International Headline News

Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010
TOP STORIES as of 0900 HKT -- 15 February, 2010

> AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED IN ANTI-TALIBAN ASSAULT
Twelve Afghan civilians have been killed after rockets fired by
coalition forces in southern Afghanistan missed their target
during a major NATO assault against the Taliban.

> CLINTON: TOUGH ACTION NEEDED FOR IRAN
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Sunday for
tougher actions against Iran after its announcement that it is
stepping up production of highly enriched uranium.

> LEBANON MARKS HARIRI KILLING ANNIVERSARY
Thousands gathered in downtown Beirut on Sunday to mark the
fifth anniversary of former Lebanon Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri's assassination, a major event that altered the nation's
political landscape.

> MAN 'RAPED, ENSLAVED' WIVES, DAUGHTERS
An Israeli man accused of having 23 wives and fathering 59
children was charged Sunday in a Tel Aviv court with multiple
counts of sexual assault, rape, sodomy and enslavement.

> OIL EXECUTIVE KILLED IN AVALANCHE
The president of ConocoPhillips Alaska was killed in an
avalanche and another person in his snowmobiling party is
missing, according to Alaska State Troopers.

> NASA EXTENDS SHUTTLE MISSION BY A DAY
NASA is extending the mission of the space shuttle Endeavour by
a day so astronauts can do more work on the International Space
Station, mission managers announced Sunday.

> BIDEN, CHENEY SPAR VIA TALK SHOWS
Vice President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Dick Cheney,
sparred Sunday over Iraq and the fight against terrorism, duking
it out on the most prominent of platforms: the political TV talk
show.

> GREEK PM SLAMS EU AMID DEBT CRISIS
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said the European Union
could do more to stand by his country amid a budget crisis that
threatens EU political unity and budget rules.

BUSINESS
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> GOOGLE 'OPTIMISTIC' IT WON'T LEAVE CHINA
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said he's optimistic that his
search engine will not have to pull out of China over hacking
and censorship issues.

> EUROZONE ECONOMIC RECOVERY FALTERS
The eurozone's economic recovery faltered late last year as a
strong performance by France failed to offset stagnation in
Germany and contraction in Italy and Spain reports Eurostat, the
European Union's statistics office.

> REPORT SLAMS EUROSTAR FOR XMAS CHAOS
An independent report out Friday slammed Eurostar for the fiasco
that saw thousands of passengers stranded before Christmas when
winter weather hit the English Channel Tunnel.