International Headlines

Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 20:02:06 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 24 May, 2010

> LOUISIANA DEMANDS U.S. ACTION ON OIL CLEANUP
Frustrated Louisiana officials demand the U.S. government
approve their plans to dredge up walls of sand to protect
delicate inland estuaries from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

> JAMAICA: STATE OF EMERGENCY IN KINGSTON
Authorities in Jamaica declared a state of emergency in Kingston
on Sunday night after gang members blockaded a large swath of
the capital city and attacked at least two police stations.

> VOICE RECORDER FOUND AT INDIA CRASH SITE
Searchers find a cockpit voice recorder in the charred wreckage
of a crashed Air India plane as the search continues for the
flight's data recorder.

> BA CABIN CREWS SET TO STRIKE
British Airways' cabin crew will strike for five days from
midnight Sunday after talks were disrupted by protesters and a
feud over a union boss' tweets.

> JAPAN PM 'SORRY' FOR OKINAWA BACKFLIP
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama apologizes to angry
residents of Okinawa after going back on an election promise to
move a U.S. military base off the island.

> WITNESSES: GAZA SUMMER CAMP BURNED
A U.N.-sponsored summer camp in Gaza was burned Sunday hours
before it was due to open, witnesses said, blaming Muslim
extremists who apparently object to boys and girls going to camp
together.

> VIDEO: WAS ACCESS SOLD TO UK ROYALS?
A British tabloid posted a video on its website Sunday that
appears to show Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, accepting
money from an undercover reporter in exchange for access to her
ex-husband, Prince Andrew, a U.K. trade envoy.

> THAILAND EXTENDS POST-CRISIS CURFEW
Thailand extends a curfew in the capital and nearly a third of
the country's provinces for at least two more nights, as Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejja again calls for reconciliation.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> GERMANY BACKS BAILOUT; EU HOSTS TALKS
European Union finance ministers will meet in Brussels Friday to
discuss tougher rules for eurozone economies as German lawmakers

> BA PROFITS, REPUTATION IN TAILSPIN
British Airway's bitter battle with the nation's largest union
is bruising the balance sheet of the UK's flagship carrier,
leaving the airline -- once the envy of the industry -- with a
tarnished reputation amid record losses.

> SARKOZY: GERMANY, FRANCE UNITED ON EURO PLAN
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that he and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel agree on how to handle Europe's
financial woes.