POLITICS

The United States and India remain divided over a controversial nuclear cooperation agreement despite three days of talks to finally close the deal, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

China National Petroleum Corporation, announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to import 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year for 30 years from Turkmenistan through a planned pipeline.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that subprime mortgage losses could hit $100 billion and threaten consumer spending, but he sought to reassure lawmakers that the central bank was working quickly to strengthen lending regulations.

Scrutiny of banking transactions after 9/11 has led European and Canadian banks to cut back on dealings with Cuba.

The number of new claims filed for U.S. jobless benefits fell unexpectedly in the latest week, dropping 8,000 to the lowest level in two months, the government said on Thursday.

Canadian wholesale trade grew 0.6 percent in May from April, slightly more than expected, while inventories fell for the first time in five months, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

The highest growth in 11-½ years secured expectations of tighter policy to prevent the economy from overheating.

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke provided cold comfort on Wednesday to those worried that the subprime mortgage mess will infect other areas of finance, though he lifted spirits in the bond market.

Core inflation in the United States is likely to hold below a 2 percent annual rate through the end of 2008, according to a senior vice president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.

The European Union has temporarily suspended its World Trade Organisation (WTO) complaint against India over the latter’s duties levied against European wine and spirit imports.

Canada's population is aging so quickly that in a decade, there could be more people leaving the work force than entering it, a factor which will pose major challenges for employers, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.

Abandoning long held positions on farm and industrial goods is essential to salvaging a deal, they say.

The pace of home construction rose 2.3 percent in June but building permit activity, a sign of future construction plans, sank to its lowest rate in 10 years, signaling further weakness in the listless housing market.

Consumer prices rose by a slightly bigger-than-expected 0.2 percent in June on higher food costs and they were up by the same amount after stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the Labor Department reported on Wednesday.

Hackers stole information from the U.S. Department of Transportation and several U.S. companies by seducing employees with fake job-listings on advertisements and e-mail, a computer security firm said.

A Brazilian airliner crashed and exploded in flames on Tuesday at Brazil's busiest airport, and around 200 people were feared dead in the country's second major air disaster in less than a year.

Canadian inflation numbers came in lower than expected in June, but stayed above the Bank of Canada's 2 percent target, adding weight to the view that the bank will hike interest rates at least one more time.

Mortgage applications rose slightly last week as a jump in refinancing demand overshadowed a drop in demand for loans to buy houses, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday housing market woes could dampen an expected pickup in U.S. economic growth, but he restated that the central bank's main worry is inflation.

China's state-controlled media have warned citizens to raise their awareness and prevent leakage of state secrets, charging that illegal surveys by foreigners in the country were on the rise and threatening national security.

China should not be singled out for particular concern over food safety, a big problem that rich and poor countries alike must tackle through better regulation, top World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Tuesday.

Officials at the world's biggest nuclear power plant said on Tuesday there had been more minor radiation leaks after an earthquake in Japan that killed nine people and forced thousands from their homes.

China sentenced a man to death and jailed another 28 people for up to life on Tuesday for their roles in a massive slavery and child labor scandal involving scorching brickworks.

More than 10,000 people huddled in evacuation centers in northwest Japan on Tuesday after a strong earthquake the previous day killed nine people and injured more than 1,000.

Foreign media have fuelled unfounded fears about Chinese products, the nation's top quality official has said, as China blocked a U.S. protein powder shipment while the two countries sparred over safety worries.

Nora Bannerman checks the pristine white uniforms made for American pharmacist Walgreens in her factory in the humid heart of the Ghanaian capital Accra.

A turn for the worse this week in the subprime home loan meltdown has pundits and investors playing the blame game.

September 11 victims who sued airlines and their security contractors will have their cases heard for the first time almost six years after the hijacked plane attacks on the United States, a federal judge has ruled.

China, reeling from a series of health scandals, on Friday told food and drug companies to put safety first and urged the media to paint a rosier picture as the government scrambled to quell public alarm.