International Headlines

Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2010 05:02:07 -0400
TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 25 July, 2010

> U.S., SOUTH KOREA BEGIN MILITARY EXERCISES
Amid rising tensions with North Korea, the U.S. and South Korea
begin joint military exercises off South Korea's coast, says a
spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea.

> 19 KILLED IN STAMPEDE AT GERMAN FESTIVAL
The death toll from the stampede at a German music festival is
at 19, police in Duisburg, Germany, said Sunday.

> PUTIN MEETS EXPELLED RUSSIAN AGENTS
During a recent meeting, Russia's prime minister provided
encouragement and sang patriotic songs with 10 agents who were
expelled from the United States this month after they were
accused of spying, state media reported.

> SEARCH OF MASS GRAVES IN MEXICO ENDS
Authorities in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon have
finished excavating and are trying to identify 51 bodies they
found in nine hidden mass graves, state media said.

> SHIPS RETURN TO OIL SPILL SITE IN GULF
As ships start returning to secure a blown-out oil well in the
Gulf of Mexico after a tropical storm weakens, officials expect
the hurricane season to get only busier.

> RESIDENTS FLEE AFTER U.S. LAKE DAM FAILS
A dam on an eastern Iowa lake failed Saturday, sending a massive
amount of water into nearby communities and forcing residents to
flee.

> 2 U.S. TROOPS MISSING IN AFGHANISTAN
Two NATO-led service members are missing after leaving their
compound in Kabul, NATO's International Security Assistance
Force said today. An Afghan intelliigence source said the two
are Americans who were abducted.

> FIDEL CASTRO MAKES PUBLIC APPEARANCE
Fidel Castro appeared publicly in his trademark olive green
shirt on Saturday for the first time since he fell ill and
renounced power four years ago, according to a state-run
website.

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

> SEVEN OUT OF 91 BANKS FAIL EU STRESS TESTS
Seven out of 91 European banks have failed an EU-wide test to
determine if they have enough capital to withstand future
potential economic shocks.

> FOR ALL ITS MIGHT, GOOGLE IS NO 'PRODUCT-KILLER'
Google has invested billions of dollars building dozens of
different products across a wide swath of the technology
industry, from productivity tools to mobile phones to
e-commerce.

> AVIATION BOOM AS FARNBOROUGH DEALS HIT $47 BILLION
A total of $47 billion worth of deals were struck this year at
Farnborough Airshow, the event's organizers announced Friday.