POLITICS

WASHINGTON - A Muslim family that was ordered off an AirTran Airways flight on New Year's Day received an apology and refund on Friday from the airline, which said its decision to bar the passengers was necessary.

Fleet, Hampshire UK - A British mixed race couple have become parents to a set of black and white twin girls for a second time.

Evidence has been uncovered that hints to the possibility that a comet hit earth more than 13000 years ago, just as the planet was emerging from an ice age, reported today in the journal science.

Going through ones belongings after death can bring about all sorts of surprises; the relatives of Dr. Harold Carr were ones who received such surprise.

A series of attacks on Mexico's fuel pipelines this summer has raised fears the key energy supplier could slide into a Nigeria-style struggle to keep its oil and gas flowing, experts said on Tuesday.

U.S. and Chinese officials agreed on Tuesday to take immediate steps to stop the use of lead paint in toys made in China following toy recalls that have scared American parents ahead of holiday shopping.

Biofuels, often seen as a benefit for the climate, farmers and countries, may in fact hurt the environment and push up food prices.

Consumers are carrying a record $907 billion in credit card debt, and that looks likely to jump now that the housing slump has blunted another popular financing tool -- home equity loans. Americans cashed out hundreds of billions of dollars in home equity as credit came cheap in a five-year housing boom that ended about 18 months ago.

Under a gray and drizzly sky, thousands gathered around the sprawling, reconstruction site of the World Trade Center in New York City to take part in ceremonies, view memorials and commemorate the deaths of those killed in terrorist attacks six years ago on September 11.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday told a European audience that huge external debts were not unduly burdening the U.S. economy now, but that over time the U.S. current account gap is unsustainable.

Americans will commemorate the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed about 3000 people and gripped the nation's psyche, by organizing silent processions and lighting candles in memory of the victims, even as reports poured in that Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is seen mocking the U.S. in a new video release.

New Yorkers are doing all they can to preserve the way September 11 is commemorated, and with it falling on a Tuesday for the first time since 2001, the day is another trigger of tragic memories. And across the United States, September 11 will have much of the same emotional impact that has gripped the American psyche and dominated U.S. political discourse for six years, an impact that will not soon ease, analysts say.

A tractor-trailer loaded with explosives blew up in Mexico on Monday after a traffic accident, creating a huge fireball that killed dozens, including rescue workers and photographers.

The top U.S. general in Iraq on Monday recommended cutting American troops by about 30,000 by next summer, ending the so-called surge of forces but not fundamentally changing strategy in the unpopular war.

Federal Reserve officials said on Monday that while there were risks related to ongoing housing and financial markets turmoil, it was not completely clear if such uncertainty could spread to the wider economy.

Federal Reserve Governor Frederic S. Miskhkin said Monday he would not rule out a scenario where heightened uncertainty could lead to further retrenchment in housing and business spending.

China's product safety chief has urged his officials not to be discouraged by current global concern about Chinese goods, but warned them in the same pep talk their jobs may be at risk if they don't perform up to scratch.

The weak U.S. housing sector warrants close attention to assess the economic outlook as well as its recent disruptive effects on financial markets, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser said on Saturday.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, is due to assess on Monday whether President Bush's move to add 30,000 troops in Iraq this year has succeeded - and what troop levels are needed going forward.

In the apparently pure Arctic air, a research station on a Norwegian island mountain ridge finds tiny chemical traces from factories in Russia, pesticides in Israel or China's coal-fired power plants.

To the chagrin of green groups, APEC members signed a voluntary non-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gases.

President George W. Bush's homeland security adviser said on Sunday al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is virtually impotent and can do little more than send videotaped messages.

A second spell of floods in less than a month has spread across parts of Bangladesh, killing seven people and leaving thousands stranded, officials said on Monday.

In a report considered crucial to U.S. strategy in the highly unpopular war in Iraq, the top U.S. commander there is expected to tell Congress on Monday that U.S. troop levels should not be cut deeply.

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia on Monday within hours of arriving home from exile, vowing to end the rule of President Pervez Musharraf.

In the dim confines of the time-worn Wing Woo grocery, a short hop from Hong Kong's gleaming financial towers, Kwan Moon-chiu, 73, quietly arranges supplies of salted-fish and eggs, knowing his store's days are numbered.

Asia-Pacific leaders said on Sunday they saw real progress in world trade talks now underway in Geneva and pledged flexibility and the political will to forge a deal by the end of 2007.

Lower hemlines could spell bad news for the U.S. stock market.

Payrolls shrank in August for the first time in four years, the government reported on Friday, prompting calls for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates before credit market turmoil drags the economy into recession.