International Headlines

Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 05:02:04 -0400
>TOP STORIES as of 0900 GMT -- 09 August, 2010

> COLOMBIAN, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENTS TO MEET
New Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will hold talks with
Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on Tuesday in a bid to
resolve the neighbors' diplomatic dispute.

> RWANDANS VOTE FOR PRESIDENT
Rwandans go to the polls to vote in the country's second
presidential election since the 1994 genocide, with President
Paul Kagame expected to retain power.

> ZARDARI RETURNS TO FLOOD-HIT PAKISTAN
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari returns home Monday to face
growing criticism of his actions during his country's massive
flooding.

> INQUIRY INTO ISRAELI FLOTILLA RAID BEGINS
Israel launched an inquiry Monday into the raid on the Turkish
ship Mavi Marmara, in which nine people were killed.

> LANDSLIDES KILL AT LEAST 127 IN CHINA
Massive landslides triggered by heavy rains in northwest China
have left 127 people dead and about 1,300 missing, Xinhua news
agency reports.

> MORE AFGHANISTAN VICTIMS IDENTIFIED
Two more victims have been identified from the deadly attack on
10 multinational medical aid workers in Afghanistan. U.S.
officials have issued a scathing condemnation.

> 10 REPORTED DEAD IN EUROPE FLOODING
At least 10 people were killed in Germany, Poland and the Czech
Republic as creeks and rivers swollen by days of heavy rains
burst their banks, officials said.

> OIL SPILL 'STILL A DISASTER' IN PARTS OF GULF
The undersea gusher in the Gulf of Mexico has been brought under
control, but the worst oil spill in U.S. history will continue
to be felt along the Gulf Coast for some time, Obama
administration officials said Sunday.

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

> DROUGHT DOUBLES BARLEY PRICE IN 6 WEEKS
The price of barley, an important feed grain for the European
livestock industry, has more than doubled in six weeks in
response to the drought affecting Russia and Ukraine, prompting
fears of meat and poultry cost hikes.

> SAUDI ARABIA DELAYS BLACKBERRY BAN
The Saudi authorities have agreed to delay until Monday a ban
blocking the instant messaging services offered by BlackBerry,
the Saudi press agency reported on Sunday.

> FED SET TO DOWNGRADE U.S. OUTLOOK
The Federal Reserve is set to downgrade its assessment of US
economic prospects when it meets on Tuesday to discuss ways to
reboot the flagging recovery.