International Headlines

Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 16 June, 2010

> OIL ESTIMATE RAISED TO 35,000-60,000 BARRELS A DAY
U.S. officials have increased the estimate of oil flowing into
the Gulf to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day, up to 50
percent more than previously estimated.

> N. KOREA REJECTS FINDINGS, THREATENS WAR
North Korea rejected Tuesday international findings that it sank
a South Korean ship, warning at the United Nations that the
dispute could lead to war.

> REFUGEE WORRIES GROW IN KYRGYZSTAN
Uzbekistan closes its border with Kyrgyzstan after tens of
thousands of ethnic Uzbeks attempt to flee the most serious
outbreak of ethnic violence in ten years.

> U.S. MULLS MORE HELP FOR KYRGYZSTAN
As thousands of ethnic Uzbeks flee attacks in Kyrgystan, the
United States is providing humanitarian assistance to the
impoverished country and evaluating what further help may be
needed, including military.

> ARUBA, PERU TO SWAP VAN DER SLOOT INFO
Aruban and Peruvian authorities have agreed to "help each other"
in the murder investigation of Stephany Flores -- in which Joran
Van der Sloot is the prime suspect, an Aruban government
spokesman said Tuesday.

> UK SOLDIERS GET 'BLOODY SUNDAY' BLAME
The British government releases a damning report into the Bloody
Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland, placing blame on the
soldiers who killed 14 people in 1972.

> DEATHS AFTER TRAINS COLLIDE IN MEXICO
Two trains collided head on Tuesday morning in northwestern
Mexico, leaving at least 10 dead and five injured, state news
agency Notimex reported.

> IRELAND EXPELS ISRAELI DIPLOMAT
Ireland has expelled an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged
passports in the assassination of a Hamas arms dealer in Dubai,
the Irish foreign minister announced Tuesday.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> WHAT FISCAL AUSTERITY LOOKS LIKE
The weather may be getting hot, but there's a lot of freezing
going on in Europe.Greece, Italy and Spain are freezing
public-sector wages. Hungary is freezing state spending. And
there's more ahead.

> BP DOWNGRADED TO JUST ABOVE JUNK STATUS
Fitch Ratings has downgraded BP for a second time this month to
just above junk status -- less than two weeks after it placed
the company on "watch negative."