IBT Staff Reporter

China's economic growth looks set to accelerate into the new year, with booming factories driving a December manufacturing survey to a 20-month high while South Korea's exports to the country surged on strong demand.

Rescue crews on Saturday intensified the search for victims at a plush Brazilian beach resort ravaged by mudslides and flooding that have killed at least 64 people in three states.

The Afghan parliament on Saturday dealt President Hamid Karzai a painful political blow when they rejected 17 out of 24 of his cabinet nominees, including several close allies and former guerrilla commander Ismail Khan.

The Obama administration on Saturday zeroed in on al Qaeda as the driving force behind an attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas and promised again to hold accountable those involved in the failed atta

Oman's minister of finance forecast on Saturday GDP in real terms for 2010 at 6.1 percent, and inflation at 3.5 percent, without giving comparative figures for the previous year. Ahmad Mekki, who is also the minister of national economy, told reporters that Oman's total debt as of the end of 2009 stood at 722 million Omani riyals ($1.88 billion), with domestic debt accounting for 252 million riyals of the total figure.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, Asia's largest equities bourse, said it would go ahead with the launch of its new trading system as planned on Monday after running final checks.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc's testing Wall Street's patience by repeatedly touting the success of its Kindle electronic reader without providing specific sales figures.

Time Warner Cable and Fox have reached a deal to keep carrying Fox Networks programing after the companies negotiated through New Year's Day to avoid a blackout of TV shows like The Simpsons and college and NFL football games in 13 million U.S. homes.

Investors looking to cash in on a U.S. retail comeback will need to be as selective as the shoppers who scoured stores and websites for the best deals this holiday season.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged on Friday to promote a more open U.S. immigration policy during his third term, much as he made a campaign against illegal guns a hallmark of his second term.

The Philippines lowered the alert at its restive Mayon volcano by one notch on Saturday after noticing signs of decreased activity, and cut to 6 kilometres (4 miles) a no-go zone at the mountain.

The Afghan parliament on Saturday approved the defense, finance and interior ministers chosen by President Hamid Karzai, but rejected Ismail Khan for the powerful post of energy minister, and four other nominees.

Somali pirates hijacked a British-flagged vehicle carrier off the Somali coast late on Friday, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said.

The number of Iraqi civilians killed in violence fell by half in 2009 to about 4,500 but improvements in security have slowed and large-scale attacks took a major toll last year, a study has found.

Danish police said on Saturday they shot and wounded a Somali man with al Qaeda links when he tried to break into the home of a cartoonist whose 2005 caricatures of Prophet Mohammad sparked global Muslim outrage.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday it appeared the man suspected of trying to bomb a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas was a member of al Qaeda and had been trained and equipped by the Islamic militant network.

Italian confectioner Ferrero has met with private equity firms as well as Hershey Co to discuss a possible bid for Britain's Cadbury Plc , Il Sole 24 Ore daily reported on Saturday.

Taiwan netbook PC pioneer Asustek has approved plans to simplify cutting investment in its subsidiary Pegatron, which could be listed in June, a newspaper said on Saturday.

Taiwan netbook PC pioneer Asustek has approved plans to simplify cutting investment in its subsidiary Pegatron, which could be listed in June, a newspaper said on Saturday.

A pension fund may ask the Supreme Court to let it sue BAE Systems Plc in the United States over allegations that the company paid more than $2 billion in bribes to win a record Saudi arms deal, the fund's lead attorney said on Friday.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in an SUV at a volleyball game in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing 88 people in a village that opposes al Qaeda-linked Taliban insurgents, police said.

The United States will more than double its security assistance for Yemen and Britain will host an international meeting this month to seek ways of preventing the poorest Arab state from becoming an al Qaeda stronghold.

Little has been done to improve Iraq's impoverished city of Basra, but for one slum dweller, the fact that no more corpses are dumped outside his door means Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gets his vote.

The main players in Honduras' dramatic 2009 coup went up in smoke on Friday as one village said good riddance to a difficult year.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has invited key international partners to a meeting to discuss how to counter radicalisation in Yemen after last week's failed attack on a U.S.-bound plane, his office said on Friday.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will dispatch senior agency officials to meet with airport executives around the world to review security and technology used to screen passengers on U.S.-bound flights, the department said.

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways is considering taking over the international routes of struggling rival Japan Airlines Corp, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said on Friday.

Thousands of Hong Kong residents appealed to China on New Year's Day to allow full democracy to be introduced soon in the city, as opposition lawmakers pressed forward with a mass resignation plan later this month.

A suicide bomber in a vehicle blew himself up at a volleyball game in northwest Pakistan on Friday and a television station said more than 70 people were killed.