IBT Staff Reporter

North Korea said on Tuesday that two U.S. journalists it sentenced to 12 years of hard labor were trying to slander the state, giving its first detailed account of the case that worsened ties with the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's keynote speech on Middle East peace this week received massive support from the Israeli public but they do not think it will further its aim, a poll showed on Tuesday.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, holding his first meeting with Pakistan's leader since last year's attacks on Mumbai, asked him to ensure militants could not operate from Pakistani territory.

Yemen said Tuesday it was offering a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the capture of kidnappers thought to have shot foreign hostages.

Microsoft is taking a novel approach to promote business-to-business products by featuring Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and his wife, Suzy Welch, in a series of reality videos online.

Iran's top legislative body on Tuesday ruled out annulling a disputed presidential poll that has prompted the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution but said it was prepared for a partial recount.

The U.S. economy will likely begin to recover in the third quarter and housing may hit its long-expected bottom in the following quarter, a UCLA Anderson Forecast report released on Tuesday said.

Stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday as renewed U.S. dollar weakness lifted shares of natural resource companies and investors set their sights on key housing data due out before the bell.

Former Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain bought the new 2010 Ford Fusion, a mid-size hybrid sedan.

President Barack Obama warned doctors on Monday the U.S. healthcare system was a ticking time bomb and urged them to support his overhaul, which includes a public insurance plan that many of them view with skepticism.

A cream used to treat the early signs of skin cancer may erase wrinkles and leave behind younger-looking skin, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

New U.S. housing starts and permits rebounded in May from record lows as ground-breaking for multifamily units surged after tumbling the prior month, a government report showed on Tuesday.

The American economy will begin growing again in the third quarter, but the rebound will be meek as a battered housing sector and ailing banks stem any progress in other areas, according to a Reuters poll.

New York has overtaken Miami to be voted the U.S. city with the angriest and most aggressive drivers, according to a survey on road rage released on Tuesday.

Australian Dollar: After gapping lower in early Monday morning trade yesterday the Aussie was unable to “fill the gap” back above 81 cents in Asia trading sideways for the majority of the session to enter early offshore trade around 0.8070.

Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi posted defiant messages on Twitter on Tuesday, calling for a second banned pro-Mousavi rally to go ahead and offering security updates.

The raging debate about the future of the U.S. dollar's reserve currency status may be masking the real drivers of its near-term direction.

Companies which specialize in technologies to boost energy efficiency are benefiting from global economic recovery packages and a growing focus on cutting costs, HSBC research suggested on Monday.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu urged officials from the Americas on Monday to throw their weight behind a new initiative to reduce carbon emissions and make cities in the Western Hemisphere more energy efficient.

U.S. futures pointed to a flat to lower start on Wall Street on Tuesday with the S&P 500 index, futures for DJ Industrial Average and futures for Nasdaq 100 down 0.02 to 0.2 percent, at 0900 GMT.

The Obama administration's top climate change scientists will unveil a report on Tuesday that details the impact of global warming on the United States and argues for fast action against it.

Flat-screen maker LG Display Co Ltd said on Tuesday it would invest 50 billion won ($40 million) in a pilot line and testing facility for solar power cells, aiming for commercial production in 2012.

Asian venture capital company Pacific Venture Partners on Tuesday said it sees fabless semiconductor companies and the clean energy sector as good investments, although high spending in some solar energy firms might be a deterrent.

A consortium of around 20 companies, including Munich Re, Siemens, RWE and Deutsche Bank, plans to build a 400 billion euro ($555.3 billion) solar power project in Africa, a Munich Re executive told a German newspaper on Tuesday.

Norway's Opera Software opened a new, free service on Tuesday that enables simple sharing of personal computers' pictures, files or music with anyone on the Internet.

The U.S. banking industry played down the Obama administration's proposals on Monday for the most wrenching regulatory changes since the Great Depression as just that -- proposals.

Iran's top legislative body said Tuesday it was ready to carry out a partial recount in a disputed presidential election that has prompted the biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Russia will advocate a cautious approach to changing the system of global reserve currencies when the world's biggest emerging economies hold their first formal summit on Tuesday, the Kremlin's top economic aide said.

Microsoft Corp filed a lawsuit against three individuals believed to be based in Vancouver, accusing them of a form of click fraud by improperly using Microsoft's online advertising service for profit, court documents show.