International

Date: Sat, Feb 14, 2009 at 5:01 AM

CREW NOTED ICE BUILDUP BEFORE U.S. CRASH
Investigators say they have recovered flight data recorders that
might offer some clue into why a Continental commuter flight
crashed in New York State, killing 49 people on board and one
man on the ground.
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CLINTON WARNS, WOOS NORTH KOREA
The United States is prepared to seek a permanent, peace with
North Korea as long as it pursues disarmament and does not
engage in aggression against neighboring South Korea, U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on the eve of her trip
across Asia.

U.S. CONGRESS APPROVES MASSIVE STIMULUS PLAN
The U.S. Senate gives final approval to a $787 billion
economic-stimulus package backed by President Obama, with
Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown returning from his mother's
wake to cast the 60th vote in favor of it.

2 HURT IN LONDON CITY AIRPORT CRASH
A British Airways jet carrying 67 passengers and five crew
members crashed on landing at London City Airport on Friday,
injuring two people.

PAKISTAN: 20 DEAD FROM AIRSTRIKE
Twenty people were killed early Saturday after a suspected U.S.
airstrike in northwest Pakistan, a intelligence official said.

G7 MINISTERS FOCUS ON REFORMS, TRANSPARENCY
Finance ministers from the world's leading industrialized
nations were holding their second and last day of meetings in
Rome on Saturday with an agenda squarely focused on the world
financial crisis.

WOMEN, KIDS AMONG 38 KILLED NEAR IRAQ FESTIVAL
A female suicide bomber detonated in a crowd of primarily women
and children on their way to a religious festival Friday,
killing at least 35 people and wounding 45 others, an Interior
Ministry official said.

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BUSINESS

$250K MICROSOFT BOUNTY ON WORM CREATOR
Software giant Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers
behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of
PCs being hijacked.

AUSTRALIA APPROVES $26.5B STIMULUS PLAN
Australian leaders passed a $42 billion (US $26.5 billion)
stimulus package Friday in response to the global recession.

LLOYDS SHARES PLUNGE FOLLOWING HBOS LOSSES
Lloyds Banking Group saw its share price tumbled Friday after
reporting worse-than-expected profits for its subsidiary HBOS.