, his
office said Sunday.

JANKOVIC DOWNED IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN STUNNER
World number one Jelena Jankovic slumped out of the Australian
Open on Sunday with a disappointing 6-1, 6-4 loss to Marion
Bartoli of France, dashing her bid to win her first Grand Slam
tournament.

CHILD ABUSE ON RISE IN JAMAICA
The number of child abuse reports in Jamaica increased
dramatically in 2008, the nation's Office of Children's Registry
reported Saturday.

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BUSINESS

BRITISH ECONOMY NOW OFFICIALLY IN RECESSION
The British economy is officially in a recession, according to
statistics released Friday. The British gross domestic product
declined by 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the
British government announced. That followed a decline of 0.5
percent in the third quarter.

BOLIVIA NATIONALIZES BP SUBSIDIARY
Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalized the Chaco petroleum
company Friday, taking over the British Petroleum subsidiary
with the military on standby.

GEITHNER HEADS TO FULL SENATE VOTE
A U.S. Senate panel recommended the full Senate confirm Tim
Geithner as the next Treasury secretary, but five Republican
senators opposed going forward, including the committee's
ranking member.