International

Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:02:03 -0400

IRAQI PRESIDENT WON'T LIKELY SEEK RE-ELECTION
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he will not seek re-election
at the end of his term.

G-20 LEADERS LAY OUT PLAN TO RESTORE GROWTH
Financial experts from 20 nations urged more regulation and
oversight of fiscal institutions to help prevent another
monetary crisis, as they laid the groundwork for next month's
G20 Summit of world leaders.

MADOFF PUTS WORTH AT MORE THAN $820 MILLION
Bernard Madoff, who pleaded guilty to operating a
multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, is worth up to $826 million,
according to court documents. In addition to his business -- now
in liquidation -- Madoff and his wife list multimillion-dollar
real estate holdings in New York, Florida and France. full story
.
NINE BODIES FOUND NEAR U.S.-MEXICO BORDER
Nine bodies have been found in a common grave in the desert
south of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, according to Chihuahua state
prosecutor's spokeswoman Daniela Gonzalez.

RIOTING FOLLOWS ARRESTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Rioting flared near Belfast on Saturday after the arrests of
three men in connection with the killings of two soldiers in
Northern Ireland last week, police said. Gangs of youths have
taken to the streets and petrol bombs have been hurled at police
in Lurgan, in County Armagh, police said.

ABDUCTED AID WORKERS FREED IN DARFUR
Four abducted medical workers abducted in Sudan's Darfur region
earlier this week appeared Saturday on Sudanese TV after their
release. All four -- an Italian doctor, a Canadian nurse, a
French coordinator and a Sudanese guard -- work for the Belgian
section of the humanitarian organization Medecins Sans
Frontieres.

AIG RESPONDS TO PRESSURE, CUTS BONUSES
Under pressure from the Treasury Department, insurance giant AIG
plans to scale back bonuses and compensation for some of its
top-earning employees.
_______________________________
BUSINESS

WALL ST. WRAPS BEST WEEK OF 2009
Wall Street managed a gain late Friday at the end of a choppy
session, with investors pushing the stock market advance to a
fourth day in a row -- the best stretch since November. Stocks
have risen in each session since the Dow and S&P 500 ended
Monday at 12-year lows. In those three sessions, the Dow rose
almost 10 percent: reports.

WEN: CHINA WORRIES ABOUT ASSETS IN U.S.
Beijing has high expectations for U.S. President Barack Obama's
economic recovery strategy, but worries remain about the safety
of China's assets in the United States, Premier Wen Jiabao said
on Friday.

EX-GOOGLE EXEC NAMED CEO OF AOL
Tim Armstrong, a former Google executive, was named the new
chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL, according to a
statement released by Time Warner's chairman and CEO Jeff
Bewkes.