Varsha Priyadarshini

More than three years after the financial crisis struck, the U.S. economy remains stuck in a consumer debt trap.

The rupee fell over 1 percent on Monday tracking the slide in domestic equities and the euro on fears that Europe's debt crisis will hurt global growth.

European Union (EU) plans to put a charge on carbon emissions from airlines are discriminatory and inconsistent with global laws, a meeting of a UN aviation body and non-EU member nations has agreed, an Indian government statement said on Friday.

For an Indian man, the entire country is one easy-access urinal. Be it mustard fields, the national highway or the Himalayan foothills - unzipping, unleashing and relieving comes naturally to them. Indian women, unfortunately, do not enjoy the same privilege. For them, infinite patience is a survival skill and a big bladder a necessity.

President Barack Obama on Friday hailed the killing of American-born militant Anwar al-Awlaki as a tribute to years of counterterrorism cooperation with Yemen and proof that al Qaeda and its allies will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.

This past quarter was miserable for bullish U.S. stock investors. The bad news is, things may get worse before they get better.

India reached 66 percent of its full-year fiscal deficit target just five months into the financial year, reinforcing worries about its ability to stick to the budgeted target for the year that ends in March.

Reebok International Ltd has agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges that it made unsupported claims that its toning shoes help wearers get fit faster, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said the current turmoil in the global financial markets will not be a repeat of the 2008 downturn, Singapore newspapers reported on Friday.

Gold jumped more than 1 percent on Friday after Germany's approval for expanding the euro zone bailout fund offered temporary relief to investors, but the precious metal was heading for its worst monthly decline in three years.

India and Pakistan agreed on Wednesday to further liberalise trade flows with tentative moves such as opening a second customs post and issuing more visas, seen as bolstering a fragile peace process between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

India is moving quickly on a plan to open its $450 billion retail sector to global players such as Wal-Mart, the country's industry secretary said on Wednesday, in a sign the government may be pressing ahead with a key reform.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday ruled that the law enacted by West Bengal state government to return a piece of land to farmers from the present occupant India's Tata Motors, was constitutional and valid.

Global energy prices that have remained steadily high restrict the elbow room for monetary policy response, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India said, highlighting the uphill task the bank faces in its fight against stubbornly high inflation.

BP will discuss divesting some of its assets in Europe and North America to Reliance Industries as it seeks to deepen its partnership with India's largest private sector company, the Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing the Brtish group's chief executive.

Debt-strapped Kingfisher Airlines plans to exit its low-cost business in the next four months and focus on the premium model, Chairman Vijay Mallya said, breaking with rival carriers which are mostly betting on the budget space.

Pop star Michael Jackson had high hopes his 2009 This Is It concerts would be the spark to revive his flagging career, but in the days before he died his ability to perform was hanging in the balance.

A building in the old quarters of New Delhi collapsed on Tuesday night, killing at least five people and injuring 25, police said.

Pakistan warned the United States on Tuesday to stop accusing it of playing a double game with Islamist militants and heaped praise on all-weather friend China.

Asian stocks edged higher and a rally in the euro stalled on Wednesday, as investors looked for more signs that European leaders were tackling a debt crisis that threatens the financial system before committing bolder market bets

Gold slipped 1 percent in volatile trade on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar regained strength on doubts over the progress of Europe's efforts to tackle the region's debt crisis, while this week's brutal correction also kept investors at bay.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday defended Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram who is facing heat in the 2G telecoms case that has rocked the Congress-led coalition government.

Two subway trains collided in Shanghai on Tuesday, the Shanghai Metro said on its Twitter-like Weibo online account, without giving details as to whether there were any casualties.

Organizers for the Latin Grammys, the top honors for Latin music, on Monday named Colombian superstar Shakira as their person of the year to be feted at the group's annual awards show in November.

Typhoon Nesat pounded the Philippines' main island on Tuesday, lashing crop-growing provinces and bringing the capital to a near standstill as it disrupted power supplies and closed financial markets, government offices, transport and schools.

President Barack Obama said on Monday that Europe's debt crisis was scaring the world and eurozone leaders were not acting fast enough, underscoring concerns about the fallout for the U.S. economy and his own re-election chances.

Protesters leading a massive public sector strike that has caused power cuts, delayed trains and shut schools threatened on Monday to shut down business in Hyderabad for a day later this week.

The rupee was stronger in early morning trades on Tuesday on the back of positive local shares, higher regional peers and a firm euro.

Rahul Gandhi, heir to the family dynasty that has dominated politics in the world's biggest democracy for generations, was trying to make himself heard in the uproar of Parliament.