International Headlines

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0800 HKT -- 18 June, 2010

> U.S. LAWMAKERS SLAM BP CHIEF AT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING
U.S. lawmakers blast BP's corporate culture, calling the firm's
bosses "oblivious" to what was happening with its doomed oil
well in the Gulf of Mexico.

> ISRAEL TO EASE CIVILIAN AID RULES FOR GAZA
Israel will relax its blockade of Gaza following widespread
international criticism of its raid on an aid ship trying to
break the barricade last month.

> POLICE GET TOUGH ON STRIKING CUP GUARDS
Police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to break up a
protest by striking World Cup security guards in a Cape Town
suburb Thursday, said National South African Police spokesman
Vish Naidoo.

> TIMES SQUARE BOMB SUSPECT INDICTED
A federal grand jury in New York on Thursday indicted the
suspect in the Times Square bombing attempt on 10 counts, some
of which carry a mandatory life sentence.

> GUNFIRE HEARD IN KYRGYZ CITY OF OSH
The flow of refugees fleeing southern Kyrgyzstan has gone from a
flood to a trickle, the Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry said
Thursday.

> MANDELA'S GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER BURIED
Former South African President Nelson Mandela led mourning for
his great-granddaughter at a chapel in Johannesburg, South
Africa, on Thursday, his office announced.

> DOZENS TRAPPED IN COLOMBIA COAL MINE
A coal mine explosion early Thursday in northwest Colombia has
trapped at least 70 miners and killed at least five workers, a
local official told CNN en Espanol.

> FIVE GUILTY IN FIRST EUROPE PIRATE TRIAL
Five suspected Somali pirates are due to hear their fate in
court in the Netherlands Thursday, in what is thought to be the
first trial in Europe of pirate suspects.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> EU LEADERS AGREE TOUGH BUDGET SCRUTINY
European leaders agree to strengthen the eurozone's economic
governance by tightening surveillance of national budgets and
developing a scoreboard for assessing business competitiveness.

> EU EDGES TOWARDS DISCLOSING BANK 'STRESS TESTS'
France on Thursday joined calls for the release of "stress test
results" on the solidity of Europe's banks, urging a coordinated
European approach to the publication of findings "the sooner the
better".

> BP: WE'LL PAY THE BILL FOR NOW
BP will continue to pay the costs for the oil spill cleanup and
will work out with its drilling partners later who is liable for
the costs, a executive for the oil giant told a Senate
subcommittee Wednesday.