International Headlines

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 22 July, 2010

> FLOODING FEARS HEIGHTEN AS STORM NEARS CHINA COAST
Tropical storm Chanthu is edging ominously closer to an area of
southern China that is already deluged with rain and deadly
floods.

> IRAN: SCIENTIST LEARNED INFO ABOUT CIA
The Iranian nuclear scientist who returned home last week from
the United States has provided valuable information about the
CIA, Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency said Wednesday.

> SUDAN LEADER DEFIES WARRANT ON TRIP
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir visits neighbouring Chad -- a
country required to arrest him for war crimes and hand him over
to the International Criminal Court .

> BP MAY EFFORT PERMANENT SEAL OF WELL
In the next 48 hours, BP could begin pumping mud into its
damaged Gulf of Mexico well to force oil back into the reservoir
below, an operation called a "static kill."

> BAIDU PROFITS SURGE
While Google struggles in China, local search giant Baidu is
soaring to new heights. Baidu's earnings doubled in the most
recent quarter as its sales hit a record high.

> VISA OF PIANIST ACCUSED OF RAPE REVOKED
Thailand has revoked the visa of a Russian pianist accused of
raping a 14-year-old boy, an immigration official said Thursday.

> BRAZIL ENACTS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION LAW
With a few quick strokes of a pen this week, Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed into law a widely debated
measure that aims to end hundreds of years of racial disparity.

> BP BOSS INVITED TO US LOCKERBIE HEARING
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has invited BP Chief
Executive Tony Hayward to answer questions next week about BP
and the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, a
congressional source told CNN Wednesday.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~

> OBAMA SIGNS WALL STREET REFORM LAW
U.S. President Barack Obama inks the most sweeping overhaul of
the financial system since the New Deal, giving regulators
stronger powers to break up financial firms that have grown too
big.

> GOLDMAN PROFITS PLUMMET BY 83 PERCENT
Goldman Sachs reports a steep drop in quarterly profits as the
exceptional trading conditions that followed the 2008 financial
crisis evaporated, exacting a toll on Wall Street's most
powerful profit engine.