IBT Staff Reporter

India's ruling Congress-led coalition and its main rival jostled for new allies on Thursday to boost their possible parliamentary numbers after exit polls said both would fall well short of a majority.

Rivals to lead Japan's main opposition party promised on Thursday to eliminate wasteful spending and reform the pension system as the party battles to widen its lead ahead of a looming election.

The number of confirmed cases of the new Influenza A (H1N1) flu has climbed to 6,497, including 65 deaths, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday welcomed the election of the United States to the top United Nations rights forum and urged it to prosecute those accused of torture and other abuses.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, pushed up by auto plant shutdowns related to Chrysler's bankruptcy.

Bahrain's central bank urged creditors of The International Banking Corporation to meet over debt restructuring, two days after S&P said TIBC had chosen not to pay back some of its debt and downgraded it.

Britain's ruling Labor party suspended a senior lawmaker and a top aide to the opposition leader stepped down Thursday in a widening sleaze scandal that is alienating voters.

U.S. President Barack Obama sought advice from congressional leaders on Wednesday as he pondered a broad group of candidates for a Supreme Court opening ranging from judges to a member of his Cabinet.

The bidding war for software-maker SumTotal Systems Inc heated up with private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners sweetening its bid by 6 percent, trumping Accel-KKR's offer that SumTotal had agreed to.

Europe's pharmaceutical industry hit back at the European Commission on Thursday, saying a probe into lack of competition in the sector was exaggerated and misleading.

Kohl's Corp posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday but just beat Wall Street's expectations as the department store operator managed to show a slight increase in sales despite persisting consumer thrift.

Massachusetts on Wednesday banned drivers of trains, street cars and buses from using or even carrying cell phones at work, the toughest such measure imposed by a U.S. state transit agency.

Miami is one of the nation’s most well-rounded metropolitan destinations due to its arts scene, shopping, family attractions, and hotspot Miami Beach.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday after the number of workers receiving jobless benefits hit another record and consumer bellwether Wal-Mart reported flat quarterly profits.

Sales of biodiesel at German petrol stations have come to a virtual halt, leading German bioenergy company Verbio said on Thursday.

Ford Motor Co executives face stockholders on Thursday to detail the automaker's plans to complete a turnaround without resorting to U.S. government help and steer clear of the industry collapse now swallowing rivals General Motors Corp and Chrysler.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, government data showed on Thursday, pushed up by auto plant shutdowns related to Chrysler's bankruptcy.

S&P and Dow industrial stock index futures pared losses while Nasdaq futures turned positive on Thursday after analysts said weak jobless data was due to auto plant shutdowns related to Chrysler's bankruptcy.

Japan's power firms paid a combined 100.1 billion yen, or $1 billion, for carbon credits in the year that ended on March 31, their annual earnings reports showed, giving investors a rare glimpse into how much utilities are spending to offset their own carbon emissions.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives neared an agreement on a climate-change bill on Tuesday and said they expected to approve it soon.

Global coal miner Peabody Energy Corp has agreed with Australia's White Energy Coal Ltd to build a coal upgrading facility in the United States, and may buy up to a 15 percent stake in the Australian firm.

U.S. producer prices rose faster than expected in April, government data showed on Thursday, driven by a surge in food costs.

The German solar industry expects a recovery in the second half of this year after a wave of earnings showed on Thursday the sector has written off the first three months as the low point of 2009.

Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg was so frustrated that no videogames catered for all of his seven children that he did what a entertainment maestro might do -- made his own game.

U.S. electricity generators support compromises being reached by Democrats in the House of Representatives on proposed climate legislation, saying the changes would soften the impact on power bills.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Thursday after consumer bellwether Wal-Mart reported flat quarterly profits and as investors awaited producer price and jobless data for insight into the state of the economy.

Stock index futures pointed to a flat to lower open on Thursday after consumer bellwether Wal-Mart reported flat quarterly profits and as investors awaited producer price and jobless data for insight into the state of the economy.

China rejected claims it has manipulated yuan exchange rate policies to tilt trade flows against the United States, saying on Thursday that proposed legislation before the U.S. Congress could stoke protectionism.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported a roughly flat quarterly profit on Thursday as its low prices attracted shoppers amid a global economic slowdown, but the retailer's results were limited by a stronger U.S. dollar.