IBT Staff Reporter

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has smoothed the ruffled feathers of anti-inflation hawks at the Fed by indicating he will only press for more policy easing if the U.S. economic slowdown worsens.

Gunmen shot dead five campaign workers for a candidate in Afghanistan's parliamentary election next month, officials said on Sunday, another sign of rising insecurity as Washington prepares to review its war strategy.

Chechen police killed 12 rebels as they repulsed a raid on the Moscow-backed president's home village on Sunday, authorities said, in an attack that broke a period of relative calm in the Russian republic.

The patient clearly looks ill, but is there at least a steady pulse?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has smoothed the ruffled feathers of anti-inflation hawks at the Fed by indicating he will only press for more policy easing if the U.S. economic slowdown worsens.

Pakistan intend to complete their England cricket tour despite a police investigation into corruption allegations involving the fourth test which concluded at Lord's on Sunday.

The Bank of Japan is likely to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to ease monetary policy after Governor Masaaki Shirakawa returned to Tokyo from a trip to the United States earlier than expected.

Royal Bank of Scotland is in the process of appointing advisers to review the options for its insurance business, including a possible sale, according to a source close to the group.

Computer equipment worth $1.9 million which the U.S. military says was a gift for Iraqi schoolchildren but was auctioned off for less than $50,000 was sold legally, Iraq's customs authority said Sunday.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi arrived in Rome on Sunday for a two-day visit that has aroused a mixture of curiosity and controversy over Tripoli's growing influence in the Italian economy.

Tens of thousands marched in Hong Kong on Sunday to denounce the Philippines' bungled hostage rescue in which eight Hong Kong tourists were shot dead.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Sunday it would not make any decision on job cuts this week, after Swiss newspaper Sonntag reported it could be about to cut thousands of positions.

A powerful South African labour leader threatened on Sunday to withdraw support for President Jacob Zuma's African National Congress, ending a long- standing alliance strained by a nearly three-week-old strike.

Thousands of Indonesians were evacuated from the slopes of a volcano on Sunday after it erupted for the first time in more than 400 years, spewing out lava and sending smoke and dust 1,500 metres (5,000 feet) into the air.

Beaten-up investors go into September, historically a weak month for stocks, facing key reports on jobs, manufacturing and services. If those disappoint, the S&P 500 could breach technical support levels, pushing stocks yet lower.

Troubled conglomerate Dubai World has begun talks with small creditors, not included in the coordination committee of banks on its restructuring plan, to avoid any lawsuits, a UAE newspaper said on Sunday.

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG could decide at a management meeting this week to cut a large number of jobs in its pharma unit, Swiss newspaper Sonntag reported, quoting an unnamed source.

Play began as scheduled on the fourth day of the fourth and final test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Sunday after a man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

A plan to carve out a substantial good bank from nationalised Anglo Irish Bank is facing opposition from the European Commission and Ireland's smaller governing party, the Sunday Business Post newspaper reported.

South Korea's reformist prime minister-designate and two other ministerial nominees stepped down on Sunday amid allegations of corruption, stymieing President Lee Myung-bak's plans to boost ruling party morale.

Global miner BHP Billiton on Sunday played down any chance of raising its $39 billion (25 billion pound) bid for fertiliser maker Potash Corp , saying it had timed its move to catch out weakened rival bidders.

A plan to carve out a substantial good bank from nationalised Anglo Irish Bank is facing opposition from the European Commission and Ireland's smaller governing party, the Sunday Business Post newspaper reported.

North Korea's ruling party holds its biggest meeting in 30 years early next month to pick a new leadership and likely anoint an heir to the dynasty as Kim Jong-il's health deteriorates.

A month after torrential monsoon rains triggered Pakistan's worst natural disaster on record, flood waters are starting to recede -- but leaving countless survivors at risk of death from hunger and disease.

Troubled conglomerate Dubai World has begun talks with small creditors, not included in the coordination committee of banks on its restructuring plan, to avoid any lawsuits, a UAE newspaper said on Sunday.

A volcano erupted on the Indonesia island of Sumatra on Sunday for the first time in four centuries, sending smoke 1,500 meters (about 5,000 feet) into the air and prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents, officials said.

Many clocks will be ticking during the next year when Washington hopes an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal can be hammered out.

China will continue to curb property speculation regardless of recent changes in housing prices, a senior government advisor said in remarks published in Sunday.