International Headlines

Date: Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:02:06 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 29 April, 2010

> SPANISH DEBT DOWNGRADED AS EUROZONE WOES MOUNT
Spain becomes the latest eurozone country to have its debt
downgraded as German leader Angela Merkel and finance chiefs
meet to draw up a rescue plan for Greece.

> 'PENITENT' BROWN SORRY FOR 'BIGOT' GAFFE
UK PM Gordon Brown says he is a "penitent sinner" after
apologizing to a 65-year-old widow he called a "bigoted woman"
in a campaign trail microphone mishap.

> THAI POLICE, PROTESTERS CLASH IN BANGKOK
Thai security forces fire rubber bullets and tear gas into
crowds of anti-government protesters as tensions flare in the
latest round of confrontations in Bangkok.

> IRANIAN PLANE FLIES NEAR U.S. CARRIER
An Iranian navy plane that approached a U.S. aircraft carrier
last week was flying as low as 300 feet as it neared the USS
Eisenhower, U.S. military officials said Wednesday.

> COAST GUARD TO IGNITE GULF OIL SLICK
The U.S. Coast Guard could begin burning off portions of a Gulf
of Mexico oil slick as early as Wednesday, as the pool of crude
began to encroach on sensitive ecological areas in the
Mississippi River Delta.

> CHINA PUNISHED OVER UNDERAGE GYMNAST
The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday stripped China
of a bronze medal in the women's team event at the 2000 Olympic
Games after finding one of the team's athletes was underage.

> APPLE MAY UNVEIL NEW IPHONE IN JUNE
Apple on Wednesday announced the dates of its Worldwide
Developers Conference, where the company is expected to
introduce a new iPhone (even though tech blog Gizmodo may have
spoiled the surprise).

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> GREEK AUSTERITY MEASURES PROMPT STRIKE
Greek civil servants and private sector workers will hold a
24-hour strike May 5 to protest government austerity measures,
the unions announced Wednesday.

> Q&A: GREECE'S DEBT RATING DOWNGRADE
Financial markets were in turmoil on Wednesday amid fears that
more countries could be sucked into Greece's mounting debt
crisis. European indexes followed those in Asia into the red
after Standard & Poor downgraded Greece's debt rating to junk
status and Portugal's rating also dropped two notches.

> SHELL PROFITS RISE 60 PERCENT TO $4.8BN
Royal Dutch Shell, the oil and gas group, has welcomed signs of
an improving economic outlook as it reported a 60 per cent rise
in underlying post-tax profits, exceeding analysts'
expectations.