International Headline News

Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 20:02:04 -0500
TOP STORIES as of 0900 HKT -- 03 February, 2010

GATES OUTLINES PLAN FOR GAY SOLDIERS IN U.S. FORCES
The Pentagon has taken the first steps toward repealing the
"don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay and lesbian service
members, the U.S. Defense Secretary says.

> U.S. SAYS OBAMA, DALAI LAMA WILL MEET
U.S. President Barack Obama intends to meet the Dalai Lama even
though China has warned that such a meeting would harm bilateral
ties, a White House spokesman has said.

> MOUSSAVI: 'TYRANNY CONTINUES IN IRAN'
Mir Hossein Moussavi, the Iranian opposition leader and symbol
of anti-government fervor, has lashed out against Iran's Islamic
Republic, saying remnants of the and "dictatorship" that
prevailed under the toppled Shah persist today.

> IRAN VOWS TO HANG NINE OVER PROTESTS
Iran will soon execute nine more people in connection with the
country's post-election riots, the semiofficial FARS news agency
reported Tuesday.

> LAWYER: JACKSON'S DOCTOR TO SURRENDER
Dr. Conrad Murray expects to surrender to Los Angeles
authorities this week on charges relating to the death of
Michael Jackson, his lawyer told CNN on Tuesday.

> MEDICAL JOURNAL RETRACTS AUTISM STUDY
The medical journal The Lancet on Tuesday retracted a
controversial 1998 paper that linked the measles, mumps and
rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism.

> SOURCES: DRONE KILL 29 IN PAKISTAN
Suspected U.S. drone strikes killed at least 29 people in
several villages of northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, Pakistani
intelligence sources said.

> AIRLINE ON TRIAL OVER CONCORDE CRASH
A trial to determine who is to blame for the crash of an Air
France Concorde begins in Paris. Continental Airlines and five
individuals face manslaughter charges.

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BUSINESS
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> FENG SHUI FACTOR IN $1B ESTATE BATTLE
The practice of feng shui figured prominently in the fight over
the estate of one of Asia's wealthiest women, Nina Wang.

> FOOTBALL 'LOAN' IS BETTER THAN DEBT
It seems somewhat ironic that in these tough economic times,
caused in many ways by bad credit, the best way to sum up
football's latest transfer window is the word "loan."

> BP OFFERS DOWNBEAT OUTLOOK FOR 2010
BP has cut 7,500 jobs in its cost-reduction drive since 2007,
the company said on Tuesday, as it reported an underlying 70 per
cent rise in fourth-quarter profits.