IBT Staff Reporter

Google Inc's threat to withdraw from China over censorship and cyber attacks has suddenly jeopardized any plans it has for the world's biggest Internet market, stunning investors and analysts.

International aid has been deployed to Haiti today after a 7.0 magnitude earhquake struck the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, lifted by a broker's upgrade of Merck & Co and a higher profit outlook from Kraft Foods Inc.

A suicide bomber blew up a truck near a police station in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday, killing seven people and wounding six, police said.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied on Wednesday reports that he would freeze his own trials by decree, but vowed to press ahead with a disputed reform of the judiciary which critics say is tailor-made to favor him.

Iran received information days ago that Israeli and U.S. intelligence intended to carry out terrorist acts in Tehran, its parliament speaker said on Wednesday, after the killing of a university scientist.

In early 2008, an official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a report to his superiors detailing what he called the most significant development in the criminal exploitation of aircraft since 9/11.

The European Commission has approved a Danish government scheme to cover potential insurance claims stemming from terrorist attacks with nuclear, biological, chemical or radioactive weapons, officials said on Wednesday.

Yemeni government forces killed an al Qaeda leader in an overnight shootout in a southeastern province and militants hit back with an ambush that killed two soldiers and wounded four on Wednesday, security officials said.

Cyber attacks disclosed by Google and Adobe that may lead Google to quit China highlight a sophisticated type of bespoke cyberspying that could be more widespread than previously thought.

Goldman Sachs defended its role in creating securities at the center of the financial crisis under tough questioning from a U.S. commission investigating the 2008 meltdown.

Google Inc said on Tuesday that it is considering shutting down its China operations and website after hackers in China coordinated a highly sophisticated cyber-attack on the Internet search giant in December and targeted at least a score of other major corporations.

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for $33 billion (20.3 billion pounds) in emergency war funding for a major U.S. troop buildup in Afghanistan this year, defence officials said on Wednesday.

Haiti's president said on Wednesday he feared thousands had died in a major earthquake that wrecked the presidential palace, schools, hospitals and hillside shanties, leaving the Caribbean nation appealing for international help.

Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc forecast 2010 sales of $19.5 billion to $20.5 billion and said it would spend $750 million to $800 million for fixed assets during the year.

Dutch sports car maker Spyker is working around the clock to clinch a deal to buy Sweden's Saab and has a deadline of days not weeks as parent General Motors GM.UL starts winding down the business, Spyker's CEO said on Tuesday.

Stocks edged lower on Wednesday as a fall in the price of oil weighed on energy shares and Google Inc slumped after it said it might withdraw from China, weighing on the Nasdaq.

Food stamps are the primary federal anti-hunger program. It helps poor people buy groceries. The economic stimulus package boosted benefits by $80 a month for a family of four.

Luxembourg-based Genii Capital said on Wednesday it had submitted a revised offer to GM GM.UL for ailing carmaker Saab which showed it has the financial muscle to run the firm.

A hedge-fund manager referred to as Tipper X in the Galleon Group insider-trading case could lead prosecutors to widen the probe to hedge funds that had not been previously implicated, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the case.

President Barack Obama is discussing ways to help U.S. states cover costs that are destined to rise under pending healthcare reform legislation, his press secretary said on Monday.

More foreclosed properties are expected in New York City’s commercial sector as vacancy rates continue to rise and as rents continue to fall in the city.

German fragrance-to-fashion retailer Douglas Holding AG is counting on consumers' appetite for indulgence to prop up earnings this year.

British and U.S. researchers studied the effects of the chemical bisphenol A using data from a U.S. government national nutrition survey in 2006 and found that high levels of it in urine samples were associated with heart disease.

Banks in the UAE, heavily exposed to the region's ailing real estate market, can use a local foreclosure law to reclaim assets, but a sharp increase in reposessions is unlikely for now, lenders and analysts said.

Nokia's network gear making arm Nokia Siemens won part of the key next generation LTE network contract on Wednesday from Nordic operator TeliaSonera, surprisingly beating Chinese rival Huawei.

China renewed its vow to curb runaway property prices and keep a watch on excessive lending, while investors rushed to cut exposure to risk on Wednesday, a day after the central bank tightened bank reserve requirements.

Novartis will likely nudge up its lowball bid to minority shareholders in eyecare group Alcon to push a deal through cleanly, even though it appears to hold all the trump cards.

The Hattab home -- grey paint peeling from the walls, foundations sinking through the ground -- is squeezed in by brightly painted, three-storey villas blocking its view of the Mediterranean Sea.