International Headlines

Date: Sun, May 16, 2010 at 8:02 PM

TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 17 May, 2010

> 'INTENSE AND FIERCE' GUN BATTLE BREAKS OUT IN BANGKOK
A fierce gun battle, punctuated by explosions, broke out Sunday
in Bangkok in an area where anti-government protesters have
amassed,  reports.

> VOLCANIC ASH TO CLOSE HEATHROW, GATWICK
Ireland closed some of its airports Sunday morning because of a
drifting ash cloud from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

> BP SAYS TUBE INSERTED INTO GULF LEAK
Efforts continued early Sunday morning to insert a mile-long
tube into a ruptured pipe that has been gushing millions of
gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three
weeks.

> BRAZIL'S LULA IN IRAN FOR NUCLEAR TALKS
Brazil's president began talks Sunday with Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran, state media reported, with
international leaders saying they hoped the meeting could lead
to a breakthrough in the showdown over Iran's nuclear program.

> 20 DEAD, 60 WOUNDED IN SOMALIA SHELLING
At least 20 people were killed and 60 others wounded in shelling
in the Somali capital Sunday, medics said.


> AL QAEDA PRAISES AMERICAN-BORN CLERIC
A man believed to be the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula spoke in support of an American-born Muslim cleric and
al Qaeda recruiter in an audio message posted on radical
Islamist websites Sunday.

> IRAQ PM SUFFERS BLOW IN RECOUNT
A recount of votes in the Iraqi election found no change in seat
allocation for any of the blocs in the most populous province,
Baghdad, officials said Sunday.

> HUSSEIN'S NUCLEAR PLANTS DISMANTLED
The shell of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's efforts to
produce a nuclear bomb is being slowly dismantled along the
banks of the Tigris River, but its radioactive legacy lingers on.



 BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

 > NEW UK GOVERNMENT URGES BA STRIKE DEAL
Britain's new transport secretary plans talks Monday with
British Airways and the union representing its cabin crews to
try to avert a series of four planned strikes.

> BATTLE FOR BANGKOK HITS ECONOMY
The economy of Thailand -- whose growth this year so far has
belied its political ails -- is now seeing more of a direct
impact as protests grow increasingly violent.

> EXCLUSIVE: JAILED BILLIONAIRE SPEAKS FROM CELL
Russia's most famous prisoner, and once its richest citizen,
says the latest corruption charges against him are designed to
prevent his release from jail.