International

Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 05:02:03 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 04 February, 2009

OBAMA: 'I SCREWED UP' ON DASCHLE APPOINTMENT
President Barack Obama admits he made a mistake in handling the
nomination of Tom Daschle as his Health and Human Services
secretary, saying Daschle's tax problems sent a message that the
politically powerful are treated differently from average
people.

SRI LANKAN HOSPITAL CLOSES AFTER SHELLING
A hospital caught in the middle of fierce fighting between
government forces and Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka has
been closed down after being shelled for a ninth time in four
days, the United Nations says.

NATO TRUCKS ATTACKED IN NORTHWEST PAKISTAN
Suspected militants fired rockets on NATO trucks in northwest
Pakistan early Wednesday -- the latest in a series of recent
attacks meant to choke supplies into Afghanistan for the United
States and its allies.

CLINTON TALKS WITH EURO ALLIES ON AFGHANISTAN
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought Tuesday to shore up
cooperation with two key European allies on Iran and other
issues, capitalizing on the goodwill earned by the election of
President Barack Obama.

REPORTS: KYRGYZSTAN TO SHUT KEY U.S. BASE
The Kyrgyz government is planning to close a strategically
important U.S. military base that Washington uses as a route for
troops and supplies heading into Afghanistan, Russian media
reported Tuesday.

PANASONIC TO CUT 15,000 JOBS
Panasonic, hard hit by the global recession, will cut 15,000
jobs by March 2010, the company announced Wednesday.

MYSPACE BLOCKS 90,000 SEX OFFENDERS
MySpace.com has identified and removed 90,000 convicted sex
offenders from its popular online social-networking site,
according to one of the dozens of state attorneys general who
pressured the site to beef up its safety standards.

AL QAEDA LEADER'S MESSAGE FOCUSES ON GAZA
Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released a new
audio message Tuesday, condemning Israel and calling for renewed
attacks.

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BUSINESS

BANK OF MEXICO MOVES TO HELP PESO
The Bank of Mexico auctioned off billions of dollars Tuesday in
an attempt to support the faltering Mexican peso.

BP PROFITS RISE BY 39 PERCENT
Oil giant BP announced Tuesday that its annual profits had
jumped by 39 percent to $25.6 billion, as last year's soaring
oil prices fueled results.

AIRLINE SAS CUTS JOBS, PLANS RESTRUCTURE
Swedish airline SAS has announced it is to ax 3,000 jobs and
sell off several of its stakes in other airlines after unveiling
its fourth quarter results.