International

Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 05:02:03 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 1000 GMT -- 15 February, 2009

UAE DENIES VISA TO ISRAELI TENNIS PLAYER
The United Arab Emirates has refused to grant a visa to Israeli
tennis Shahar Peer player for the Sony Ericsson World Tennis
Association Tour in Dubai, the WTA said in a statement Sunday.
Tour officials expressed dismay over the move, but say the
tournament will go ahead.

U.S.: 4 DEAD AFTER HOSPITAL WORKER OPENS FIRE
A former hospital worker systematically shot four people in
upstate New York on Saturday, authorities in two counties said.

VENEZUELANS VOTE ON TERM LIMIT FOR CHAVEZ
Venezuelans will decide Sunday whether to change the
constitution to allow President Hugo Chavez and other elected
officials to run for office indefinitely.

'RED ALERT' AFTER VOLCANO ERUPTS IN COLOMBIA
A volcano near southwest Colombia's border with Ecuador erupted
on Saturday, leading the government to issue a "red alert" for
the region.

DAYS NEEDED TO RECOVER ALL PLANE CRASH VICTIMS
Recovering all the bodies from Thursday's deadly U.S. passenger
plane crash may take four days as investigators work through
freezing temperatures and piles of wreckage.

WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN ISRAEL, TURKEY ESCALATES
Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador to the
Turkish capital of Ankara on Saturday to issue a formal
complaint over a top Israeli commander's reported remarks
criticizing Turkey.

STIMULUS BILL LIMITS BAILED-OUT EXECS' EARNINGS
An amendment in the $787 billion economic stimulus package
passed by Congress Friday would severely restrict bonuses and
other forms of compensation for top executives at companies
receiving federal bailout money.

U.S.: FINANCIAL CRISIS IN EMERGING MARKETS
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.
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BUSINESS

OBAMA PLANNING AMBITIOUS ROAD AHEAD
Fresh off victory on President Obama's $787 billion economic
recovery plan, several top White House aides say they're
planning an ambitious agenda for the rest of February. The White
House will focus on addressing the housing crisis, cleaning up
the banking mess and laying the groundwork for reform of the
health care system and entitlement programs like Medicare.

$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.