CHINA

Asian stock markets advanced for the fourth straight session Thursday after data showed that Chinese inflation continued to cool down in July, providing more room for further policy easing to boost growth.

European markets rose Thursday as investor confidence was lifted by hopes that China will announce stimulus measures to boost the economic condition and regain the growth momentum.

Crude oil futures advanced during the Asian trading hours Thursday after data showed Chinese inflation continued to cooled for a fourth straight month in July, rising hopes for monetary easing measures to support growth.

China’s industrial production grew at a reduced pace in July compared to June indicating that the weakening global demand and the debt burden faced by the euro zone are adversely affecting the country's economy.

The top after-market NYSE gainers Wednesday were Millennial Media, FleetCor Technologies, NQ Mobile, Dillard's, Orbitz Worldwide and MBIA, Inc. The top after-market NYSE losers were Medicis Pharmaceutical, Teekay Tankers, McEwen Mining, China Nepstar Chain Drugstore and ING Groep NV.

Most of the Asian markets rose Thursday as hopes for monetary easing measures to be announced by China grew following reports that the country's inflation slowed down in July compared to the previous month.

China announced Thursday morning that its inflation cooled for a fourth straight month in July.

Allyson Felix won gold in the 200 meters on Wednesday.

Forty years after dousing Vietnam's vegetation with the toxic defoliant Agent Orange, the U.S. will finally attempt to clean up the mess.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings face April Ross and Jen Kessy in the women’s beach volleyball final. Watch a live stream online here as a U.S. team takes home the gold.

Amnesty International believes 1-million North Koreans have died of starvation since the 1990s, while millions more remain malnourished.

These figures also do not include the hundreds of thousands --- perhaps millions – of Indians who are seriously injured by these frequent mishaps.

China has become Uganda’s number one trade partner, replacing Britain.

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a visit to South Africa, known globally for its high incidence of AIDS, praised the government's efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. Both the nations will sign an agreement Wednesday to reinstate the U.S. anti-AIDS funding, which was cut back during former South African President Thabo Mbeki's tenure.

Asian stock markets advanced for the third straight session on Wednesday as sentiment continued to improve on hopes that the major central banks around the world will soon announce new round of stimulus measures to spur economic growth.

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Wednesday as investor sentiment was weighed down by lack of stimulus measures from policy makers around the globe to rejuvenate the faltering economic growth momentum.

Asian shares rose to a three-month high Wednesday, supported by expectations that policymakers will soon decisively address the euro zone fiscal crisis and declining global growth.

Neymar led Brazil to the gold-medal match in men's soccer.

The Chinese government has taken an important step towards breaking the Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and EADS N.V. (Paris: EAD)'s Airbus SAS's duopoly in aerospace manufacturing by successfully testing a new regional plane, the Financial Times reported.

Sri Lanka and China remain friendly, despite an incident involving some stray fishermen. India watches closely as its southern neighbor and its big rival to the north get ever closer.

Among the charges: Pfizer's China subsidiary was accused of offering a program where doctors could claim cell phones and other goodies based on how many prescriptions they doled out of the company's products.