WORLD

Scientists at the Tokyo Earthquake Research Institute discovered that the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan in March changed the contact between the tectonic plates under the capital city, drastically increasing the chance that a quake could hit Tokyo in the near future.

Forcible medication violates rights, lawyers say.

Irene's damages to the U.S. mainland probably reached $3.4 billion but only 60% of it was covered.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked provisions of a Texas law that required doctors to describe sonogram images to patients before performing abortions, ruling that it violates the doctors' free speech.

Despite tepid U.S. GDP growth, the U.S. job market has not collapsed, as the private sector added 91,000 jobs in August, ADP announced Wednesday.

The costly process of rebuilding after Hurricane Irene promises to be complicated by the fact that much of the damage was caused by flooding and will not be covered by homeowner insurance.

Nine people were killed dead and dozens injured In Chechnya on Tuesday when three suicide bombers detonated explosives in the capital city of Grozny.

U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, the former top commander of the U.S's efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, retired from the Army to become the head of the CIA on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe's foreign minister said his country will not recognize the Libyan group’s rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate ruling entity.

The leader of the Liberals, a party reduced to also-ran status in the May federal election, on Tuesday rebuffed the idea of an alliance with their left-of-center rivals, even as a former party leader touted a merger as the only way the left would win back power.

Palin, a polarizing figure that nonetheless enjoys broad support among social conservatives and the Tea Party set, has thus far been coy about her intentions.

Bailiffs raided BP's Moscow offices Wednesday, a new blow to the British oil company a day after ExxonMobil signed an agreement that ended BP's hopes of developing Arctic offshore oil fields with Russia.

Diehard followers of Moammar Gadhafi are refusing to surrender, raising the prospect of new fighting in Libya when an ultimatum expires after this week's Eid holiday.

Kenneth Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), lost his job amid a Congressional probe over a troubled gun-trafficking operation.

WikiLeaks said Wednesday morning its Web site was the target of a cyber attack late Tuesday as it proceeded with the release of thousands of previously unpublished U.S. diplomatic cables, some still classified.

Libyan rebels are furious at Algeria for sheltering Gaddafi family members and they have demanded that the family be sent back. The wife of the fugitive Libyan leader, Moammar Gaddafi, three of his children and some of his grandchildren arrived in Algeria on Monday morning.

Indian corporate houses, eager to enter the banking sector, are gearing up to battle for the few licenses that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to issue.

Actress Daryl Hannah was arrested on Tuesday along with more than 100 others who refused to move while participating in a sit-in protest near the White House against the controversial pipeline expansion project.

The Obama Administration on Tuesday replaced two senior officials who helped to oversee a troubled federal operation that targeted gun trafficking.

Palin, a polarizing figure who nonetheless enjoys broad support among social conservatives and the Tea Party set, has thus far been coy about her intentions.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday there were a range of policy options available that could create up to a million new U.S. jobs, in remarks ahead of a major economic speech that he will deliver next week.

Forget the struggling economy. There's one U.S. industry -- Big Politics -- that is looking ahead to a record year in 2012.

China is currently waging war on its unruly rare earths sector, with state inspection teams in the middle of a four-month campaign to crack down on illegal producers, processors and traders.

China's state-run news agency demanded on Tuesday that Internet companies, regulators and police do more to cleanse websites of toxic rumours, adding to signs that the ruling Communist Party wants to tame the explosion of freewheeling microblogs.

China Citic Bank Corp Ltd plans to sell up to $4.7 billion in offshore yuan-denominated bonds by 2013, indicating that issuers are lining up to sell debt in the territory after the authorities unveiled fresh reforms this month.

China will raise development targets for renewable energy such as wind power for the five-year period through 2015, state media reported on Tuesday, as the world's top energy user and carbon emitter aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi spoke with N.T.C. Chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil over the phone on Tuesday, congratulating the rebels on their victory over dictatorship. He also invited Abdul-Jalil to Teheran on a state visit in order to deepen bilateral ties.

William Koch, brother of wealthy Tea Party bankrollers David and Charles, evidently liked a quaint historical mining town so much that he bought it.

While speaking to members of the American legion, President stressed his commitment to U.S. veterans and unveiled measures to lower unemployment and improve healthcare to those who have served in the military.