IBT Staff Reporter

Vice President Joe Biden rejected assertions by Dick Cheney on Sunday that the Obama administration was soft on terrorism and waterboarding should have been an option for the suspect in an attempted Christmas Day airline bombing.

In fact, researchers found, women in their study who'd had the procedure showed lower risks of certain sexual problems and tended to be happier with their sex lives than other women.

Euro zone finance ministers will exert more pressure on Greece to implement planned budget deficit cuts at a meeting on Monday, as they look to avoid having to deliver on a pledge of support for Athens.

Belvedere , the French drinks company involved with Hollywood actor Bruce Willis, said on Friday it had agreed with its creditors to launch a convertible bond.

In our country, we think the doctor should have all the medical records, said Dr. James McElligott, a pediatrician at the Medical University of South Carolina who worked on the study. I like the idea of putting the ownership back in Mom's hands and empowering her a little bit.

Bharti Airtel is in exclusive talks to buy for $10.7 billion in cash most of Kuwaiti telecom group Zain's African cellular assets, the Indian firm's third attempt at gaining a foothold in a continent that offers a last opportunity for major subscriber growth.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) President and CEO Billy Tauzin said late Thursday he was resigning effective June 30 after five years as head of one of the most powerful lobby groups in Washington.

Sberbank , Russia's biggest lender, on Monday reported an almost threefold year-on-year rise in net profit in January to 11.7 billion roubles ($387 million), but provisions continued to pressure its income.

Annual iron ore prices should see a large increase in 2010, BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers said on Australian television and repeated suggestions to move towards a more flexible pricing mechanism.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to inject carbon dioxide into the world's biggest oilfield by 2012, a year ahead of previous plans, a government official said on Monday.

The euro held near a nine-month low against the dollar on Tuesday, with all signs that euro zone policymakers will focus on making Greece fully implement budget cuts rather than gifting it swift financial aid.

Euro zone government bonds drifted lower on Monday with attention still on peripheral issuers before a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers following last week's pledge of support for debt-ridden Greece.

Britain's top share index gained 0.8 percent by midday on Monday, as banks and commodities rallied following the previous session's falls and British Airways climbed on hopes of a global alliance.

Thousands of Floridians demonstrated against moves to allow offshore oil drilling on Saturday along the east and west coasts of the state in a protest dubbed Hands Across the Sand.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, moved a step closer to defaulting on a bond payment when its city council passed a 2010 budget that does not include $68 million in debt repayments on an incinerator.

Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States, is confronting a mounting budget deficit that threatens to force thousands of job cuts, deplete its fiscal reserve and further damage its credit rating.

The cost of insuring five-year Dubai debt against default jumped to its highest level since March on Monday as concerns intensified over the debt restructuring of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World.

Spain is willing to take five inmates of the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on Monday.

Yemeni Shi'ite rebels freed a Saudi soldier on Monday, handing him to a ceasefire committee in a goodwill gesture, a Yemeni official said.

Iran is studying proposals from the United States, Russia and France on a nuclear fuel swap, an Iranian news agency reported on Monday, but Paris said the only valid offer was an existing deal that Tehran has yet to accept.

Spain's intelligence services are investigating the role of investors and media in debt market turbulence over the last few weeks, El Pais reported on Sunday.

Two commuter trains crashed head-on near Brussels during the Monday morning rush hour and at least 10 people were killed, a local official said.

Iran told a United Nations body on Monday that it fully respects human rights, denouncing concerns raised by the United States, Britain and France as political gestures amid a wider nuclear standoff.

Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said he was open to debating sales tax reform, suggesting the government may consider raising the tax to help fund its spending programs focused on supporting households.

The United States believes Iran may be heading toward a military dictatorship and that its Revolutionary Guard Corps is supplanting its government, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.

U.S. stocks could struggle to make headway this week if a meeting of European finance ministers fails to reassure markets that they can contain Greece's debt problems.

Adobe announced advances to its popular Flash video player that promise to improve the experience of watching video on a mobile, and said it would support Google's Android phone platform.

The United States believes Iran may be heading toward a military dictatorship and that its Revolutionary Guard Corps is supplanting its government, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.

China could be about to allow its currency to strengthen by as much as 5 percent to slow down the country's fast-growing economy