IBT Staff Reporter

Iranian video artist Shirin Neshat has made her first feature film about women's lack of freedom and growing political involvement in 1953 Iran, but she said the story had strong parallels with the situation today.

U.S. President Barack Obama readied a high-stakes plea for healthcare reform on Wednesday, as a Senate Democrat leading bipartisan negotiations said he was ready to push ahead even without Republican support.

The Democratic U.S. senator leading an effort to write a bipartisan healthcare reform bill said on Wednesday he was ready to move forward without Republican support, but still hoped for a deal.

Senate negotiators made a last stab at a bipartisan healthcare compromise as the U.S. Congress returned to work Tuesday, with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling a government-run insurance option essential to the bill.

The three hijackers of an airplane from a Mexican airline that threaten to blow it up have freed most of the passengers but kept the crew members.

Is oil giant Chevron afraid of a movie? One of the stars of Crude, a documentary about a $27 billion environmental lawsuit filed against the company on behalf of residents of Ecuador's Amazon, certainly thinks so. A spokesman for Chevron vehemently denies it.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, led by gains in industrial and technology companies as a weak dollar encouraged investors to bet on equities.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, as optimism surrounding economic recovery and a weaker U.S. dollar prompted investors to buy crude to hedge against inflation.

A climate bill in the U.S. Senate would cost leading U.S. refinery Valero Energy Corp between $6 billion and $7 billion per year in its current form, the company's CEO said on Wednesday.

Chevron Corp has started pumping crude oil from the Tombua-Landana project offshore Angola, with plans to raise output to 100,000 barrels per day by 2011, the company said on Wednesday.

A cyber security coordinator is expected to be announced by President Barack Obama in the next week or two, and the lead candidate is Frank Kramer, who was an assistant Defense secretary under President Bill Clinton, a source said on Wednesday.

R&B singer Chris Brown who was last month sentenced to five years probation and some community service for assaulting his then girlfriend Rihanna in February is not sure whether he will perform at the Michael Jackson tribute show in Austria next week.

Half of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts saw evidence the U.S. economy had improved by the end of August, although labor markets remained weak and retail sales were flat, a Fed report said on Wednesday.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs has shown up at a Wednesday media event and is set to make his first public appearance in half a year, CNBC reported.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs has shown up at a Wednesday media event and is set to make his first public appearance in half a year, CNBC reported.

Half of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts saw evidence the U.S. economy had improved by the end of August, although labor markets remained weak and retail sales were flat, a Fed report said on Wednesday.

Half of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts saw evidence the U.S. economy had improved by the end of August, although labor markets remained weak and retail sales were flat, a Fed report said on Wednesday.

If Congress creates a cap-and-trade system to control carbon emissions, futures and cash trading should be under U.S. regulation with no exceptions, the top U.S. futures regulator said on Wednesday.

NASA released today 10 fresh new space photos of galaxies and nebulas taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

A gaunt-looking Steve Jobs stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in more than half a year on Wednesday, unveiling new iPods for Apple Inc and drawing a standing ovation.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) started production at its Romanian plant in the southwestern city of Craiova on Tuesday, seeking to sell its Transit Connect van in Romania and eastern European markets, officials said.

German renewable energy company LichtBlick on Wednesday said it has teamed up with carmaker Volkswagen to bring miniature power stations for home use to the market in the spring of 2010.

Bank of America Corp shot back at New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, saying he is simply wrong to claim that the bank is hindering an investigation into its takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Brad Paisley led the list of nominees for this year's Country Music Association awards, to be handed out November 11 in Nashville, the CMA said on Wednesday.

Germany's government would expect General Motors [GM.UL] to repay a 1.5 billion euro ($2.2 billion) state loan if the carmaker calls off the sale of its Opel unit following a board meeting on Wednesday, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said.

You feel relieved, and even quite confident. Your job interview went well. As you replay it mentally, you cannot think of much you would change. Your extensive preparation enabled you to answer the interviewer's questions with poise and credibility.

Chinese automaker FAW is set to help finance luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg's planned purchase of Saab Automobile GM.UL, a Swedish newspaper reported on Wednesday without disclosing its sources.

China's largest automaker SAIC Motor group (600104.SS) may take a passive stake in Saab Automobile [GM.UL] by teaming with luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

Cost cutting talks between Ford Motor Co (F.N) and the Canadian Auto Workers began on Tuesday, the union said, adding that a key condition to reaching a new agreement would be a commitment by Ford to maintain its current manufacturing presence in Canada.