International Headlines

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:02:04 -0400
TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 31 July, 2010

> U.N. EXTENDS DARFUR PEACEKEEPING MISSION
The U.N. Security Council renews its mission in Darfur for a
year, days after hearing that fighting has stepped up between
rebels and the Sudanese government.

> THOUSANDS TO JOIN LOVE PARADE MEMORIAL
Thousands of people are expected to gather Saturday for a
memorial service a week after a stampede at a German music
festival left 21 people dead.

> WOMAN FACING STONING: I'M AFRAID TO DIE
In a letter to supporters, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, writes of
her fears of dying. Her stoning sentence was recently put on
hold, but Iran's judiciary may release their final decision in
the case next week.

> POLICE: CHINA TAX OFFICE BLAST PLANNED
A blast at a tax office that left four dead and 19 injured in
central China was a deliberate attack, state media reported
Saturday.

> BOY IN U.S. ADOPTION CASE IN ORPHANAGE
A boy sent back to Moscow by his adoptive mother in the United
States is in an orphanage, an attorney for the group that
arranged the adoption says.

> ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES HITS GAZA CITY
Israel launched an airstrike near a former presidential compound
in Gaza City late Friday, according to a CNN stringer at the
scene. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately confirm the
strike.

> MORE THAN 400 DEAD IN PAKISTAN FLOODING
Flooding caused by monsoon rain has killed more than 400 people
across Pakistan, a provincial government official says.

> 3 CHARGED IN UGANDA BOMBINGS
Uganda has charged three people in connection with the bomb
blasts that erupted in an Ethiopian restaurant and a rugby
center in Kampala earlier this month, killing some 76 people, a
government official said Friday.

BUSINESS
~~~~~~~~~~~
> STRIKES, ASH WIDEN QUARTERLY BA LOSS
British Airways on Friday announced a pre-tax loss of 164
million pounds ($256.5 million) for the three months ending June
30.

> SPAIN UNEMPLOYMENT OVER 20%
Spain's unemployment rate rose to 20.09 percent for the second
quarter of 2010, up from 20.05 percent from the previous
quarter, Spain's National Statistics Institute said Friday.

> CHAVEZ HURTS TOOTHPASTE, MAKEUP SALES
The world's largest toothpaste maker reported disappointing
sales Thursday, and who's to blame? None other than the country
of Venezuela, the company said.