International Headlines

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:02:07 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 17 June, 2010

> BP TO PUT $20B IN ESCROW FUND FOR OIL SPILL CLAIMS
BP has agreed to place $20 billion in an escrow fund to pay for
claims in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, U.S. President Barack
Obama says at the White House.

> U.N. AID ARRIVES FOR FLEEING REFUGEES
The first U.N. aid plane arrives with supplies for Uzbekistan
camps sheltering around 100,000 refugees fleeing fighting in
neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

> 20 DEAD IN FRENCH FLASH FLOODS
Fifteen people were killed and 12 were missing after flash
floods hit the southern French region of Var, French authorities
said Wednesday.

> SUDANESE REBELS SURRENDER TO COURT
Two suspected rebel leaders accused of having committed war
crimes in Sudan's Darfur region surrendered to the International
Criminal Court on Wednesday, the court announced.

> IRAN 'STARTING WORK' ON NEW REACTOR
Iran is starting design work on a new nuclear reactor, the head
of the country's Atomic Energy Organization said Wednesday,
according to Iranian media.

> U.S. ARMY CHARGES 3 IN AFGHAN KILLINGS
Three additional U.S. soldiers based in Washington state are
facing charges in the deaths of three Afghan civilians between
January and May and have been placed in pre-trial confinement,
the Army announced Wednesday.

> NEW U.S. SANCTIONS TARGET IRAN PROGRAMS
The United States is adding new sanctions to target Iran's
nuclear and missile programs, identifying 22 entities and a
number of individuals allegedly involved with those programs.

> BIN LADEN HUNTER HAS 'PSYCH PROBLEMS'
A Pakistani doctor has determined that the Colorado man arrested
in Pakistan while hunting for Osama bin Laden has psychological
problems and has been undergoing dialysis every 20 days, said a
senior Pakistani intelligence official Wednesday.

BUSINESS
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> FRANCE TO RAISE RETIREMENT AGE TO 62
France will raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 as part of
efforts to wipe out the country's growing deficit, Labor
Minister Eric Woerth said Wednesday.

> SPANISH BANKS BREAK ECB LOAN RECORD
Spanish banks are borrowing record amounts from the European
Central Bank as the country's financial institutions struggle to
gain funding from the international capital markets.

> ESTIMATE OF DISASTER'S SCOPE GOES UP -- AGAIN
Government officials 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