CHINA

Lenovo Group, the world's No.4 PC brand, said on Friday its mobile phone based on Google's Android platform will not be affected by an ongoing spat between the search giant and the Chinese government.

South Korea's foreign minister said on Friday he wants to see dormant international talks on ending North Korea's nuclear arms programme resume in February without Pyongyang attaching conditions to its return.

A meeting of four of the world's fastest-growing carbon emitters on Sunday ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline for countries to submit their action plans to fight climate change may discuss a climate fund for poorer nations.

Microsoft Corp on Thursday released a patch to protect users of its Internet Explorer browser from attacks similar to those directed at Google Inc's operations in China last week.

China hit back hard against U.S. criticism of Beijing's controls over the Internet, saying on Friday that Washington's push against online censorship could harm relations between the two big powers.

Chinese media on Friday dismissed Washington's call to lift Internet censorship, but in a sign of the case's sensitivity the critical Chinese reports were then cut from websites.

Google Inc was among the first technology companies to shake off the recession last year, but the Internet giant's fourth-quarter report could not satisfy investors' increasing demand for stronger growth.

Brazil will propose the creation of a joint fund with China, India and South Africa to help poor countries adapt to global warming as part of a broader attempt to revive stalled global climate talks.

Google said that it was quite committed to staying in China on Thursday, giving the first indication that it would like to repair ties after threatening to leave the country last week.

After the Nasdaq composite index closed down 1.12 percent to trade at 2,265.7 and the S&P 500 index fell 2.01 percent to close at 1,116.48, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and several lesser known tech and financial companies reported earnings.

Motorola Inc is letting consumers in China use Baidu Inc or other rivals as default Web search services instead of Google Inc, on phones using Google's Android operating system.

Most Americans want the jobs and clean energy that Democratic-backed climate-change legislation could help bring but its backers are presenting the wrong messages, according to a prominent U.S. pollster.

Stocks suffered their worst one-day percentage drop since October on Thursday as U.S. President Barack Obama proposed tough restrictions on banks that would squeeze profits.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for an unfettered worldwide Internet and urged global condemnation of those who conduct cyber attacks, as China sought to contain tension with the United States over the hacking and censorship of Google.

Stocks suffered their worst one-day percentage drop since October on Thursday as U.S. President Barack Obama proposed tough restrictions on banks that would squeeze profits.

Motorola Inc is letting consumers in China use Baidu Inc or others as default Web search services instead of Google Inc's service, even on phones using Google's Android software.

Google's spat with China could affect Motorola as it vies to crawl back into the mobile market, but recent partnerships will allow it to peruse the China's mobile market alone.

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent to a 2010 low around $76 a barrel on Thursday, after government data showed a sharp drop in U.S. refining activity to nearly its lowest level in 25 years, indicating weak demand for fuels.

Hillary Clinton made unrestricted Internet access a US foreign policy priority, and urged China to investigate alleged cyber-attacks originating from its borders.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled a new US policy hoping to encourage the world governments to ensure their citizens have open access to the Internet.

Oil fell by more than $1 to move toward $76 a barrel for the first time this year, as strength in the dollar and weak demand saw crude extend recent losses.