International Headlines

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 05:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 01 August, 2010

> PAKISTAN PREPS FOR MORE RAIN AS DEATH TOLL REACHES 800
Rescue efforts from the floods that have killed more than 800
people could become more difficult on Monday, with
meteorologists predicting more rain.

> BRAZIL OFFERS ASYLUM TO IRANIAN WOMAN
Brazil's president has offered asylum to an Iranian woman
sentenced to death by stoning, state media says

> PAKISTAN SPY CHIEF CANCELS VISIT TO U.K.
Pakistan's spy chief's planned visit to the United Kingdom has
been canceled over tough remarks by the British prime minister
about the country, a Pakistani military official confirmed
Saturday.

> PROTESTERS PUSH IRAN TO FREE U.S. HIKERS
Protesters held rallies around the globe to mark the one-year
anniversary of what many called the "unfair" detention of three
Americans seized by Iranian forces.

> RUSSIAN WILDFIRES LEAVE 28 DEAD
At least 25 people have been killed and thousands left homeless
by wildfires sweeping through Russia, authorities said.

> DOZENS ARRESTED AT RUSSIA PROTESTS
Russian authorities arrested at least 135 opposition protesters
-- including a leading Kremlin critic -- at rallies demanding
freedom of assembly, state media said.

> SUFIS BACK MORE AU TROOPS IN SOMALIA
A Somali militant group wanting to rid the war-torn country of
an al Qaeda-linked movement welcomed Saturday the African
Union's decision last week to expand its peacekeeping presence
in the country.

> CALLS TO CANCEL 9/11 QURAN-BURNING EVENT
In protest of what it calls a religion "of the devil," a
non-denominational church in Gainesville, Florida, plans to host
an "International Burn a Quran Day" on the ninth anniversary of
the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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

> IS CHINA SECOND-LARGEST ECONOMY?
A senior Beijing official's reference to China as the "world's
second-largest economy" has sparked excited speculation that it
may have already reached a long-looming milestone by surpassing
Japan.

> 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.