International Headlines

Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 20:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 29 May, 2010

> SCORES KILLED IN LAHORE MOSQUE ATTACKS
At least 80 people are dead and scores more injured in Lahore,
Pakistan, following attacks on two mosques used by the
marginalized Ahmadi religious minority.

> SUSPECTED DRONE KILLS 12 IN PAKISTAN
A suspected U.S. drone strike killed 12 militants and wounded
four others Friday afternoon in Pakistan's tribal region,
intelligence officials said.

> BP: SPILL IS 'ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE'
A top BP official upgrades his assessment of the environmental
impact of the Gulf oil spill from modest to catastrophic, as the
company resumes efforts to plug the leak.

> 'STROKES' STAR GARY COLEMAN DIES AT 42
Former child star Gary Coleman, who rose to fame as the
wisecracking youngster Arnold Jackson on the TV sitcom
"Diff'rent Strokes" but grew up to grapple with a troubled
adulthood, has died. He was 42.

> SABOTAGE CLAIM IN INDIA TRAIN CRASH
Indian authorities investigating a double train crash in the
country's east say it appears the track was sabotaged shortly
before the collision killing 56 people.

> CHINA STEPS BACK FROM KOREA STANDOFF
China's premier arrived in South Korea to meet with the
country's president Friday as regional tensions mounted.

> LETTER TO POPE URGES END TO CELIBACY
About a dozen Italian women have posted an open letter to the
pope on the internet in which they claim to have had intimate
relationships with priests and urge the church to abolish
celibacy for Catholic clergy.

> AID ACTIVISTS VOW TO DEFY GAZA BLOCKADE
Defying Israel's controversial blockade, a flotilla of
pro-Palestinian activists are vowing to come face-to-face with
Israeli forces to deliver supplies to Gaza, a Free Gaza Movement
organizer said.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> CHINESE FACTORY SUICIDE MYSTERY
Liang Chao was a typical farmer's son who migrated to the city
seeking a better life. So why did this employee of Foxconn --
which makes products for Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and other
companies -- kill himself?

> SPAIN'S CREDIT RATING SLASHED
Fitch downgraded Spain's sovereign debt to a lower investment
grade Friday, adding to continued concerns about European
contagion.

> FOXCONN TO RAISE WAGES BY 20 PERCENT
Foxconn, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer,
is planning to raise wages for its Chinese workers by about 20
percent after a spate of suicides at its main plant in southern
China put working conditions at its factories under
international scrutiny.