International Headlines

Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 30 April, 2010

> POLLS GIVE FINAL UK ELECTION DEBATE WIN TO CAMERON
Snap polls hand victory to Conservative Party leader David
Cameron after British political rivals clash in final televised
debate before May 6 election.

> U.S. GULF COAST BRACES FOR OIL SLICK
U.S. President Barack Obama says his government will use "every
resource at our disposal" to contain a massive oil spill heading
towards the Louisiana coast.

> GREECE SEEKS AID PACKAGE WORTH $160B
The aid package being negotiated to bail out Greece is worth 120
billion euros (about $160 billion) through 2012, according to
Vassilis Papadimitriou, a spokesman for Greek Prime Minister
George Papandreou.

> 'DEAD' PAKISTAN TALIBAN LEADER SEEN ALIVE
Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, reported killed
earlier this year, has been seen alive near the Afghan border,
officials say.

> BELGIAN LAWMAKERS PASS BURQA BAN
The Belgian parliament is likely to vote Thursday on whether to
ban face coverings worn by observant Muslim women, the spokesman

> 'LANDMARK' CANCER VACCINE APPROVED
A vaccine treatment for prostate cancer has become the first
therapy of its kind to win approval for use in U.S. patients.

> CHALLENGE TO ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW
Four groups that advocate for immigrant rights said Thursday
they plan to challenge Arizona's controversial new immigration
law, which allows police to ask anyone for proof of legal U.S.
residency.

> RUSSIA POSTS KATYN DOCUMENTS ONLINE
Millions of Russians have been poring over once secret documents
relating to the 1940 execution of nearly 22,000 Polish officers
by the Soviet secret police.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> WHO DECIDED GREEK DEBT WAS JUNK?
A decision to downgrade Greece's debt rating to junk status has
thrown the financial world into a tailspin. Behind the headlines
stand powerful firms upon whose stark assessments the fate of
markets depends.

> GERMANY TO THE RESCUE?
Angela Merkel, German chancellor, pledged on Wednesday to step
up efforts to overcome the Greek fiscal crisis as Standard &
Poor's downgraded Spain and investors sold bonds in Europe's
most indebted nations.

> WORLD CUP RESTRICTIONS UPSET SA BUSINESSES
FIFA has come under fire from South African businesses upset
with the tough trade restrictions put in place by soccer's world
governing body for the 2010 World Cup.