International Headlines

Date: Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 8:02 PM

TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 01 May, 2010

> FEDS RAISE PRESSURE ON BP OVER OIL SPILL
The government is heightening the pressure on BP, pushing the
company to do more to stop well leaks in the Gulf of Mexico and
to beef up its environmental response.

> GREEK SURVIVAL AT STAKE SAYS PM
George Papandreou, Greek prime minister, told parliament on
Friday that adoption of a rigorous three-year austerity
programme being drawn up by the European Union and International
Monetary Fund was "necessary... for the country's survival.

 > CHAVEZ ASSASSINATION PLOT ARREST

Venezuelan authorities have arrested a 29-year-old man on
suspicion that he was plotting to kill President Hugo Chavez,
the nation's justice minister said.

> SPAIN UNEMPLOYMENT TOPS 20 PERCENT
Unemployment in Spain has reached 20.05 percent, meaning 4.6
million people are out of work, the Spanish government announced
Friday.

> BLOCK ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENT GOODS
The Palestinian Authority has embarked on a series of measures
aimed at ending what one official has called the "cancer" of
Palestinian economic dependence on Israel's West Bank
settlements.
.
> AMERICAN PRIEST KILLED IN VENEZUELA
An American priest has been stabbed to death in Venezuela,
authorities in that country said in a statement.

> EX-INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL KILLED IN PAKISTAN
A former Pakistani intelligence official kidnapped by militants
on his way to the tribal regions has been killed, sources said.

> SHAKIRA SLAMS ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW
Grammy Award-winning singer Shakira has joined the growing
chorus of opposition to Arizona's new immigration law.

 BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> BARCLAYS Q1 PROFITS SOAR TO $2.7BN
Barclays played down its exposure to the debt crisis spreading
across Europe on Friday as it reported a 47 per cent rise in
pre-tax profits for the first three months of the year.

> INDIA BANS CHINESE TELECOMS IMPORTS
The Indian government is blocking purchases of telecoms
equipment from Chinese vendors on national security grounds,
ratcheting up trade tensions between Asia's fastest-growing
large economies.

> PROTESTERS DESCEND ON WALL STREET,
Protesters rallied in downtown New York City Thursday to voice
their anger over what they perceive as the roles Wall Street and
big banks played in America's economic crisis.